World Cup Summary of Events So Far
Special to PalmInfocenter.com
Since it kickstarted on November 20 this year, the 2022 World Cup has been in full swing, with a few matches having been held over the past few days. The long-awaited tournament is the first FIFA Men's Cup ever to take place during winter in the northern hemisphere, given that the date was moved from the standard summer schedule to avoid the intense heat in Qatar.
With the World Cup being the main event of the year, sports fans, enthusiasts, and punters have become one in their passion for engaging and involving in the games as much as possible. Others made it a point to travel to the host country to witness their favorite teams in action, while crypto casinos like BC.GAME offered a medium for bettors to place their wages on their teams while staying updated on recent developments.
Thirty-two nations hailing from different continents and countries have faced head-to-head in several matches to compete for the ultimate prize. And while people are holding their breaths in anticipation of who gets to emerge as the victor in the end, here is the summary of events thus far.
Brazil started out strong as the favorites to win the tournament prior to their matches against South American opponents Argentina. People were also rooting for European nations at the start of the tournament, like Germany, England, France, and Spain, with Netherlands and Belgium being considered the dark horses of the event. Africa has also put their best hopes on Senegal being the first to covet a World Cup win for their continent.
The FIFA World Cup used a familiar format where the 32 teams were divided into eight separate groups, starting from Group A to H, each comprising four teams. The teams in every group have to face off in a single-headed and round-robin format during the competition?s group stages. Here are the groups:
- Group A: Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador, Qatar
- Group B: Wales, USA, Iran, England
- Group C, Poland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Argentina
- Group D: Tunisia, Denmark, Australia, France
- Group E: Japan, Germany, Costa Rica, Spain
- Group F: Croatia, Morocco, Canada, Belgium
- Group G: Cameroon, Switzerland, Serbia, Brazil
- Group H: South Korea, Uruguay, Ghana, Portugal
Knockout stages will follow the group stage, with only two teams from each of the eight groups moving forward at the 16th round. So far, Netherlands and Senegal are taking the lead in Group A, with England and USA also being the frontrunners for Group B. Group C sees Argentina and Poland in the first two spots as well, same as France and Australia in Group D. Japan and Spain take the first two ranks in Group E, Croatia, and Morocco in Group F, and Brazil and Switzerland in Group G. Meanwhile, Portugal and South Korea are leading in Group H, as the first and second places, respectively.
The Round of 16 matches will take place from December 3 to 7, followed by the Quarter-finals rounds starting from December 9 through December 11.
