The FIFA World Cup 2022 has seen some shocking underdog victories where weaker teams have triumphed over much stronger teams and even former champions. Earlier in the tournament, we have already witnessed Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and Japan defeated four-times world champs Germany in some of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Yet another major upset and perhaps the biggest of the tournament so far came in Match 38 of FIFA 2022, where Tunisia shockingly triumphed over France with a 1-0 victory at the Education City Stadium, handing the defending champions their first loss of this tournament.
It was Wahbi Khazri’s solitary goal in the 58th-minute that gave Tunisia their biggest and most memorable victory of their Football history over the World Cup holders France. However, the shock victory was not enough to push Tunisia through to the Round of 16, while the defending champions have already qualified for the same. The loss didn’t hamper France’s run in the tournament, but it still is a major blow to them.
Khazri’s winner amid a cluster of defenders did give his team only their third victory in six World Cup, but they could not qualify for the top 16, as simultaneously in the other group match, Australia beat Denmark 1-0. Had Denmark beat the Aussies, Tunisia might still have made it to the knockouts.
Match 38 of the tournament saw a lot of drama on the field as first Tunisia took a surprise 1-0 lead over the champs in the 58th minute, courtesy a goal by Khazri. France retaliated with a flurry of attacks on the Tunisian goal and eventually did manage to score the equalizer playing into 13 minutes of extra time. Antoine Griezermann scored a stunning volley from a French Free-kick that curled into the box in the 98th minute.
The match went under way with 5 minutes of play remaining. 2 minutes after the goal was scored, tragedy struck the defending champions as the goal by Griezermann was ruled out as an offside after a thorough VAR check while the match was under play. The decision sparked huge protests on the field by the French players and their manager as VAR interventions cannot be made after play has restarted as stated in the IFAB laws.
Amidst all the mess up and confusion, the goal was disallowed and the match eventually ended with Tunisia leading 1-0 at the referee’s whistle. France have been left incensed by the decision and are set to complain to FIFA over the disallowance of the Griezmann goal that changed the outcome of the match.
Nonetheless, regardless of the conclusion of the match, France still see themselves qualified for the Top, sitting on top of Group D with Australiaalso qualifying after beating Denmark taking the second spot with six points. Meanwhile Tunisia and Denmark have crashed out of the tournament, finishing third and fourth respectively in the Group D standings.
Halfway through the competition, the excitement around the finals is increasing as some teams are eliminated and others advance to the Top 16. Simply remain tuned to 90agency for all of the most recent news and post-match updates for FIFA 2022.