The FIFA World Cup 2022 has reached matchday 2 as team like England, Wales and the Netherlands will now push for Round of 16 qualification as a crunch Super Saturday awaits in Qatar. A win for England and Netherlands will see them all but book their place in the next round, while the likes of Senegal and hosts Qatar will look to put points on the board for the first time in this tournament. With huge day on offer in the FIFA World Cup, here are all the details on what could be a pulsating weekend of football.
Wales vs Iran
After England had thrashed Iran, Wales and USA went into their respective game in Al Rayyan knowing that they could ill-afford defeat, and a 1-1 draw would have been the most popular prediction pre-match. Nevertheless, neither side particularly played in a manner where they were settling for a point, and Wales were fortunate to still be in the contest come the half-time whistle.
Form counted for little as Iran were thoroughly outclassed by England, Carlos Queiroz's side looking a shadow of the team that had previously collected a win and a draw from Uruguay and Senegal in September.
To Team Melli's credit, they never gave up and scored two consolation goals in the final quarter, the second coming from an extremely debatable penalty decision based on the threshold which had been used previously in the match.
Date: November 25, 2022
Kick-off: 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan
Qatar vs Senegal
Qatar let themselves down massively in their clash with Ecuador on Sunday which kicked off the tournament, falling to a 2-0 loss to the South American side. Getting thoroughly outplayed by CONMEBOL's weakest qualified side gave a true indication of their stature on the global stage, but luckily for them, they still have time to prove people's perceptions wrong.
Meanwhile, while suffering the same fate as the hosts, Senegal had a lot to be impressed with in their performance against the Netherlands on Monday. Their build up play in attack was easy on the eye and, for the most part, they were solid defensively. However, two huge errors from Edouard Mendy cost the Lions of Teranga heavily as they also fell to a 2-0 defeat.
Date: November 25, 2022
Kick-off: 6:30 PM IST
Venue: Al Thumama Stadium in Doha
Netherlands vs Ecuador
Netherlands had to be patient against Senegal on Monday, as it did appear that the points were going to be shared in their opening match, with the two teams level at 0-0 heading towards the final whistle. Cody Gakpo sent Holland ahead in the 84th minute of the contest, though, before Davy Klaassen secured the points in the ninth minute of added time at the end of the 90, with Van Gaal's side making the perfect start to their Group A campaign.
Enner Valencia scored both goals against Qatar, with the former West Ham United forward netting from the penalty spot in the 16th minute before making it 2-0 in the 31st minute. Ecuador now have their toughest two games in the section, facing Netherlands on Friday before taking on Senegal next Tuesday, and the latter will be desperate to bounce back from their loss to Holland.
Date: November 25, 2022
Kick-off: 9:30 PM IST
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan
England vs USA
Following memorable highs of reaching the World Cup semi-finals four years ago and then the final of Euro 2020, optimism surrounding Gareth Southgate's squad had dipped heading to Qatar after a disappointing winless UEFA Nations League campaign. However, the nation's hopes were boosted in emphatic style as the Three Lions roared to a 6-2 victory in their opening group game against Iran, their biggest-ever win in the first match of a major tournament.
After missing out on the 2018 World Cup, USA began their campaign in Qatar with a 1-1 draw against Wales on Monday, in a game they were leading until a certain Los Angeles FC star restored parity. Timothy Weah initially fired the Stars and Stripes into a deserved lead nine minutes before the interval, but as Gregg Berhalter's side lost their spark in the second half, Wales stepped up their efforts and had their talisman Gareth Bale to thank for netting a crucial 82nd-minute equaliser from the penalty spot, after Walker Zimmerman clumsily scythed down the LAFC forward inside the area.
Date: November 26, 2022
Kick-off: 12:30 AM IST
Venue: Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor
Live Streaming Details
All the matches will be broadcasted on the Sports 18 Network while the same can be live-streamed on the Jio Cinema App.
