From injury time to Morocco’s brilliance to Ronaldo’s benching, here are the 10 talking points from the tournament.
The World Cup in Qatar is now at the semifinal stage: Either Argentina, France, Croatia or Morocco will win football’s biggest prize at Lusail Stadium next Sunday.
But already, the 2022 World Cup has offered up plenty of big moments that are unlikely to be forgotten.
Iran players not singing the anthem
In their first game of the tournament against England, Iran’s players took the bold step of not singing their national anthem before kickoff. It was a gesture to show their support for the nationwide protests taking place in their country in the wake of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death in the custody of the morality police.
Their silence spoke volumes and added pressure on the Iranian government, which suspended the morality police last week.
Saudi Arabia beating Argentina
Argentina’s World Cup campaign has been so fraught with drama that it’s easy to forget that it began with them losing to Saudi Arabia 2-1 in their opening game.
The second-lowest-ranked team in the tournament mounted an incredible comeback after going a goal down to score twice in the space of five minutes in the second half. The result sent tremors across the footballing world. The fact that Saudi Arabia lost their following two group games didn’t matter. It wasn’t just a win for the national team. It was a win for the nation.
