FIFA FOOTBALL WORLD CUP QATAR 2022 - NEWS BLOG - UPDATE 47

 FOOTBALL WORLD CUP GRAND FINALE - COMING SOON

Qatar has set the stage, and the top four are left in the Soccer World Cup

The World Cup Qatar has entered its final stage, and four of the 32 participating teams remain. After 60 of the 64 matches leading up to the quarter-finals, various "records" have been created.

No wins

In this tournament, no team has made it through the first round with a win. This will be the first time since the 1998 World Cup in France, when the number of participating teams was increased from 24 to 32, and a total of 16 teams were divided into eight groups and finished second in each group advanced to the final tournament. In the previous edition of the 2018 edition, runners-up Croatia, third-place Belgium and eight-strong Uruguay all won their matches.

7 wins by Asian teams

Six Asian teams, including host Qatar, won a record seven games in a single tournament. Japan, Korea Republic and Australia, the three teams that participated in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup made it to the last 16 of the same tournament. Germany and Spain beat Argentina in the Japan and Argentina in Saudi Arabia, as well as Venus to beat the World Cup-winning nation.

Morocco, whose best finish was the last 16 at Mexico in '86, reached the semi-finals for the first time after breaking a wall that African teams had been beaten back against three previous times.

Light and dark in a powerful country

If they win, the next tournament will be limited to the top eight. The defending champions had been sluggish in five consecutive tournaments, but defending champions France made it past the quarter-finals.

On the other hand, Mexico, who had advanced to the final tournament for the past seven consecutive tournaments, were eliminated in Group C of the first round with one win, one draw and one loss.

Long match time

The length of additional time also caught my eye. According to FIFA's official website, 18 matches have had more than 10 minutes of added time on either side before the quarter-finals. The longest was England-Iran in Group B of the first round, with a total of 29 minutes, 15 minutes in the first half and 14 minutes in the second half.

Record Carving Stars

Messi (Argentina), Ronald (Portugal) and Ochoa (Mexico) have all represented Japan in five consecutive World Cups since '06. Carvajal (Mexico) in 50~66, Mateus (Germany) in 82~98, Buffon (Italy) in 98~14, and Marquez (Mexico) in 02~18 were the most in history.

Messi's total of 24 games is the second-highest in history until the quarter-finals. With two games remaining, he will break Mateus' record of 25.

GK who stopped Japan

Croatian goalkeeper Rybakovic, who stopped three Japan penalties in the first round of the playoffs, also stopped one in the quarter-final against Brazil on penalties, and his fourth penalty stop was tied for the most in the World Cup. Schumacher (West Germany), who stopped two shots each in '82 and '86, Goicochea (Argentina) in '90 and Subašic (Croatia) in '18, stopped four.

"First" female referees in the tournament

This tournament was the first time in the men's World Cup that female referees were employed, and a total of six female referees, three referees and three assistant referees, judged. Japan Yoshimi Yamashita was in charge of six matches as the "fourth referee" in charge of the substitution procedures. French referee Frapal was the first woman to referee in Costa Rica-Germany in the first round.

In the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands, Spanish referee Mateu issued 16 yellow cards to players from both teams and 18 yellow cards to Argentina's coaches and coaches.

STEPHANIE FREPPART - FIRST FEMALE REFEREE IN MEN'S FOOTBALL MATCH

African and Asian teams are making great strides in this tournament - What is the change in the global power map?

At the World Cup in Qatar, Morocco became the first African team to reach the last four, while three Asian teams reached the last 16 for the first time. Is the composition of the two major powers, Europe and South America, changing?

Of the 16 teams that advanced to the final tournament, 8 in Europe, 3 in Asia, 2 each in South America and Africa, and 1 in North and Central America.

In the 1966 World Cup in England, where 16 teams participated, North Korea advanced to the first round for the first time and advanced to the eight-team final tournament (quarterfinals), and Saudi Arabia reached the last 16 of the 24-team tournament in the United States in '94. The 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup was the first time that multiple teams advanced to the playoffs, with Korea finishing in fourth place, the best Asian team, and Japan advancing to the last 16. In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Japan and Korea Republic made it to the top 16. This year's Japan was the first Asian team to reach the last 16 of two consecutive tournaments.

The two African teams reaching the last 16 at the same time are tied for the most in Brazil in '14, where Algeria and Nigeria advanced to the last 16. In the past, Cameroon in Italy in '90, Senegal in '02, and Ghana in '10 have made it to the top eight, making Morocco's breakthrough while having achieved more results than Asian teams.

Since the '98 World Cup in France, where 32 European teams began to participate, 10 teams have advanced to the final tournament in the same tournament, Germany '06, and Russia in '18, showing their strength by taking advantage of the location, but this time 8 teams have appeared. Venues outside Europe have remained in single digits.

Will women's participation in sports progress in Islamic countries? Soccer World Cup

At the first World Cup in Qatar, the Middle East, not only female fans in uniforms visiting from overseas, but also women wearing hijabs who appeared to be Muslims could be seen in the spectator seats. For the first time in the men's World Cup, women have served as referees, and there are many women on the tournament management staff. What kind of changes will hosting the World Cup bring to regions where women's participation in society and sports participation have not progressed?

"While the introduction of new ideas and values from the outside is beneficial, opening the door to women through sports may also increase the oppression of women."

Aya Noguchi, 35, a former soccer player and assistant professor at Juntendo University who is familiar with sports and gender, points out.

In Islamic countries, women are asked not to show their skin or hair in public, and wear a hijab scarf around their heads. Since it is not desirable for men and women to be present, women's participation in society does not progress, and participation in sports is limited. In Qatar, a Muslim country, homosexuality is prohibited by law and the maximum penalty is the death penalty.

At the beginning of the tournament, participating teams from Europe and other countries tried to wear special armbands to appeal for the eradication of discrimination against LGBTQ and other sexual minorities, and FIFA banned them.