2022 FIFA World Cup Group A

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ecuador beat host nation Qatar 2–0 in the tournament's opening match.

Group A of the 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 20 to 29 November 2022.[1] The group consisted of host nation Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands. The top two teams, the Netherlands and Senegal, advanced to the round of 16. Qatar became the first host nation to lose every group game in the World Cup history, becoming the worst performing host.[2][3]

Teams

Draw position Team Pot Confederation Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA Rankings[4]
March 2022[nb 1] October 2022
A1  Qatar 1 AFC Hosts 2 December 2010 1st 51 50
A2  Ecuador 4 CONMEBOL CONMEBOL Round Robin fourth place 24 March 2022 4th 2014 Round of 16 (2006) 46 44
A3  Senegal 3 CAF CAF third round winners 29 March 2022 3rd 2018 Quarter-finals (2002) 20 18
A4  Netherlands 2 UEFA UEFA Group G winners 16 November 2021 11th 2014 Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010) 10 8

Notes

  1. ^ The rankings of March 2022 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Advanced to knockout stage
2  Senegal 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3  Ecuador 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
4  Qatar (H) 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

In the round of 16:

  • The winners of Group A, the Netherlands, advanced to play the runners-up of Group B, the United States.
  • The runners-up of Group A, Senegal, advanced to play the winners of Group B, England.

Matches

All times listed are local,

AST (UTC+3).[1]

The match between Senegal and the Netherlands was originally scheduled to be the opening match of the tournament on 21 November 2022, 13:00, while the match between Qatar and Ecuador would take place later that day at 19:00.[5] However, FIFA adjusted the match schedule on 11 August 2022, moving the Qatar–Ecuador fixture to 20 November in order for the hosts to feature in the opening match of the tournament. As a result, the Senegal–Netherlands fixture was pushed back to 19:00 on 21 November.[6]

Qatar vs Ecuador

The two teams had faced each other three times, most recently in 2018, a 4–3 win for Qatar in a friendly game. This was their first competitive meeting.

Ecuador had a disallowed goal in the opening minutes, but eventually won the match 2–0 with a brace by Enner Valencia. Valencia opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a penalty, shooting low to the right corner after being brought down in the penalty area by Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb. He scored his second in the 31st minute with a downward header to the left corner of the net after a cross in from the right by Ángelo Preciado.

This was the third consecutive FIFA World Cup in which a player scored a brace in the opening match, after Brazil's

penalty kick had been scored as the opening goal of a World Cup.[8] Qatar became the 14th debutant to lose their opening fixture; additionally, they became the first host nation to lose their opening match at a World Cup.[9][10]

Qatar
Ecuador
GK 1 Saad Al-Sheeb Yellow card 15'
CB 15 Bassam Al-Rawi
CB 16 Boualem Khoukhi
CB 3 Abdelkarim Hassan
RWB 2
Pedro Miguel
LWB 14 Homam Ahmed
CM 10 Hassan Al-Haydos (c) downward-facing red arrow 72'
CM 12 Karim Boudiaf Yellow card 36'
CM 6 Abdulaziz Hatem
CF 19 Almoez Ali Yellow card 22' downward-facing red arrow 72'
CF 11 Akram Afif Yellow card 78'
Substitutions:
FW 9 Mohammed Muntari upward-facing green arrow 72'
DF 4 Mohammed Waad upward-facing green arrow 72'
Manager:
Spain Félix Sánchez
GK 1 Hernán Galíndez
RB 17 Ángelo Preciado
CB 2 Félix Torres
CB 3 Piero Hincapié
LB 7 Pervis Estupiñán
RM 19 Gonzalo Plata
CM 20
Sebas Méndez
Yellow card 56'
CM 23 Moisés Caicedo Yellow card 29' downward-facing red arrow 90'
LM 10 Romario Ibarra downward-facing red arrow 68'
CF 13 Enner Valencia (c) downward-facing red arrow 77'
CF 11 Michael Estrada downward-facing red arrow 90'
Substitutions:
MF 16 Jeremy Sarmiento upward-facing green arrow 68'
MF 5 José Cifuentes upward-facing green arrow 77'
FW 26 Kevin Rodríguez upward-facing green arrow 90'
MF 21 Alan Franco upward-facing green arrow 90'
Manager:
Argentina Gustavo Alfaro

Man of the Match:
Enner Valencia (Ecuador)[11]

Assistant referees:
Ciro Carbone (Italy)
Alessandro Giallatini (Italy)
Fourth official:
István Kovács (Romania)
Reserve assistant referee:
Ovidiu Artene (Romania)
Video assistant referee:
Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Paolo Valeri (Italy)
Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland)
Benoît Millot (France)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland)

Senegal vs Netherlands

The teams had never met before.

After a goalless first half, Cody Gakpo put the Netherlands ahead in the 84th minute when he got to the ball first to head past the advancing goalkeeper Édouard Mendy and into the empty net after a cross from Frenkie de Jong.[12] In stoppage time, Davy Klaassen made it 2–0 when he followed up on Memphis Depay's saved shot to slot into the net.[13]

Senegal 0–2 Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 41,721
Senegal
Netherlands
GK 16 Édouard Mendy
RB 21 Youssouf Sabaly
CB 3 Kalidou Koulibaly (c)
CB 4 Pape Abou Cissé
LB 22 Abdou Diallo downward-facing red arrow 62'
CM 8 Cheikhou Kouyaté downward-facing red arrow 73'
CM 6 Nampalys Mendy Yellow card 90+4'
RW 15 Krépin Diatta downward-facing red arrow 73'
AM 5 Idrissa Gueye Yellow card 90+6'
LW 18 Ismaïla Sarr
CF 9 Boulaye Dia downward-facing red arrow 69'
Substitutions:
DF 14 Ismail Jakobs upward-facing green arrow 62'
FW 20 Bamba Dieng upward-facing green arrow 69'
MF 26 Pape Gueye upward-facing green arrow 73'
FW 7 Nicolas Jackson upward-facing green arrow 73'
Manager:
Aliou Cissé
GK 23 Andries Noppert
CB 3 Matthijs de Ligt Yellow card 56'
CB 4 Virgil van Dijk (c)
CB 5 Nathan Aké
RM 22 Denzel Dumfries
CM 11 Steven Berghuis downward-facing red arrow 79'
CM 21 Frenkie de Jong
LM 17 Daley Blind
AM 8 Cody Gakpo downward-facing red arrow 90+4'
CF 18 Vincent Janssen downward-facing red arrow 62'
CF 7 Steven Bergwijn downward-facing red arrow 79'
Substitutions:
FW 10 Memphis Depay upward-facing green arrow 62'
MF 14 Davy Klaassen upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 20 Teun Koopmeiners upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 15 Marten de Roon upward-facing green arrow 90+4'
Manager:
Louis van Gaal

Man of the Match:
Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)[14]

Assistant referees:
Bruno Boschilia (Brazil)
Bruno Pires (Brazil)
Fourth official:
Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)
Reserve assistant referee:
Nicolás Taran (Uruguay)
Video assistant referee:
Juan Soto (Venezuela)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Nicolás Gallo (Colombia)
Diego Bonfá (Argentina)
Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Ezequiel Brailovsky (Argentina)

Qatar vs Senegal

The two teams had never met before, though the match was unique for being the first time ever the Asian champions faced the African champions at a FIFA World Cup.

Boulaye Dia put Senegal in front in the 41st minute, with a low finish to the left corner of the net after a mistake by Qatar defender Boualem Khoukhi. Seven minutes later, Famara Diédhiou doubled Senegal's lead with a header from a corner taken by Ismail Jakobs. Mohammed Muntari pulled one back for Qatar in the 78th minute, the nation's first ever World Cup goal, with a header to the left corner after a cross from Ismaeel Mohammad. Bamba Dieng scored a third for Senegal in the 84th minute with a deflected shot to the net after a pass from Iliman Ndiaye on the right.[15]

Following the Netherlands' 1–1 draw with Ecuador played after this match, Qatar became the first host country to be eliminated from the group stage of the FIFA World Cup after just two games, and the second hosts after South Africa in 2010 to fail to progress to the second round. This loss also confirmed Qatar as the worst hosts by performance, as they could secure no more than three points, one short of South Africa's four.[16]

Qatar 1–3 Senegal
Report
Attendance: 41,797
Qatar
Senegal
GK 22 Meshaal Barsham
CB 2
Pedro Miguel
downward-facing red arrow 83'
CB 16 Boualem Khoukhi
CB 3 Abdelkarim Hassan
RWB 17 Ismaeel Mohammad Yellow card 20'
LWB 14 Homam Ahmed Yellow card 45+2' downward-facing red arrow 83'
CM 12 Karim Boudiaf downward-facing red arrow 69'
CM 10 Hassan Al-Haydos (c) downward-facing red arrow 74'
CM 23 Assim Madibo Yellow card 90+1'
CF 19 Almoez Ali
CF 11 Akram Afif
Substitutions:
MF 6 Abdulaziz Hatem upward-facing green arrow 69'
FW 9 Mohammed Muntari upward-facing green arrow 74'
DF 4 Mohammed Waad upward-facing green arrow 83'
DF 5 Tarek Salman upward-facing green arrow 83'
Manager:
Spain Félix Sánchez
GK 16 Édouard Mendy
RB 21 Youssouf Sabaly
CB 3 Kalidou Koulibaly (c)
CB 22 Abdou Diallo
LB 14 Ismail Jakobs Yellow card 52' downward-facing red arrow 78'
RM 18 Ismaïla Sarr downward-facing red arrow 74'
CM 6 Nampalys Mendy downward-facing red arrow 78'
CM 5 Idrissa Gueye
LM 15 Krépin Diatta downward-facing red arrow 64'
CF 9 Boulaye Dia Yellow card 30'
CF 19 Famara Diédhiou downward-facing red arrow 74'
Substitutions:
MF 11 Pathé Ciss Yellow card 87' upward-facing green arrow 64'
FW 13 Iliman Ndiaye upward-facing green arrow 74'
FW 20 Bamba Dieng upward-facing green arrow 74'
DF 4 Pape Abou Cissé upward-facing green arrow 78'
MF 17 Pape Matar Sarr upward-facing green arrow 78'
Manager:
Aliou Cissé

Man of the Match:
Boulaye Dia (Senegal)[17]

Assistant referees:
Pau Cebrián Devís (Spain)
Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar (Spain)
Fourth official:
Kevin Ortega (Peru)
Reserve assistant referee:
Djibril Camara (Senegal)
Video assistant referee:
Drew Fischer (Canada)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Nicolás Taran (Uruguay)
Adil Zourak (Morocco)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Bruno Pires (Brazil)

Netherlands vs Ecuador

The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2014, a 1–1 draw in a friendly.

In the sixth minute of the match, Cody Gakpo cut inside and shot into the left corner of the net from just outside the penalty area to put the Netherlands in front. Just before the first half ended, Ecuadorian defender Pervis Estupiñán deflected his teammate's shot in, but the goal was called offside. Four minutes into the second half, Enner Valencia scored his third goal of the tournament to equalize for Ecuador, converting the rebound after goalkeeper Andries Noppert had saved a shot from Estupiñán. Despite Ecuador later hitting the crossbar, the game saw no further goals and ended in a 1–1 draw.[18]

Netherlands 1–1 Ecuador
Report
Netherlands
Ecuador
GK 23 Andries Noppert
CB 2 Jurriën Timber
CB 4 Virgil van Dijk (c)
CB 5 Nathan Aké
RM 22 Denzel Dumfries
CM 20 Teun Koopmeiners downward-facing red arrow 79'
CM 21 Frenkie de Jong
LM 17 Daley Blind
AM 14 Davy Klaassen downward-facing red arrow 69'
CF 8 Cody Gakpo downward-facing red arrow 79'
CF 7 Steven Bergwijn downward-facing red arrow 46'
Substitutions:
FW 10 Memphis Depay upward-facing green arrow 46'
MF 11 Steven Berghuis upward-facing green arrow 69'
FW 19 Wout Weghorst upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 15 Marten de Roon upward-facing green arrow 79'
Manager:
Louis van Gaal
GK 1 Hernán Galíndez
CB 25 Jackson Porozo
CB 2 Félix Torres
CB 3 Piero Hincapié
RM 17 Ángelo Preciado
CM 20
Sebas Méndez
Yellow card 57'
CM 23 Moisés Caicedo
LM 7 Pervis Estupiñán
AM 19 Gonzalo Plata downward-facing red arrow 90'
AM 13 Enner Valencia (c) downward-facing red arrow 90'
CF 11 Michael Estrada downward-facing red arrow 74'
Substitutions:
MF 16 Jeremy Sarmiento upward-facing green arrow 74'
MF 10 Romario Ibarra upward-facing green arrow 90'
FW 26 Kevin Rodríguez upward-facing green arrow 90'
Manager:
Argentina Gustavo Alfaro

Man of the Match:
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands)[19]

Assistant referees:
Mokrane Gourari (Algeria)
Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria)
Fourth official:
Saíd Martínez (Honduras)
Reserve assistant referee:
Helpys Raymundo Feliz (Dominican Republic)
Video assistant referee:
Shaun Evans (Australia)
Assistant video assistant referees:

Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco
)
Ashley Beecham (
Australia)
Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Anton Shchetinin (Australia)

Ecuador vs Senegal

The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2005, a 2–1 win for Senegal in a friendly.

In the 44th minute, Senegal's Ismaïla Sarr was fouled in the penalty area by Piero Hincapié, with Sarr scoring the resulting penalty low to the right corner. In the 67th minute, Moisés Caicedo put Ecuador level when he finished from close range after the ball had reached him from a Félix Torres corner.[20] With twenty minutes left in the match, captain Kalidou Koulibaly scored his first ever international goal with a volley from six yards out to put Senegal back in front.[21]

Ecuador's loss eliminated them in the group stage for a third time after 2002 and 2014, while Senegal advanced to the knockout stage for a second time and the first since 2002.

Ecuador 1–2 Senegal
Report
Ecuador
Senegal
GK 1 Hernán Galíndez
RB 17 Ángelo Preciado downward-facing red arrow 85'
CB 2 Félix Torres
CB 3 Piero Hincapié
LB 7 Pervis Estupiñán
DM 8 Carlos Gruezo downward-facing red arrow 46'
CM 21 Alan Franco downward-facing red arrow 46'
CM 23 Moisés Caicedo
RF 19 Gonzalo Plata
CF 11 Michael Estrada downward-facing red arrow 64'
LF 13 Enner Valencia (c)
Substitutions:
MF 5 José Cifuentes upward-facing green arrow 46'
MF 16 Jeremy Sarmiento upward-facing green arrow 46'
FW 24 Djorkaeff Reasco upward-facing green arrow 64'
DF 25 Jackson Porozo upward-facing green arrow 85'
Manager:
Argentina Gustavo Alfaro
GK 16 Édouard Mendy
RB 21 Youssouf Sabaly
CB 3 Kalidou Koulibaly (c)
CB 22 Abdou Diallo
LB 14 Ismail Jakobs
CM 11 Pathé Ciss downward-facing red arrow 74'
CM 26 Pape Gueye
RW 13 Iliman Ndiaye downward-facing red arrow 74'
AM 5 Idrissa Gueye Yellow card 66'
LW 18 Ismaïla Sarr
CF 9 Boulaye Dia downward-facing red arrow 90+5'
Substitutions:
MF 6 Nampalys Mendy upward-facing green arrow 74'
FW 20 Bamba Dieng upward-facing green arrow 74'
DF 4 Pape Abou Cissé upward-facing green arrow 90+5'
Manager:
Aliou Cissé

Man of the Match:
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)[22]

Assistant referees:
Nicolas Danos (France)
Cyril Gringore (France)
Fourth official:
István Kovács (Romania)
Reserve assistant referee:
Ovidiu Artene (Romania)
Video assistant referee:
Jérôme Brisard (France)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Benoît Millot (France)
Ciro Carbone (Italy)
Drew Fischer (Canada)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Alessandro Giallatini (Italy)

Netherlands vs Qatar

The two teams had never met before.

Cody Gakpo scored his third goal of the tournament to put the Netherlands in front in the 26th minute, cuting in from the left to score with a right-foot finish from just inside the penalty area. Frenkie de Jong made it 2–0 four minutes into the second half when he followed up to poke into the net from close range after goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham had saved a shot from Memphis Depay.[23]

In losing to the Netherlands, Qatar became the first World Cup hosts in history to suffer three defeats and fail to earn a single point.[24]

Netherlands 2–0 Qatar
Report
Attendance: 66,784
Netherlands
Qatar
GK 23 Andries Noppert
CB 2 Jurriën Timber
CB 4 Virgil van Dijk (c)
CB 5 Nathan Aké Yellow card 52'
RM 22 Denzel Dumfries
CM 15 Marten de Roon downward-facing red arrow 82'
CM 21 Frenkie de Jong downward-facing red arrow 86'
LM 17 Daley Blind
AM 14 Davy Klaassen downward-facing red arrow 66'
CF 8 Cody Gakpo downward-facing red arrow 82'
CF 10 Memphis Depay downward-facing red arrow 66'
Substitutions:
MF 11 Steven Berghuis upward-facing green arrow 66'
FW 18 Vincent Janssen upward-facing green arrow 66'
FW 19 Wout Weghorst upward-facing green arrow 82'
MF 20 Teun Koopmeiners upward-facing green arrow 82'
MF 24 Kenneth Taylor upward-facing green arrow 86'
Manager:
Louis van Gaal
GK 22 Meshaal Barsham
CB 2
Pedro Miguel
CB 16 Boualem Khoukhi
CB 3 Abdelkarim Hassan
RWB 17 Ismaeel Mohammad downward-facing red arrow 85'
LWB 14 Homam Ahmed
CM 10 Hassan Al-Haydos (c) downward-facing red arrow 64'
CM 23 Assim Madibo downward-facing red arrow 64'
CM 6 Abdulaziz Hatem downward-facing red arrow 85'
CF 19 Almoez Ali downward-facing red arrow 64'
CF 11 Akram Afif
Substitutions:
MF 8 Ali Assadalla upward-facing green arrow 64'
MF 12 Karim Boudiaf upward-facing green arrow 64'
FW 9 Mohammed Muntari upward-facing green arrow 64'
DF 13 Musab Kheder upward-facing green arrow 85'
FW 7 Ahmed Alaaeldin upward-facing green arrow 85'
Manager:
Spain Félix Sánchez

Man of the Match:
Davy Klaassen (Netherlands)[25]

Assistant referees:
Elvis Noupue (Cameroon)
Mahmoud Abouelregal (Egypt)
Fourth official:
Ma Ning (China)
Reserve assistant referee:
Cao Yi (China)
Video assistant referee:

Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco
)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Adil Zourak (Morocco)
Mokrane Gourari (Algeria)
Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
Stand-by assistant video assistant referee:
Zakhele Siwela (South Africa)

Discipline

Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:[2]

  • first yellow card: −1 point;
  • indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
  • direct red card: −4 points;
  • yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;

Only one of the above deductions were applied to a player in a single match.

Team Match 1 Match 2 Match 3 Points
Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Red card
 Netherlands 1 1 −2
 Ecuador 2 1 −3
 Senegal 2 3 1 −6
 Qatar 4 3 −7

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Regulations – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. ^ "World Cup 2022: Netherlands and Senegal qualify – recap". RTE Sport. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Men's Ranking". FIFA. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  5. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Qatar v. Ecuador to kick off FIFA World Cup 2022 on 20 November". FIFA. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Enner Valencia, octavo jugador en marcar doblete en partido inaugural". Marca (in Spanish). 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Hosts Qatar beaten by Ecuador in World Cup opener". BBC Sport. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Qatar v Ecuador: World Cup 2022 kicks off with opening ceremony – live". The Guardian. 20 November 2022.
  10. ^ Begley, Emlyn (20 November 2022). "World Cup: Ecuador cruise past Qatar in opener – reaction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Valencia the hero as Ecuador down Qatar". FIFA. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Senegal 0 Netherlands 2: As it happened". Guardian. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Senegal 0 Netherlands 2". BBC Sport. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Netherlands' late double downs Senegal". FIFA. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Qatar 1 Senegal 3: As it happened". The Guardian. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Qatar 1 Senegal 3". BBC Sport. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Senegal hit treble to beat hosts Qatar". FIFA. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Netherlands 1 Ecuador 1". BBC Sport. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Valencia strikes again for Ecuador to claim Netherlands draw". FIFA. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Ecuador 1 Senegal 2: As it happened". The Guardian. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Ecuador 1 Senegal 2". BBC Sport. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Koulibaly the hero as Senegal progress to last 16". FIFA. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Netherlands 2–0 Qatar: As it happened". The Guardian. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  24. ^ "Netherlands 2 Qatar 0". BBC Sport. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  25. ^ "Netherlands cruise past Qatar to top group". FIFA. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.

External links