FIFA FOOTBALL WORLD CUP QATAR 2022 - NEWS BLOG - UPDATE 4

 Sea otter Lilo predicts World Cup Japan vs Spain; roars from crowd

On the first day before the match between Japan and Spain at the World Cup Qatar, Lilo the sea otter challenged the prediction of the winner at the Marine World Uminonakamichi aquarium in Fukuoka City, and the result was a draw. Against Germany, he focused on the "joy of Doha", but against Costa Rica, the Japan victory was not expected.

Lilo picks up a red and white flying disc floating in the tank and gives it to the keeper. The Japan was red, Spain was white, and when Lilo held both discs, there was a roar from the audience who watched.

THE JAPANESE SEA OTTER LILO WHO IS PREDICTING MATCH WINNERS IN FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 2022

Australia beat Denmark in the last 16 for the first time in four tournaments with high-speed counter-attack

On 30 November (early morning of 1 December, Japan time), Australia defeated Denmark 1-0 in Group D of the first round of the World Cup Qatar to advance to the final tournament for the first time in four tournaments.

I was waiting for this moment, enduring the onslaught. Australia finished off Denmark, the top four European champions, with a sharp counter-attack to open their way to the last 16. Leckie was delighted, saying: "It's hard to explain how I feel right now, I believed we could do it."

From the beginning, the opponent's captain Eriksen and others scattered passes, and the defensive period continued. Even so, the defenders threw their bodies out to defend and impatient Denmark, who must win to advance to the final tournament.

Australia gave up on building up in midfield towards the end of the first half and countered with long passes and long throws. In a hurry, he used his physical strength to score on the power play, while attacking the opponent in front of him with a counter-attack.

That came in the 15th minute of the second half. After picking up a loose ball in front of his own goal, he sent a vertical pass to Duke, who played the post, and ran up the left flank to McLey. After receiving the pass, Leckie dribbled up, shook off two opposing defenders and sent a left-footed shot into the right-hand corner of the goal. It takes about 10 seconds from winning the ball to scoring the goal. It was a lightning-fast counter.

The nickname of the national team is "Suckoors". It was taken from football and kangaroos. However, globally, the 15-a-side rugby team "Wallabies" is better known and popular. Arnold said: "Football is the fourth or fifth most popular sport in this country."

However, if you get results, people will pay attention. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where they participated for the first time in 32 years, the public was enthusiastic about the team that opened the door to the final tournament for the first time with the likes of the virtuoso Kewwell. The 31-year-old said: "I was proud of the Thuccoos as a fan at the time and now is our chance to do it."

It was also the first time they had won two races in one tournament. In a tournament full of upsets, Soccoos will make new history.

Argentina come out on top with a complete victory, fully recovering from humiliation - Qatar World Cup

Argentina beat Poland 2-0 in Group C of the first round of the World Cup Qatar on 30 June (early morning of Japan hours) to advance to the final tournament.

It's a complete resurrection. Argentina suffered a historic defeat in their first match, but their attacking football came back to life and they advanced to the knockout stage. Ace Messi said calmly, "The World Cup is always difficult, but I'm glad that we achieved our goal of getting through the first round and finishing first."

The first half, which missed many opportunities, was filled with a heavy atmosphere. In the 39th minute of the first half, Messi dived into a cross and kicked a penalty that was obtained by mixing with the opposing goalkeeper, but he was prevented from making a good save and the match was closed without a goal.

Depending on the results at other venues, a draw could have prevented them from advancing to the last 16. However, Argentina, who returned to the South American title last year after a 28-year absence, were not a "Messi-dependent" team as before.

Early in the second half, the 23-year-old McCaritel opened the scoring with a right-footed one-touch cross. In the 22nd minute, the 22-year-old Alvarez added a powerful goal while carrying his opponent in front of goal. "We knew it was important to win this game," McAlitel said. At the end of the day, they had 64% possession of the ball, more than double their opponents' possession rate, and they continued to dominate the game and won the game. The dynamism of the youngsters was the driving force in a high-pressure match, delighting the 35-year-old Messi, saying: "It was very disappointing to miss the penalty, but it was a great game."

Argentina recovered from their first match against Saudi Arabia, which was called "the biggest upset in history", and won two consecutive games to take the top spot. The team is making strong strides as they unite to prepare a flower path for the mainstay Messi, who professes to be "probably the last World Cup".

Mexico wins without smiles and fails to reach final for eighth consecutive World Cup

Mexico beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Group C of the first round of the World Cup in Qatar on 30 September, earning four points with one win, one draw and one loss. They fell short of second-placed Poland on goal difference and were eliminated from the first round.

A whistle announcing victory echoed in the night sky. But none of the Mexican players are smiling. As a result, they fell one goal short of advancing through the first round, and their seven-tournament playoff tournament since the 1994 U.S. World Cup was cut short.

In order to advance to the next stage, it is necessary to win and score a large number of points, so we flew with the engine at full throttle from the start of the match. He stole the ball with a fierce pull and sent a series of sharp crosses from the flanks to the front of the goal. After two matches, they went scoreless in the second half and finally shook the net in the second minute. Martín pushed in from the corner and five minutes later Chavez's left-footed free-kick deflected sharply into the top right corner of the goal.

After that, he continued to chase the ball around with a muddy smell and fired one shot after another. Even if we conceded a goal in the closing minutes, we were able to surpass Poland in total goals if we added one goal. However, that "one more point" was far away.

The Central American team, who had reached the top 16 in seven consecutive tournaments, were unable to overcome the lack of attacking power from the North, Central America and Caribbean qualifiers. Martino said, "All these griefs are my responsibility," and announced his intention to step down. It was a frustrating night of fresh start for four years to come, co-hosted by the United States and Canada.

Morocco advance to final for the first time in 36 years, beating Canada at the Soccer World Cup

In Group F of the first round of the World Cup Qatar, Morocco defeated Canada 2-1 on Sunday. With two wins and one draw, they now have seven points and are in first place and reach the playoffs for the first time in 36 years since Mexico 1986.

Morocco dominated the game in the first half with back-to-back goals from Žieş and Nesiri, and escaped with just one own goal against Canada, who had already been eliminated.

Defeated by Belgium, who finished third in the previous match, Croatia advanced to the final T of the Soccer World Cup

In Group F of the first round of the World Cup Qatar, defending runners-up Croatia and third-place Belgium drew 0-0 on 1 June (early morning of 2 Japan hours). Croatia earned five points with one win and two draws to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive time.

Belgium have four points with one win, one draw and one loss. They missed out on a third consecutive playoff.

Japan National Team, Kubo, Taniguchi and others start against Spain in the Soccer World Cup

The starting line-up for the final match of the first round of the World Cup Qatar match between Japan and Spain has been announced, and TANIGUCHI Shogo (Kawasaki Frontale) will start for the first time. They made five changes to their starting line-up from the previous match against Costa Rica. The starting line-up is as follows:

Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse)

Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale)

Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)

Maya Yoshida (Schalke)

Kou Itakura (Borussia MG)

Junya Ito (Stade Reims)

Hidemasa Morita (Sporting)

KAMATA Daichi (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Daizen Maeda (Celtic)

TANAKA Ao (Dusseldorf)

Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad)