Top five shock exits from FIFA World Cup 2022 group stage

Some of the biggest names in world football bowed out early from the quadrennial competition.

The World Cup 2022 group stage is about to end and all the spots in the next round are filled. The results of the group stage shocked footballing fans across the globe. There was total chaos as many big teams were eliminated and there was a rise in underdog teams, which made this World Cup more exciting right from the start.

This World Cup is turning out to be very good for African and Asian nations as they have managed to mark a place in the knockouts, which were dominated by the Europeans in the earlier editions. Fans were also shocked as losing is one this but getting eliminated in the Group Stage due to the performance of some relatively weaker team was just out of the question and unimaginable for some.

Let’s look at the top five shock exits from FIFA World Cup 2022.

Denmark

FIFA Rank -10

Considered European Underdogs by many after their performance in EURO 2020, in which they reached the semi-final but were defeated by the runners-up England. They had a decent squad with players like Eriksen and Christensen. They were drawn into Group D with France, Australia and Tunisia. According to fans, France and Denmark would easily qualify.

France did qualify to win the top spot but much to everyone’s surprise Denmark couldn’t. They not only couldn’t qualify but were not even able to grab a win. They were last in the group after their last match against Australia, in which they lost 1-0 paving the way for Australia to qualify.

Uruguay

FIFA Rank - 14

The maiden World Cup champions and two times FIFA World Cup winners were eliminated in the Group Stage of the World Cup. The star-studded side was looking good and was seen as a challenging side with players like Cavani, Suarez, Nunez and Valverde. La Celeste was seen as a perfect combination of young players and experienced ones. They were drawn into Group H with Portugal, South Korea and old rivals Ghana.

With a draw against South Korea and a defeat against Portugal, a win against Ghana was essential for their advance given that Portugal beat South Korea. But it didn’t go as was expected, South Korea defeated Portugal and although defeating Ghana, Uruguay couldn’t qualify due to a smaller number of goals scored than South Korea. Fans were distraught by this result and Luis Suarez was seen in tears after the results.

Mexico

FIFA Rank - 13

The Mexican national team has failed to qualify for the Round of 16 for the first time since 1994. They were drawn into Group C with Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia but they were expected to qualify for the knockouts with Argentina from their group. Mexico drew their first match against Poland and got defeated by Argentina.

They managed to defeat Saudi Arabia in their last match which equalled them with Poland. But it wasn’t enough as, Poland advanced from the group on Fair play, having registered fewer yellow cards than Mexico. Mexico would have been through if they had scored one more goal, but it didn’t happen. There is total chaos and shock in Mexico with fans and players blaming the Argentine Coach Gerardo Martino as finally, they make one of their most embarrassing exits from the World Cup.

Germany

FIFA Rank -11

The Germans were eliminated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia on the last day and were again out of the tournament on the last day of the 2022 World Cup. Ironically, on both these occasions, an Asian side was responsible for their exit. They were drawn into Group E with Spain, Japan and Costa Rica and so the group was termed Group of Death by many. And it did prove fatal for the German National team.

They were defeated by Japan in their opening match by 2-0 and drew against Spain in the next match. They required a win against Costa Rica given that Spain beat Japan. Germany won the match but so did Japan. Japan topped the group. Spain and Germany were equal in points, but Spain managed to advance on goal difference thanks to their seven-goal win over Costa Rica.

Belgium

FIFA Rank -2

The golden generation of Belgium Football has failed to deliver and made another case of shock exits in the World Cup 2022. They were drawn into Group F with Croatia, Morocco and Canada. Expectations were with Belgium to qualify because of world-class players like De Bruyne, Hazard Brothers and Courtois. They won their first match against Canada but after that, all hell broke loose.

Belgium was defeated by the African side Morocco by 2-0. They drew against Croatia without scoring any goals and came third in the group. After facing humiliation, the coach Roberto Martinez has stepped down. It seems like the golden generation of Belgium is over.