2022 Men's World Cup: Winners and Losers of the Group Stage

What did just happen?

There was a great group stage at the World Cup. We had stunning goals, major shocks, and tears of joy if you are Luis Surez.

It is time to take a deep breath and remember what we have just been through.

Here are the people who won and the people who lost.

It is quite strange to say that Kylian Mbappé got a winner's medal after scoring a goal in the World Cup final. This year's tournament has felt like a proper changing of the guard, with the France forward embodied "main character energy" more so than he has before.

Aging stars have contributed to this. The man looks slow, off balance and prone to missing chances. Lionel Messi is slowing down, even though he scored a beautiful goal against Mexico.

It is possible that the light has been shone brighter by the absence of Benzema. He destroyed Australia with a goal and assist in the first game and then followed it up with two goals in the second game, including the game-winner.

Keeping him rested and sharp was more important than getting a result in France's defeat to Tunisia.

It looks like the rest of the tournament will be forMbappé.

France will face a toothless Poland side next and will face either England or Senegal in the quarters. None of those sides are capable of dealing with him for 90 minutes. In this World Cup of final bows for older icons, he is pushing those with him off it.

Host nations tend to perform better than expected.

Everyone involved in the team will be disappointed by the losses to the Netherlands and the other teams.

It felt like Félix Snchez's team never recovered from the 16th minute of the opener. Many of the crowd left the Al Bayt Stadium early in the second half after Enner Valencia's penalty.

It was the first time in World Cup history that a host nation was knocked out after two games. They became the first World Cup host nation to lose all three games.

We could have expected a better fight than one goal and zero points from the side that won the Asian Cup.

The Netherlands would not be the same without Gakpo.

A side that is struggling to get into full flow has been helped by the PSV Eindhoven forward. His 84th-minute winner in the Dutch opener paved over some glaring cracks in the forward line, while his wonder goal against Ecuador ranks among the best of the tournament.

One of the two men to have scored in every game this World Cup is Gakpo.

Considering Gakpo has largely operated from a No. 10 role, it's impressive to see the young man stand up and be counted for his country.

One of Gakpo's next clubs will be getting a player with huge potential to become one of his generation's best. He is benefiting from working with Louis van Gaal in the national setup and would likely continue to round out his skills under one of the top coaches.

Although the Dutch are likely to fall short inQatar, Gakpo's stock has rocketed and he now looks set to land the big-money move that evaded him in the summer

The United States, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica will compete in the World Cup. None of the representatives won more than one group win, and the USMNT was the only winner.

Mexico only played 45 minutes of good football in three games. This came in the final group match against Saudi Arabia, when it was too little too late, as a draw with Poland and a defeat to Argentina left the side needing more than they got.

One of the highlights of the World Cup may have been Luis Chvez's free-kick, but it was only the beginning of what Mexico could do. Mexico were rotten in a tough group.

Costa Rica only got going in the first half of the tournament and their expectations would have been lower. Even if the smash and grab came after their first shot at target all tournament, it was still impressive.

Costa Rica were able to advance to the knockout stages despite a 4-2 defeat to Germany on Thursday, but a late three-goal collapse left them at the bottom of the group. They were close to doing something special, but never really played well.

Canada lost steam after the opening loss to Belgium, a game in which they deserved more. Canada had 22 attempts on goal and should have been able to make their misfiring opponents pay.

The coach's vow to "F Croatia" put unnecessary pressure on his men for the second game, which they lost. Many will argue that he was trying to direct pressure to himself, but the reality is that Croatia's players were pumped up by the remark.

It felt like a kick to the torso of a kid who heckled the much stronger bullies in Group F when Canada lost to Morocco.

The USA are the only remaining team from the region.

The team responded well after the draw with Wales. The USA dominated England in a draw and then defeated Iran in a knockout match.

If Berhalter loosens his style of football, the USMNT can trouble the Netherlands in the next round.

Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, and Germany are also included. That's in order.

How do you start discussing this group? Every team had a chance to sit in the top two. Spain and Germany were leaving within three minutes. Germany fell on goal difference despite a 4-2 win that could have made a difference.

Japan lost to Costa Rica in the group, but came back to beat Spain and Germany. Excellent results all over the place. The group was full of exciting swings and shocks that will be remembered for a long time.

"Thank you!" said neutrals.

Think about this for a second.

Australia was part of a group that included France. In a group of Belgium, Croatia, and Canada, Morocco emerged as the winner. Germany and Costa Rica were beaten by Japan. South Korea scored goals to win the game.

There have been many shocks at the World Cup.

The teams that will face their biggest tests in the round of 16 are the ones that are the lowest ranked in the tournament. Will anyone stand afterwards? Next time we will go through it.