Korea advanced to the round of 16 with a come-from-behind victory over Portugal in the final Group H match. yunhap news
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the Qatar World Cup was “the best group stage ever”.
President Infantino said on the FIFA homepage on the 7th (local time), “I actually watched all the matches,” and said, “Simply put, it’s the best FIFA World Cup group stage ever.”
“There are no weak teams or strong teams anymore,” he said. “The level has become very, very similar.” He added, “For the first time in history, all continents have reached the round of 16. This shows that football is truly global.”
In the group stage of this tournament, Korea in Group H advanced to the round of 16 by winning against Uruguay, a South American powerhouse, and Japan in Group E won the competition against Tank Corps Germany. Australia, in Group D of the Oceania continent, also advanced to the tournament by beating Denmark.
In Africa, Morocco and Senegal secured tickets to the round of 16. In particular, Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals by winning the first game of the tournament against Spain after a penalty shoot-out.
The United States also played in the round of 16 with England, beating Wales and Iran in Group B. In fact, all six continents of Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa, North America and South America, excluding Antarctica, advanced to the group stage.
Saudi Arabia beat South American powerhouse Argentina 2-1 with a come-from-behind victory. yunhap news
‘Giant Killing’, in which a weak team defeated a strong team, also appeared often. Group C Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina led by Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), and Korea won a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the ‘Group of Death’, Japan defeated both Spain and Germany with 2-1 come-from-behind victories and advanced to the round of 16 as first place in the group.
Although they did not advance to the round of 16, Group G Cameroon beat Brazil and Group D Tunisia beat France 1-0, respectively. Group A, Ecuador drew the Netherlands 1-1.
Chairman Infantino said, “We have also set record numbers in relation to TV broadcasting.” He said, “At the end of the group stage, the cumulative number of spectators in 48 games was 2.45 million.” He also analyzed that “28 goals were scored in the 8 matches in the round of 16, the most since 1986, when the round of 16 tournament began.”