Reporter Kim Hyeong-joong = ‘God of soccer’ Lionel Messi became the true GOAT, and the intense one-month World Cup came to an end.
Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar World Cup final against France at 12:00 am on the 19th at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Qatar after a 3-3 draw and a penalty shoot-out. Messi led the victory with two goals, and Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the final for the first time in 56 years, but stayed in the runner-up.
It was a hot month. The Korean national team succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 after 12 years, and Japan and Australia also passed the group stage and established the pride of Asian football. Morocco, the ambush of Africa, vomited its spirit to rise to the semifinals and achieved the best African team ever. On the other hand, Germany’s tank corps suffered the bitter taste of being eliminated from the qualifiers for two consecutive tournaments, and Spain, a strong European team, also fell prey to an early elimination in the round of 16.
New stars were also born. In Korea, Cho Kyu-seong, who scored multiple goals in the match against Ghana, stood tall as a global star, and Encho Fernandez, the main player in Argentina’s championship, also won the Young Player Award for his outstanding skills. Croatian defender Gvardiol is only 21 years old, but he has put Croatia in third place based on his seasoned defense.
In the midst of this, global soccer statistics company ‘Opta’ selected and announced the best 11 for this World Cup based on its statistics data. Of course, the heroes of the finals, Messi and Mbappe, were named. The two players were positioned as left and right wing forwards side by side in a 4-3-3 formation. Messi scored 7 goals in this tournament, and also had the most shooting attempts with 32. He also became the first player in World Cup history to score in the group stage, round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final. Mbappe became the top scorer with 8 goals, and also succeeded the most with 25 dribble breakthroughs, proving why he is a threatening striker. 안전놀이터
The frontline striker was Argentine striker Julio Alvarez. At the age of 22 years and 316 days, he became the youngest player to score multiple goals in a semi-final since Pele (17 years, 244 days) in 1958. In the midfield, Anthony Griezmann, Aurelien Chuameni and Bruno Fernandez were named. Griezmann created the most chances with 22, and Chuameni succeeded in intercepting the most in the midfield and also ranked first in the pass success rate of 91%. With 2 goals and 3 assists, Fernandez posted the second most attack points after Messi and Mbappe.
The four-back consisted of Theo Hernandez, Achraf Hakimi, Yoszko Gbardiol and Marquinhos. Hernández led France with 11 chances-making and two assists. Hakimi’s outstanding defense, including 26 tackles, took Morocco to the semifinals, while Gbardiol showed an iron-clad defense. Although Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals, Marquinhos played a role as the starting point of the attack in the last line based on a high pass success rate of 96%.
In this tournament, where there were many goalkeepers who performed exceptionally well, Opta’s chosen goalkeeper was Croatia’s Dominik Rivakovic. He recorded the most saves in the tournament with a total of 25, and contributed to Croatia’s advance to the semifinals with an outstanding performance in the penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Emilio Martinez, who saved Argentina from a crisis and led them to victory, won the FIFA Golden Glove and even performed an embarrassing ceremony, but did not make it to the best 11.