Top five nations with least goals conceded in FIFA World Cup 2022

The defence of these teams has been a highlight to savour in the ongoing tournament.

Morocco scripted history by becoming the first African nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup semi-finals. The Atlas Lions beat Portugal 1-0 in the last-eight stage to advance to the semis. Morocco’s defence line gave their all to prevent Portugal from scoring. The Atlas Lions have been one of the best teams in terms of defence at the World Cup 2022.

First, they topped their group knocking out World No. 2 Belgium and Canada. Walid Regragui's side then scripted history as the first Moroccan team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. They are also the fourth African nation to reach the last eight stages of a World Cup tournament. The Atlas Lions followed it with a 1-0 victory over tournament favourites Portugal in the quarters. This is also the first time Morocco have reached the final four stage of the mega tournament. All these while conceding just one goal so far.

Apart from Morocco, there are other also other teams in this tournament whose defence has led the line with brave performances. Teams like England have conceded only two goals in FIFA World Cup 2022 so far.

A number of teams have stopped star-studded attacking lines on their tracks with their performances. Here in this article, take a look at nations who have conceded the least number of goals at FIFA World Cup 2022!

Morocco – 5 Goals

Morocco has been the surprise package of the tournament so far. In four games, they have managed to keep three clean sheets and have conceded only one goal. Only Canada has managed to score against Morocco. Their defensive line has been in top form in the tournament.

The Atlas Lions beat Spain via a penalty shootout to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history. Morocco then scripted history as the first African nation to qualify for the semi-finals of a World Cup edition. They beat Portugal 1-0, keeping yet another clean-sheet, to advance to the semis.

England - 4 goals

Gareth Southgate's Three Lions have conceded just twice so far in the FIFA World Cup 2022. Interestingly, both those goals came against Iran in their tournament opener. England thrashed Iran 6-2 to kick off their campaign in perfect fashion.

Since then the Three Lions have played three matches and kept a clean-sheet in each of those three fixtures. They played a goalless draw against the United States and thrashed Wales and Senegal by 3-0 margins, the latter in the Round of 16 stage. England were beaten 1-2 by France in the quarter-finals.

Croatia -  4 Goals

2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia may have failed to repeat the same midfield magic of 2018. Yet their defence has been proactive throughout the tournament. Croatia have conceded only two goals so far from four matches in Qatar. The Vatreni conceded once against Canada in the group stages and then against Japan in the round of 16.

Interestingly, Croatia have gone on to win both matches in which they conceded at FIFA World Cup 2022. Croatia are the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Uruguay - 2 goals

Although they were knocked out from the group stages, Uruguay only conceded twice in the FIFA World Cup 2022. Both goals came against Portugal, which they lost by a 0-2 margin. La Celeste kept clean sheets against both South Korea and Ghana. They even beat the latter in their final group stage match, but were pipped to the knockouts by South Korea, who advanced into the knockouts via a superior goal difference.

Belgium – 2 Goals

The Red Devils had a disappointing outing in this World Cup with a first-round exit. Ranked No. 2 in the world, Belgium faced a shocking 0-2 defeat against Morocco and were held by Croatia in group stages, which knocked them out in the first round itself. They conceded both of their goas in the loss to Morocco.

Tunisia – 1 Goal

Tunisia stunned a second-string France side in their last group-stage game. The Eagles registered a surprise win over France by a 1-0 margin. They conceded only one goal in group-stage matches. While Tunisia held Denmark to a goalless draw, they suffered a narrow defeat to Australia, who were the only team to score past them at FIFA World Cup 2022.

** Article was last updated on December 17, 2022.