Definitive instances for the teams that have not yet been able to secure their passage to the round of 16 in the World Cup in Qatar are what the 9th date presents us.

We start with the first two groups A and B, which face each other at the same time to avoid having sporting advantages.

The team coached by Gustavo Alfaro lost 2 to 1 against the African team and was left out of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.  

 

It was not to be for Ecuador. La Tri, which needed only one point to qualify for the round of 16 of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, was immersed in confusion and a good approach of Senegal, which beat them 2-1, condemned them to the elimination of the international tournament and took second place in Group A.

Unlike in previous matches, Gustavo Alfaro's team showed mistakes in defense, which was their strong point during the tournament. And this was the result of a nervousness when they took the field, knowing that they needed just a draw at the Khalifa International Stadium to advance to the next round.

Given the South Americans' hesitant stance, the Lions of Teranga saw an opportunity to take the initiative and so they did, also because of the momentum generated by the need to win in order to advance to the next round.

Only three minutes into the game, the Africans seriously threatened Hernan Galindez's goal: Idrissa Gueye tried a shot that went just wide of the goalkeeper's left post. Shortly after, Boulaye Dia got into the penalty area and sent a low shot inches wide of the right post.

After these chances, the Ecuadorian team tried to settle, although it was costly, as they had difficulties to reach the last meters with clarity. Enner Valencia only had one close call, but Edouard Mendy was not in much danger.

Despite this attempt to find the direction of the match, La Tri continued to allow their opponents to get close, a lethal one in the 42nd minute. After a diagonal run by Ismaila Sarr, Piero Hincapié brought him down on the left side of the box and earned a penalty, which the Watford striker himself converted.

This was a blow for Alfaro's team, from which they had no time to react at halftime, after a first half far from their best image as they showed on Friday, in the draw with the Netherlands. In fact, Ecuador suffered ten attempted shots from their opponents, against two of their own. In terms of possession, they struggled to get hold of it, with 52.9%.

Towards the second half, La Tri was forced to improve and did just that. From the start of the second half, they took possession of the ball and set up a forward position in order to corner Aliou Cissé's team, who also decided to set up a defensive block and, of course, look for an equalizer.

After warnings from Michael Estrada and Félix Torres, the Ecuadorians' search for an equalizer bore fruit, with the dead ball as the key. In the 68th minute, after a corner kick from the right, Torres headed the ball to the near post and Moisés Caicedo, unmarked at the far post, pushed the ball into the net.

More than a goal, it was more than enough for the South American team, which could only enjoy for two minutes. Valencia left the ball alive in the box after a free kick on the right, and Kalidou Koulibaly, with space on the right, shot across goal to Galindez's right with his first-time shot.

The Ecuadorian team could have been condemned after a dangerous shot by Dia, minutes after the second goal. Even so, the Ecuadorian reaction was null in the final stretch of the match, beyond its wide possession, something that also allowed the Africans, with their lines together in their field.

Thus, Ecuador could not achieve the historic goal and said goodbye to its World Cup dream. Meanwhile, Senegal was able to achieve the feat and now they will have to find out their opponent in the knockout stage, which they will play for the second time, after the precedent in South Korea-Japan 2022, edition in which they reached the quarterfinals.

The Netherlands defeated Qatar by the smallest of margins to advance to the round of 16.

The Netherlands made it out of the group stage at the Qatar 2022 World Cup and set a unique record at the national team level. The Oranje are the only team to reach the group stage nine times in nine attempts.

The Netherlands have an unblemished record in the first round of World Cups. Not only are they the only team to have made it through the group stage in all their attempts, but they also have the second-longest unbeaten record in the group stage.

The Netherlands have now gone 16 matches without defeat in the group stage. Their last defeat in the group stage came 28 years ago. It was at USA 1994 against Belgium by 1-0. On that occasion they overcame Saudi Arabia and Morocco before and after that match and became leaders on goal difference due to the equality of points with the Belgians and Arabs.

They are unbeaten in this instance with 12 wins and 4 draws so far. Only Brazil has surpassed this record with 17 matches and one game left to play in the current edition. The Canarinha's unbeaten streak dates back to 2002.

In addition, in five of the nine matches mentioned above, the Canarinha have topped their group. It did so in Germany 1974, USA 1994, France 1998, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014. In Argentina 1978 and Germany 2006 they finished second and in 1990 they finished as one of the best third-placed teams after losing second place to Ireland in the draw.

In total there were 11 participations in World Cups. It is worth mentioning that in the first two of them (1934 and 1938), they did not make it past the first round. In any case, at that time it started from the round of 16.

USA defeated Iran with just enough to get into the Round of 16

The United States defeated Iran 1-0 in the last match of Group B to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. With a goal by Christian Pulisic, the U.S. team finished second in its group and will face the Netherlands in the next round.

For its part, the Iranian team dreamed of qualifying after its last victory over Wales, which placed it in second place in the group. However, they did not show it in the game, as they were widely outplayed by the Americans for a large part of the match.

Gregg Berhalter's team had an offensive approach at the beginning of the game, with many runs up the flanks to take advantage of the speed of Timothy Weah, who was becoming one of the high points of the game.

In the 38th minute, after having had other chances, a good ball into the area by Yunus Musah was left to Sergiño Dest to put a cross to the middle that Pulisic connected and made it 1-0 for his team. Immediately, the 10 immediately set off alarm bells for a knee injury he received in the action of the goal, but continued in the match.

In the second half, the United States put the brakes on their attack and, at times, gave the impression that they were content with the 1-0 lead, which made it difficult for them. Around the 63rd minute, Saman Ghoddos had a great chance to equalize. The Iranian player received a pass on the penalty spot and tried to shoot at goalkeeper Turner's left corner, but it went wide.

In one of the few attacks by the North American team, Musah's free kick in the 68th minute was too high and wide. Thus, the United States gave Iran more life.

Carlos Queiroz moved the team with changes in the last 20 minutes. He put more players in attack and formed a line with three defenders, seeing that his rival had stopped attacking considerably. However, the fatigue of his players was noticeable and there were not enough ideas.

The United States were given a real scare in one of the last few minutes. In stoppage time, from a free kick, Iranian center back Pouraliganji's fierce header flew inches wide of Turner's goal. 

At the end of the match, after the Asians appealed for a penalty that was not awarded, the Americans tried to keep control of the ball as time went by and thus maintain the victory that, in the end, gave them a place in the Round of 16 of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Berhalter's side finished second in Group B with five points thanks to one win and two draws. Iran came close, but failed to earn their long-awaited draw for qualification.

England finished first in the group and comfortably advanced from the group stage.

The England national team is looking forward to making its mark at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. On Tuesday, they finished undefeated and leaders of Group B, after defeating Wales by a landslide (3-0). Thus, they will face Ghana in the round of 16.

The team coached by Gareth Southgate started the World Cup by giving a real blow on the table, after beating Iran 6-2, which in the last matchday lost to the United States, the other qualified team of the group.

It was precisely against the North Americans that England left its first doubts. After the first matchday goal, they were unable to face Gregg Berhalter's team and ended up dropping points with a scoreless draw.

However, Southgate made his move to face Wales and sent Marcus Rashford and Philip Foden from the start. The former scored a brace, while the Manchester City midfielder completed the scoring.

Thus, according to Opta data, England finished top of its World Cup group for the first time since 2006, when it was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the hands of Portugal.

In addition, the British, with nine goals, made history in the Qatar 2022 World Cup by scoring the most goals in their history in the group stage of an international tournament (World Cup and Euro).

Source: FIFA.