Morocco’s capital, Rabat, is more than 7,000km from Doha but that hasn’t stopped the Atlas Lions from settling in. “We feel that we are home,” their coach, Walid Regragui, said after their battling point against Croatia on Wednesday. “And I am happy to be in Qatar. The Moroccan and Arab fans in the stands supported us and gave us strength when we felt tired.”
It was a similar story 24 hours earlier after Tunisia also secured a 0-0 draw in their opening game against Denmark in front of a packed crowd dominated by their supporters. “The fan factor was very positive for us,” said their coach, Jalel Kadri. “It mentally gave us a great lift and we are looking forward to seeing the fans continue to do that for us.”
Saudi Arabia, of course, had led the way in a historic victory against Argentina greeted by jubilant scenes in the stands and beyond. “The number of fans was large, but I hope it will be even larger,” said manager Hervé Renard of Saturday’s meeting with Poland.
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Of all the trends in the first round of matches at the 2022 World Cup, the excellent start made by the Arab nations – Qatar aside – was the most eyecatching. Roared on by passionate supporters and playing in conditions many of the players are accustomed to, there has been a marked improvement in results in comparison with previous World Cups, especially Russia 2018. Saudi Arabia’s 5-0 thrashing by the hosts in the opening match there set the tone, with Tunisia and Morocco losing to England and Iran respectively and failing to make it through the group stages.
Whereas Renard can perhaps feel confident of matching Saudi Arabia’s best World Cup performance, when they reached the last 16 in 1994, Regragui’s and Kadri’s sides still have it all to do after their stalemates – two of a record four 0-0 draws in the first round of matches.
At this rate, Qatar 2022 is on course to surpass the all-time high of seven goalless draws, which has occurred in four previous tournaments: 1982, 2006, 2010 and 2014. By contrast, none of the first 16 matches at Russia 2018 produced a goalless draw, with only one occurring during the tournament.
That doesn’t mean it’s been a boring World Cup by any means – there were 41 goals in the first round of matches at an average of 2.56 a game compared with 38 four years ago. Twenty-five of the goals in Qatar came in four matches.
Deciphering trends at a World Cup can be confusing. How have the first 16 games in Qatar yielded no own goals when there were four in 2018 at the same stage, for example? The all-time high of nine own goals in Russia looks unlikely to be surpassed.
The absence of red cards during the first round of group matches in Qatar was the first time that no player has been dismissed since 1986, perhaps surprising given the introduction of VAR. Unfortunately for Wales’s Wayne Hennessey, that clean sheet didn’t last long. Meanwhile, there must be some explanation for why there were no goals from direct free kicks during the first round of matches.
It’s fair to say some trends are more predictable, such as Uruguay’s formidable defensive record at the World Cup. They have gone 465 minutes without conceding a goal in the group stages, since Wayne Rooney’s equaliser for England 15 minutes from time in São Paulo in 2014. Uruguay’s opening match with South Korea featured one shot on target, the lowest since 1986 when Denmark and Scotland registered one shot in their match.
Elsewhere, André Ayew’s goal for Ghana against Portugal finally ended Africa’s long wait for a goal in the first round of matches and Japan bucked a trend by recording their first comeback victory at the World Cup, against Germany at the ninth attempt, with the winning goalscorer, Takuma Asano, saying they had been inspired by Saudi Arabia’s success. “We watched the Saudi game and thought we can do it – then we just did it today,” he said.