FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar: 5 Most Disppointing Teams

Lots of upsets, plenty of miracles, and a handful of unforeseen; the FIFA World Cup 2022 had seen it all. Champions Argentina managed to leave behind their shock opening game defeat to Saudi Arabia and go on to win the tournament, but a few other giants could not follow suit. We now look at the 5 most disappointing teams who could not even make it past the group stage.

1. Belgium

Heading into the tournament as the 2nd best team in the FIFA rankings, the Red Devils were one of the favourites to progress far in the tournament. With a relatively navigable group consisting of Croatia, Morocco, and Canada, the Belgians were probably too complacent coming into the tournament. Not knowing what Morocco were going to produce throughout the campaign, Belgium were too easy and fell to a 2-0 defeat to Morocco after unconvincingly edging Canada by a single goal in the first round. They needed a win against Croatia to qualify for the round of 16 but failed to be clinical in front of goal, struggling to find the back of the net. The goalless draw meant that Croatia would qualify instead, together with leaders Morocco, who beat Canada 2-1. Third in World Cup 2018, but they could not continue their fine form 4 years later. End of the Golden Generation era?

2. Germany

The 2014 World Cup Champions had a poor campaign in Russia 2018, infamously losing to South Korea in their final group stage game, and they were certainly looking for a better display in Qatar this time round. However, it looked like the Asian curse fell upon them once again, this time from the hands of the Samurai Blue – Japan. Despite taking the lead through an Ilkay Gundogan penalty in the first half, lapses in concentration saw them concede 2 goals in 8 minutes in the second half. The 2-1 loss to Japan was followed by an exciting 1-1 draw with Spain. To qualify for the knockout stage, the Germans needed a win against Costa Rica in the final game plus a helping hand from Spain against Japan. They did beat Costa Rica 4-2, but Spain on the other hand fell to a shock defeat by the Japanese. That meant Japan and Spain progressed through, leaving Germany behind on goal difference. One thing Germany would be hoping for at the next World Cup: not to be grouped with an Asian country.

3. Denmark

After an impressive run at the EURO 2020 Championships, reaching top 4, Denmark seemed to be favourites to progress past the group stage together with France. However, the only Scandinavian country in this World Cup had a tough start as they were held to a goalless draw by Tunisia before narrowly losing to France 2-1. Their final game against Australia was the decider but they yet again could not play their football, and were defeated by a single goal. Well even if they had won, they had to better Tunisia’s result against France – a 1-0 win. So, Denmark probably only have got their fate to blame.

4. Uruguay

The inaugural World Cup winners and one of South America’s finest footballing nations just behind powerhouses Argentina and Brazil – Uruguay were certainly not seeing themselves exit at the group stage. With Portugal being the only other tough opponents in Group H, the Uruguayans, like the other nations mentioned above, let complacency sink into them as they could not surpass South Korea in the first game. Unable to produce a positive result against Portugal as well, Uruguay needed more than just a win against Ghana, who were seeking revenge after what happened in South Africa 12 years ago. Uruguay still managed to claim a 2-0 win and just when they thought that the 2 goals would see them through, South Korea on the other hand scored in stoppage time to edge Portugal 2-1. Uruguay needed just one more goal to better South Korea’s goal difference and qualify. They were desperate, too desperate to the extent of infamously confronting the match officials after the game. But of course, their protests paid no dividends.

5. Wales

Yes, it was Wales’ first FIFA World Cup appearance after more than 60 years, but who else believed they could at least get past the group stage after seeing their squad? With plenty of notable players like skipper Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, and Daniel James, the Welsh seemed to carry a pretty decent line-up. But it looked like the semi-star-studded team of players could not string their passes together and were not on the same frequency, pretty much stuck in second gear in most parts of their games. Lacking spark and promise in the transition from midfield to the final third, Wales only managed 1 goal the entire tournament – a Bale penalty in their first game against USA. And that was also their only point of the campaign as they went on to lose to Iran and England to despicably sit at the bottom of the group.

These 5 nations would be hoping for a completely different World Cup in 2026, that’s if they manage to see past the qualifiers. They might have had a bad run in this tournament, but their games gave birth to unexpected and extraordinary comebacks and upsets orchestrated by minnows like Morocco and Asia’s footballing powerhouses – Japan and South Korea. So kudos to all the underdogs!