2022 FIFA World Cup Part 1: Group Stage Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Qatar being the hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup means they qualified automatically. Qatar lobbied for a further concession. They were granted the right to play the first match a day earlier than the rest of the competition. Who were their opponents?

Answer: Ecuador

Qatar was a controversial choice for the World Cup of 2022 and many groups used the announcement and the tournament to protest about the sub-optimal human rights in the country. The host nation is granted automatic inclusion in the competition. (They were not the lowest-ranked country to qualify [Ghana - 62nd] but Qatar would have found it difficult to qualify from 51st position in World Ranking). The rankings on 31st March 2022 were used to distribute the teams across the eight groups fairly.

In the opening match, Ecuador was too strong for the host nation winning two-nil.

The photo depicts a llama (native to the Andes countries, of which Ecuador is one), wearing a Panama hat which ironically originated in Ecuador.

Senegal was also in the same group but it is nowhere near the Andes, Mexico was in Group C and Chile did not qualify.

Netherlands defeated Senegal by the same margin, 2-0 in the other opening Group A match.

2. It did not take long for the upsets to occur. Argentina and Germany were two of the favourites to win the competition, but both lost their opening matches, 2-1, to much lower-ranked teams. Who were their respective opponents?

Answer: Saudi Arabia and Japan

Argentina (ranked 4 worldwide) was ranked much higher than Saudi Arabia ranked 49th. The differential was not as great between Germany (12) and Japan (23) but the 2-1 scoreline was still an upset. In parallel circumstances, the favourites scored first in the first half and the outsider had to come from behind to win.

In the other opening matches of Group C, Mexico (9) and Poland (23) slugged out a 0-0 draw, as did Denmark (11) and Tunisia (35) in Group D. Also in Group D, Australia (42) and France (3) were drawn against each other in their opening match (as they were in 2018), with France prevailing 4-1 (2-1 in 2018).

The picture depicts a stylised combined version of the flags of Japan and Saudi Arabia.

3. While there were a lot of draws and low scores in the opening round of matches, one team scored six goals in its match, and another scored seven. What were these two respective countries?

Answer: England and Spain

In Group B, England (ranked 5) walloped Iran (21) 6-2, being 5-0 up before Iran came back with two late goals. Next day in Group E, Spain (8) thrashed Costa Rica (31) 7-0. USA (15) and Wales (18) had a 1-1 draw, in the other Group B match.

Croatia (16) and Morocco (24) drew 0-0, and Belgium (2) had a 1-0 win over Canada (38).

Brazil (1) defeated Serbia (25) 2-0 in Group G, and Switzerland (14) edged out Cameroon (37) in the same group.

In Group H Portugal (8) defeated Ghana (61) 3-2, and Uruguay (13) and the Republic of Korea (29) drew 0-0.

The photo depicts Nicholas Hilliard's painting 'The Battle at Gavelines [sic] and Elizabeth I at Tilbury' which was a fierce 1588 naval battle between the Spanish Armada and the English Navy.

4. There were more upsets in the second round of the Group Stage fixtures. In Group F the worldwide ranked number two country was convincingly beaten causing riots in the loser's capital. What was the scoreline?

Answer: Morocco 2 Belgium 0

Belgium ranked number two in the world, was expected to go through the group stage unbeaten. That all came crashing down late in the second half of their match with Morocco with two quick goals, one in extra time. Brussels, which has a sizable Moroccan population, had rioted and deliberately lit fires the same evening.

The other answer options were all real results with France being the only team in Groups A-D getting the maximum six points (after two matches), hence qualifying for the next round.

In Group A, Senegal beat Qatar convincingly 3-1 and Ecuador held the Netherlands to a 1-1 draw. In Group B the highly anticipated USA-England match fizzled into a nil-nil draw, and Iran accounted for Wales, 2-0.

The photo shows the tail wing of Sabena, Belgian's national airline (now defunct) superimposed with the pentangle from the Moroccan flag.

5. Another unexpected result, especially after the first round of fixtures, was in the next match Japan played. What was the scoreline?

Answer: Costa Rica 1 Japan 0

In the first round in Group E, Spain thumped Costa Rica 7-0 and Japan upset Germany 2-1 so Japan was expected to win comfortably. They tried hard but the Costa Ricans were able to block out their first result, defend capably and net a winner in the 81st minute, stunning the world. In the other Group E fixture, the blockbuster between Germany and Spain ended in a 1-1 draw.

In Group C, Argentina beat Mexico 2-0 mirroring Poland's 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
The photo shows Guaria Morada, an orchid, the National Flower of Costa Rica.

6. Because of their good showing in their first-round match, Tunisia were expected to win their second match. What was the score?

Answer: Australia 1 Tunisia 0

Qatar has a sizable Tunisian population and they were out in force at this match - the stands were a sea of red. After holding Denmark to a draw in the first round, a win against lowly-ranked Australia would just about see Tunisia in the playoffs - a place they had never been to before. However, a header against the run of play by Australian Mitch Duke in the 23rd minute was enough for the Australians to hang on. The win put Australia in the same unusual situation where a draw or better in their last match would just about see them in the playoffs.

Results from other matches played in this round included six goals between Cameroon and Serbia but neither won, Brazil pipped Switzerland 1-0, Portugal accounted for Uruguay 2-0 and Ghana edged out Korea 3-2.

The photo shows a snippet of the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's national treasures.

7. More shocks in the third and final round of matches in the group stage. Australia, ranked 41 worldwide, was given little chance of knocking off this soccer powerhouse. Yet they did, qualifying for the knockout phase and sending this team home. Who was Australia's opponent?

Answer: Denmark

Australia knew if they beat Denmark, (ranked 10th in the world), they would qualify for the knockout round. (If they drew, they had to hope France would beat Tunisia). Both matches were played at the same time. Both teams attacked (Denmark was on a single point and had to win to have any chance of qualifying) but it was a piece of individual brilliance by Australia's Matthew Leckie in the 60th minute that made the difference and final score 1-0.

Meanwhile another upset was on the cards, France had already qualified, but let their guard down and were beaten by Tunisia 1-0. The pro-Tunisian crowd was ecstatic as they now had 4 points. However, Australia's 6 points relegated them to third and they missed out. Denmark went home with a single point to its name.

The picture shows a drawing of the Sydney Opera House, arguably Australia's best-known landmark which was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon.

8. In Group F, Croatia and Belgium drawn against each other, both highly ranked and expected to qualify for the knockout round. They played a 0-0 draw. Which of the two teams qualified top from this group?

Answer: Neither did, Morocco came first, Croatia second and Belgium went home

Canada was already eliminated after the second round leaving the other three to fight over the two qualifying places.

The enormity of Morocco's 2-1 win over Belgium was telling in this group. Morocco held Croatia to a 0-0 draw, beat Belgium 2-0 and beat Canada 2-1 to win the group on 7 points. Croatia, with a win over Canada and two 0-0 draws, did enough to qualify second. Belgium did beat Canada and the draw with Croatia was creditable but losing to Morocco cost them second place and they went home.

The picture shows the typical Islamic architecture of a mosque near Rabat in Morocco which commemorates Morocco's first Group placing. The second picture shows a stylised Belgium flag falling apart.

9. The third round of fixtures in Group E were the most exciting of all the Group fixtures this round as any of the four teams could win. In a see-sawing match that Germany had to win to be still in contention, they defeated Costa Rica 4-2. Was this enough to qualify?

Answer: No they lost on goal difference to Spain who qualified second

Each team had to win to stay in contention. A further complexity was that both Group matches were played at the same time, so each didn't know what was happening in the other match. The Germany-Costa Rica match was exciting as the lead changed twice. Germany (on one point in the group) scored first to lead Costa Rica (on three points). However, by 70 minutes, Costa Rica was in front 2-1 but three quick and late German goals meant the Europeans won 4-2. Costa Rica could not qualify on 3 points but Germany could on 4 points if Spain beat Japan.

Japan had had a mixed tournament. They upset Germany 2-1 but then lost to Costa Rica 1-0. Well, in this match they repeated what they did in round 1: They came from behind to beat another powerhouse 2-1. This gave them six points, enough to qualify first in the group. Spain, expected to win the maximum 9 points for the group stage qualified second on a mere 4 points on goal difference ahead of Germany also on 4 points. Costa Rica whilst fourth was not disgraced on three points.

The photo shows popular foods in each country, the order of which are the final positions for Group E:
1. Bento Box - Japan
2. Paella - Spain
3. Currywurst - Germany
4. Gallo pinto - Costa Rica (National Dish)

10. Group H was another group where all four teams were in contention before their respective matches. Which country left it to the very last minute, scoring the winning goal in stoppage time to qualify by the barest of margins?

Answer: Republic of Korea

In their last matches, both Uruguay and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) had to win to have any chance of qualifying. Portugal had already qualified and a draw for Ghana would have been enough if Portugal beat ROK as expected.

Uruguay beat Ghana convincingly 2-0 and looked like they would qualify second as the Portugal-ROK match was heading for a 1-1 draw. However, ROK slotted a winning goal in the 91st minute giving them an unlikely 2-1 win and four points.

Uruguay also had four points. Both teams had a goal difference of zero. However, ROK scored 4 goals to Uruguay's two. Korea qualified, but Uruguay did not.
(The photo depicts the high population density of Seoul, with the Han River in the background).

In Group G, Cameroon upset the already qualified Brazil 1-0 but did not qualify, as, in an exciting match, Switzerland edged out Serbia 3-2 and ended Serbia's (and Cameroon's) chance of qualifying.

So in a close competition in the Group phase, not one team scored the maximum 9 points and there were 6 scoreless draws in this part of the tournament. (There was only one in the entire 2018 World Cup.)

The 16 countries that progressed to the knockout phase were:
Group A. Netherlands and Senegal
Group B. England and USA
Group C. Argentina and Poland
Group D. France and Australia
Group E. Japan and Spain
Group F. Morocco and Croatia
Group G. Brazil and Switzerland
Group H. Portugal and Republic of Korea

Countries that were expected to progress but did not, included: Belgium (World rank - 2), Denmark (10), Germany (11), Mexico (13) and Uruguay (14).

Source: Author 1nn1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Fifiona81 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Qatar. It was played later in the year to escape the heat of the Qatari summer. In the group stage four teams (in eight groups) played three games against each other for the right to contest the playoffs.

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