FIFA World Cup 2022

The increasing number of players from Asia and Africa now playing in European leagues and the money invested in their domestic competitions means sides are now much better prepared, both physically and tactically. However, that wasn't always the case, as a look back at some of the biggest historical results in the World Cup finals shows.

The 29-year-old Fenerbahce striker gave the European side the lead on the stroke of halftime when he thumped a first-time effort into the far corner following a counterattack. Canada were denied an early lead by Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who dived low to his right to keep out an Alphonso Davies' penalty, reports Xinhua.

Spanish fans could not have it better on a pleasant evening in Doha as Costa Rica failed to even take a shot at the goal, suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Europeans. Teenage star Gavi, who also plays for Barcelona, became the youngest player since Brazil's Pele to score a World Cup goal as he confidently steered home the ball in the 74th minute, taking his side ahead by four goals to nil.

The four-time world champions took a first-half lead through Ilkay Gundogan's coolly dispatched penalty and looked likely to add to their advantage early in the second half. However, after a couple of near misses from Serge Gnabry and goalscorer Gundogan, and a stunning series of saves from Shuichi Gonda, Japan made their move.

The move means that football fanatics can watch the matches at INOX multiplexes in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Pune, Goa, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Kolkata, Siliguri, Surat, Indore, Vadodara, Dhanbad, and Thrissur, adding to the FIFA Football World Cup frenzy in India.

On Tuesday, none of the 88,012 spectators at the Losail stadium, the arena which will host the final on December 18, had the faintest of thoughts of the Asian minnows upstaging their famous rivals when the match kicked off. But in the end, an upset result did happen, with Saudi Arabia walking away with full points thanks to goals from Saleh Al and Salem Al Dawsari.

During the post-match press conference held at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday, Page said it was important not to lose the first game. "The first game is important for us. We kept a draw, and now we just focus on the next game," he said, adding that the Red Dragons showed character and determination to come back and get a point.

While the Americans piled up pressure on the Welsh through the match giving scant ball possession as Timothy Weah scored in the 36th minute, Wales tried to make a comeback into the game in the second half. Six yellow cards were shown by match referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim in a match that saw several fouls and exchanges among players. The star player of Wales, Gareth Bale, struck with a penalty in the 82nd minute to score the equaliser.

Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was substituted after suffering a head injury in the eighth minute of the match. He was carried away from the field on a stretcher after unsuccessfully trying to play on after colliding with his teammate Hosseini Majid in the World Cup Group B opener against England at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

Ronaldo has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons in the past couple of weeks after a TV interview in which he accused Manchester United of betraying him and trying to force him out of the club, while also saying he had "no respect" for coach Erik ten Hag.