World Cup offers legendary moments founded in the pitch of the present
This World Cup was ‘messi’, to say the least. Packed full of goalpost-gripping moments, ranging from amazing goals, saves, upsets, and a happily-ever-after ending, the top 10 moments of the 2022 World Cup will start right here.
Starting off the list, we have Cameroon upsetting the number one ranked team in the world: Brazil. This was Brazil’s first group stage loss in over 24 years. The winning goal was scored in stoppage time by Vincent Aboubakar, who then went on to receive a second yellow card for taking his shirt off. This ended up resulting in a red card, which is a pretty good way to go out.
Japan checks in at number nine after defeating Spain 2-1 in another huge upset that knocked Germany out of the Cup. Group E was named the “group of death,” containing some of the top powerhouses of Germany, Spain, Japan, and Costa Rica. This defeat led to Japan finishing at the top of the group, an unexpected ranking.
At number eight is Christian Pulisic’s goal against Iran. He put his body on the line for this goal and got injured in the process when colliding with the goalie. However, this secured the U.S. the win and allowed them to move on to the knockout stage. Surprisingly, the U.S. hadn’t even qualified for the World Cup four years ago, but this year they had a great run.
Cristiano Ronaldo takes the seventh spot by becoming the first man to score in five World Cups after his penalty against Ghana in Portugal's opening game. Overall, Ronaldo has had a great soccer and international career and is the highest international scorer with 118 goals. This was most likely his last World Cup, and it was great to see him achieve this record during his final run.
Number six features possibly the biggest upset in this year's Cup: Argentina’s loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening group stage game. Argentina started the game off strong with Lionel Messi scoring a penalty in the tenth minute. Things went wrong in the second half for Argentina when they conceded two goals.
Number five is arguably the best goal scored in the whole tournament: Richarlison’s goal against Serbia. Richarlison went into this tournament with a lot of hate and doubt around him but cleared his name with a great performance and this amazing goal.
Number four happened in the quarterfinals when Croatia won against Brazil on penalty kicks. This continues the theme of upsets and pretty much no one would have expected this result at all. The game itself was pretty mellow as it was tied 1-1 moving into the shootout, and then Croatia showed their great defensive abilities and secured the win in the shootout.
At number three, Morocco became the first African country to go on to the semifinals after their win against Portugal. This was an extremely intense game as Morocco scored in the first half and then played the rest of the game very defensively. At the end of the game, it seemed like Portugal was about to score many times, but Morocco shut them down and made all their supporters extremely proud, especially being the main underdogs at this tournament.
At number two, Mbappe turned in an otherworldly performance in the World Cup final, scoring a hat trick and being the only person to do so during a World Cup since 1966. He proved himself to be a nightmare for Argentina as he over and over kept France in the game. At only 23 years old, he has a bright future and the potential to become one of the greatest.
The best moment is Argentina, and more specifically Messi, winning their first World Cup since 1986 with Maradona. This final against France was considered one the best games in history. Argentina was up 2-0 at halftime, with the win nearly secured. However, Mbappe scored two sneak goals in the second half to send the game to overtime. Messi’s goal in overtime looked to be the end at last. But in the last minute, Mbappe scored an equalizer making the game 3-3 and having a penalty shootout. Fortunately, Argentina won the shootout thanks to their goalie. Fans were left happy that Messi finally won a World Cup, which was a trophy he was hunting his entire career. This win definitely secures Messi’s position as the greatest player of all time.
by Jad Alzoubi
Published January 30, 2023
Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue 4