World Cup 2022 summary: 1 December 2022

Thousands of fans who thought they were in luck with a pirate stream of the World Cup in Qatar were in fact watching... pixelated replays of FIFA 23 games, cunningly headlined to appear like the real thing.

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122 games and 44 goals for Germany for Thomas Müller

Four World Cups, one of which he was able to take home with him.

Here's some more from Reem on Thomas Müller's international career, which has come to an end tonight. 

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Japan and Spain through, Germany out

Well, well, well. What a night (again), this time in Group E!

Germany and Spain looked to be cruising through but at one point in the second half, both were heading out!

Japan and Spain are the qualifiers, here's how things unfolded.

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Thomas Müller retires from international football

A terrible night for Germany and a sad way for Thomas Müller to end his international career. 

"It was my last game. It's been a pleasure. We had some great experiences together."

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Germany in trouble!

There are some crazy goings-onin Group E...

Spain and Germany took early leads and looked to be cruising...but Japan and Costa Rica have hit back! As things stand, Germany are going out and Spain could join them if Los Ticos score again. 

Remember you can follow the games live:

Japan vs Spain

Costa Rica vs Germany

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Remember those permutations I mentioned? Well, here they are for Group E in glorious detail. 

Who needs to win, who can draw, how many goals do teams need to score, etc? 

It's all in here thanks to Calum. 

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The other clash in Group E sees Costa Rica take on Germany. The Germans' task is clear, they must win at all costs having taken just a point from their first two matches. That will probably be enough to go through, although if Spain and Japan draw it would depend on how many Germany win by and the score in the other game. More on permutations in a moment...

Joe has got live coverage of Costa Rica vs Germany for you right here.

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Group E takes centre stage from this very moment on.

First up, Japan against Spain. We've got live coverageright here on AS USA as the the top two in the group meet. Spain just need a point to go through, a point might be enough for Japan but they'd be better off winning. 

William will be taking you through this one!

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Belgium's surprise elimination has already some serious consequences...or has it?

Roberto Martínez announced in a post-match press conference following the draw against Croatia that he was leaving his post, although seemingly the Red Devils' early exit wasn't the driving factor behind his decision.  

Here's more on that. 

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Morocco through to the World Cup round of 16 for the first time in 36 years

The first - and only- time Morocco had previously made it through to the round of 16 of World Cup was in Mexico in 1986. It's safe to say there'll be plenty of partying going on in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakesh and beyond tonight. 

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It's all over in group F! No goals in the second half despite Belgium's - and Romelu Lukaku's - best efforts. Are they the biggest nation (in terms of their expectations) to have been eliminated? I think so. 

Morocco and Croatia go through to the round of 16. Here's more on how it all unfolded and what's next for them. 

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In case you missed it, Lionel Messi has broken yet another record. One that Diego Maradona held.

But it's OK, El Diego would apparently be happy for Leo to take it, according to the man himself. 

Here's Andy with more. 

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Half-time in World Cup Group E

Group E is 45 minutes (and a bit more) away from coming to a conclusion! And here's how things stand:

- Canada 1-2 Morocco

- Croatia 0-0 Belgium

If nothing changes, Morocco and Belgium are on the way through and Belgium, ranked number two in the World, are going home. 

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Stéphanie Frappart, Neuza Back and Karen Díaz will set another World Cup milestone when they take to the pitch at Al-Bayt stadium this evening. A pioneer in the game, we look at the French match official's career and track record.

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Who is Victor Gomes? And what role did he play in a match-fixing case?

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I think it's crazy we are playing in just over two days. I can't really understand this. It's almost 1 a.m. - tomorrow is Thursday. We could have had more rest. I want to make it clear that it doesn't seem right to me that we have just two and a half days of rest after being first in the group. These conditions aren't great".

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach

There could be several outcomes as Group E reaches its conclusion later today. As it stands, all four of the teams could advance and any of them could also be eliminated. 

We look at all of the possible permutations for Spain, Japan, Costa Rica and Germany.

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After his comments against Argentina team captain Lionel Messi became a trend on social networks, boxer Canelo Alvarez has apologized for his remarks.

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"No one around the world believed that we could perform like this. Yes, in Saudi Arabia we know the players well, but they are unknown to fans around the world. We did our best and we will not forget the work we did together, I am proud to work with the team and the players, but we did not deserve to win today".

Hervé Renard, Saudi Arabia coach

It's make-or-break time for Belgium who could be one of the surprise early casualties at Qatar 2022. Roberto Martínez’s side are third in Group F and need to beat 2018 runners-up Croatia to remain in the tournament. Here's how the siutation looks for them and the other three teams in the group.

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Spain appear to be comfortably-placed at the Group E summit and have looked impressive so far but face a battle for top spot in the final match against direct opponents Japan.

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Argentina are through to the Last 16 after beating Poland 0-2. The Albiceleste were stunned by Saudi Arabia in their group opener but responded with two wins to finish as champions of Group C. Here's a recap of how Messi and Co. did exactly what they needed to do plus all of the post-match reaction. 

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Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino leaves Mexico coaching post

Argentinian manager Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has announced that he has left his position as head coach of the Mexico National Team. The announcement came after El Tri were knocked out of the World Cup 2022 in the group stages, despite a 1-2 win against Saudi Arabia.

The 60 year-old from Rosario took over the side in 2019 but a disappointing World Cup campaign saw them lose to Argentina after a draw with Poland, leaving Mexico with little hope of making it through the group stages for an eighth consecutive time. It is the first time in 44 years that the side have not made it out of the first round.

My contract ended when the referee blew the whistle to end the match and there is nothing more to it”, said the coach after the game. Ever since I arrived here I have worked with complete freedom, with no interference from anyone. I appreciate that from the President and the Sporting Directors.

“I am the one responsible for the disappointment we feel”, the coach added, “We accept the failure we have had at the World Cup. Against Poland we were unable to show the superiority we had against Argentina, we could have faced the second half in our normal style. Tonight, Mexico’s superiority was clear to see.”

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Mexico left it too late and exited Qatar 2022 despite winning their final group game against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night. Goals from Martín and Chávez were not enough for Tata Martino's side, who are on their way home - here's how the action unfolded:

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Hello and welcome to our daily feed at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. A total of eight teams are through to the next round so far and they will be joined by four more on Thursday once the final games in Groups E and F have been played today.

Germany and Belgium have it all to do in the final group game and could be on their way home if results don't go their way. Spain, Japan, Croatia and Morocco are the four teams who are well placed to advance but as we know, anything is possible in football.

Stay with us for all the latest and breaking news from Qatar.

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