There are 16 teams vying for a ticket to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar 2022. A fact that does not go unnoticed, however, is that for the first time in the history of the event there are two representatives from Africa and three from Asia in the phase that will start contesting.
Among those placed in the round of 16, they stand out Senegal, Morocco, South Korea, Japan j Australia. Although the next precedent of a similar event occurred in South Africa in 2010 when there were Koreans and Japanese at that stage, the current competition leaves numbers for history.
The first to achieve this feat was Senegal, who defeated hosts Qatar and Ecuador. This is the third time that the Senegalese team has qualified for the round of 16.
Morocco defeated Belgium and drew against Croatia. In their third game, they sealed their pass with a win over Canada. The Moroccan team reached the group stage for the second time in their history. He matched the same record by leading the group stage for the first time in Mexico in 1986.
Australia left Denmark out of the running. Despite not getting off to a good start in the competition after losing 4-1 to France, the side rallied and defeated Tunisia in their second game in Group D.
Japan was one of the surprises in Qatar 2022. The Asian team defeated Germany and Spain in the early stages to finish top of Group E.
South Korea joined last in the group after beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portuguese team 2-1.