FIFA World Cup 2022: A brief summary.

OPENING CEREMONY

Prior to the tournament's first game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on Sunday, November 20, 2022, the opening ceremony was held at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Along with performances by South Korean musician and BTS member Jungkook and Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi, it featured guest appearances from Morgan Freeman and Ghanim Al-Muftah. The Qur'an was read aloud during the opening ceremony for the first time.

Group Stage

Group A

The group stage games took place from November 20 to December 2, 2022. In Group A, the opening match of the competition was played between Qatar and Ecuador. Enner Valencia scored twice as Ecuador prevailed 2-0 after having an early goal disallowed. The first host nation to drop their inaugural World Cup game was Qatar. Prior to the game's conclusion, many Qataris were seen departing; according to ESPN, two-thirds of the spectators had already left. The Netherlands defeated Senegal 2-0 in the other opening match in group A. In the 84th minute, Cody Gakpo scored the first goal, and in stoppage time, Davy Klaassen added a second. In the third game of the group, Senegal played Qatar. Boulaye Dia took advantage of a mistake by Boualem Khoukhi to give Senegal a 1-0 lead. After Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar's first-ever goal at a World Cup to cut the deficit back to one, Famara Diédhiou added a second goal with a header. In the end, Bamba Dieng's goal in the 84th minute gave Senegal a 3-1 victory. With this outcome, Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from the competition and the first host country to ever be removed from a competition after two games. The Netherlands led Ecuador at the time Gakpo scored his second goal of the competition; however, Valencia equalised in the 49th minute. In order to win the group, the Netherlands defeated Qatar 2-0 thanks to goals from Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong. Qatar earned the distinction of being the first home nation to lose all three group games. To decide who would advance to the second knockout round, Senegal and Ecuador played off. Ismaïla Sarr converted a penalty kick at the conclusion of the first half to give Senegal the lead. Moisés Caicedo equalised in the 67th minute, but Senegal went on to win thanks to a goal from Kalidou Koulibaly shortly after. Senegal was able to advance as the Group A runners-up with the victory.

Group B

England finished off a 6-2 victory over Iran in Group B. A possible concussion forced Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand to leave the match before England scored three goals in the opening period. After Mehdi Taremi's second-half goal, England's Harry Maguire was taken out of the game due to a concussion. Timothy Weah of the United States scored a goal in the first half against Wales, but the game ended in a draw when Gareth Bale won and converted a penalty kick. Iran defeated Wales 2-0 after Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was shown a red card for a foul outside of his area of responsibility. Eight minutes into stoppage time, substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored the game's first goal. Ramin Rezaeian then scored three minutes later. Only four attempts were on goal in the 0-0 draw between England and the United States. After defeating Wales 3-0, England took first place in the group thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford. The United States defeated Iran 1-0 thanks to a goal by Christian Pulisic to advance to the round of 16. 

Group C

Lionel Messi's penalty kick gave Argentina a 1-0 lead over Saudi Arabia in Group C after just ten minutes. However, Saudi Arabia went on to win the game 2-1 in the second half thanks to goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari, a result that was dubbed "shock." Guillermo Ochoa stopped Robert Lewandowski's effort at a penalty kick, resulting in a 0-0 draw in the Mexico vs. Poland game. Four days later, in a 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, Lewandowski netted his first World Cup goal. Messi scored the first goal in Argentina's 2-0 victory over Mexico, while teammate Enzo Fernández added his first goal for Argentina in a foreign competition. Alexis MacAllister and Julián lvarez scored for Argentina in their final match against Poland, giving them the victory and the group title. Mexico defeated Saudi Arabia by a score of 2-0, and after Al-injury-time Dawsari's goal for Saudi Arabia, Argentina only needed a single goal to beat Poland and finish second on the basis of the number of goals scored in all group games. Despite Argentina's two-goal victory, Poland advanced to the round of 16 on goal differential.

Group D

Group D's match between Tunisia and Denmark concluded in a scoreless draw as offside calls disallowed goals for both teams. Christian Eriksen, a Danish midfielder, made his first significant international appearance following a heart episode at the UEFA Euro 2020. Following a goal by Craig Goodwin within the first ten minutes, defending champions France fell behind Australia by one goal. However, France scored four goals by Adrien Rabiot, Kylian Mbappé, and two from Olivier Giroud—to defeat the opposition 4-1. With these goals, Giroud surpassed Thierry Henry to become France's all-time leading scorer. With a single goal by Mitchell Duke, Australia defeated Tunisia. Since 2010, this was their first World Cup victory. France overcame Denmark 2-1 thanks to a brace from Mbappé. This was sufficient for France to advance to the knockout phase, becoming them the first defending champions to advance past the first round since Brazil in 2006. Australia overcame Denmark 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mathew Leckie to go to the knockout round as runners-up. In the 58th minute, Wahbi Khazri scored a goal for Tunisia against France. Even though Antoine Griezmann tied the score in the last seconds, the goal was disallowed for offside. Tunisia needed a draw in the match between Australia and Denmark in order to finish third in the group.

Group E

Germany and Japan were the first two teams in Group E. Ritsu Dan and Takuma Asano each scored a goal in the second half to give Japan a 2-1 surprise victory after Germany's lkay Gündoan converted a penalty kick early in the game. Spain trounced Costa Rica 7-0 in the second group game. Gavi, Carlos Soler, Alvaro Morata, and a second goal by Ferran Torres came after goals by Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, and Ferran Torres in the first half. Since Portugal's identical-score victory over North Korea in the 2010 tournament, this was the biggest defeat in a World Cup. Keysher Fuller scored with Costa Rica's first shot on goal of the competition as they defeated Japan 1-0. Lvaro Morata scored for Spain, and Niclas Füllkrug scored for Germany as they drew 1-1. Spain, who dominated the first half of the encounter against Japan, took the lead on Morata's goal. Prior to a second goal by Kaoru Mitoma being thoroughly scrutinised by VAR for the ball being out of play, Japan had already equalised on Ritsu Doan. The goal was recognised, and Japan went on to win the group 2-1. For Germany against Costa Rica, Serge Gnabry scored after 10 minutes, and they held the lead until halftime. To qualify, Germany needed to win and for Japan to lose their match. Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Vargas scored goals in the second half to give Costa Rica a 2-1 advantage that would have sent them ahead of Spain into the knockout rounds. Germany went on to score three more goals, two of which came from Kai Havertz and one from Niclas Fullkrug, for a final score of 4-2 but not enough to advance to the next round. Spain lost against Japan for the group title.

Group F

The opening round of Group F saw Morocco and Croatia tie 0-0. Thibaut Courtois stopped Canada's penalty kick during the opening period of their game versus Belgium. By Michy Batshuayi scoring the game's only goal, Belgium prevailed. Roberto Martnez, the manager of Belgium, acknowledged after the match that he thought Canada had been the superior squad. Despite Morocco having a long-range direct free kick goal by Hakim Ziyech overruled for an offside on a different player in the lead-up to the goal, Belgium lost 2-0 to Morocco. Zakaria Aboukhlal and Romain Sass each scored twice in the second half to help Morocco win its first World Cup game since 1998. The match triggered riots in Belgium, as people lit fires and shot off rockets. Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first goal in the World Cup to put Canada ahead of Croatia in group stages. Croatia won 4-1 thanks to goals from Marko Livaja, Lovro Majer, and two from Andrej Kramari. Morocco defeated Canada 2-1 to go to the next round after scoring twice early on through Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri. Belgium, the tournament's second-ranked squad, was eliminated after Croatia and Belgium's goalless draw.

Group G

Switzerland overcame Cameroon 1-0 in the opening game of Group G thanks to a goal by Breel Embolo. Richarlison scored twice as Brazil defeated Serbia despite Neymar, their best player, suffering an ankle injury. Jean-Charles Castelletto of Cameroon scored the first goal against Serbia, but they immediately fell behind as Strahinja Pavlovi, Sergej Milinkovi-Savi, and Aleksandar Mitrovi each scored three goals for Serbia just before halftime. However, goals from Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting of Cameroon resulted in a 3-3 tie. Casemiro's goal in the 83rd minute was enough for Brazil to defeat Switzerland and advance to the knockout round. Brazil, which had already advanced to the next round, was defeated 1-0 by Cameroon in their final group match thanks to a goal by Vincent Aboubakar. Cameroon did not make it, as Switzerland defeated Serbia 3-2. He was later dismissed for taking off his shirt to celebrate the goal.

Group H

Uruguay and South Korea played to a scoreless draw in Group H. Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty kick conversion gave Portugal the lead after a scoreless first half between Portugal and Ghana. Ronaldo's strike made him the first person to score in five World Cups. Portugal went ahead 3-1 after goals from Joo Félix and Rafael Leo, but Ghana retaliated with a goal from André Ayew. Osman Bukari scored in the 89th minute to reduce the deficit to one goal. Ten minutes into stoppage time, Iaki Williams had a chance to tie the score for Ghana, but slipped before shooting. Portugal won 3-2 in the game. Mohammed Salisu of Ghana and Mohammed Kudus of South Korea both scored the game's first goals. Cho Gue-sung scored twice for South Korea in the second half to tie the game. In the 68th minute, Mohammed Kudus scored once again to give Ghana the 3-2 victory. Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal overcame Uruguay 2-0 to go to the round of 16. After a suspected handball by José Mara Giménez late in the game, a contentious penalty call was made. After ten minutes, Portugal had South Korea in front thanks to Ricardo Horta. However, South Korea won the game 2-1 thanks to goals from Kim Young-gwon and Hwang Hee-chan. Uruguay defeated Ghana 2-0 thanks to two goals from Giorgian de Arrascaeta. Uruguay needed a goal to advance, though, as South Korea had won, and they came in third on goals scored. After the game, a number of Uruguay players surrounded the referees and followed them off the field.

Knockout Stage (Round of 16)

From December 3 to December 7, the round of 16 was played. The Netherlands, who won Group A, defeated the United States 3-1 with goals from Memphis Depay, Daley Blind, and Denzel Dumfries. Haji Wright scored for the Americans. Argentina took a two-goal lead over Australia thanks to goals from Messi and Julián lvarez, and despite an own goal by Enzo Fernández off of a shot by Craig Goodwin, Argentina prevailed 2-1. Robert Lewandowski scored the lone goal for Poland from a penalty kick as France defeated Poland 3-1 thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé. With goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane, and Bukayo Saka, England defeated Senegal 3-0. In the first half, Daizen Maeda scored for Japan against Croatia before Ivan Perii equalised in the second. With neither team able to claim victory, Croatia defeated Japan 3-1 on penalties. Brazil scored goals by Vincius Jnior, Neymar, Richarlison, and Lucas Paquetá, but the score was cut to 4-1 by a volley from South Korea's Paik Seung-ho. After 90 minutes, the game between Spain and Morocco ended in a scoreless draw, forcing extra time. Both teams were unable to score in extra time, and Morocco ultimately prevailed 3-0 on penalties. A hat-trick by Gonçalo Ramos led Portugal to defeat Switzerland 6–1, with goals from Portugal's Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro and Rafael Leão and from Switzerland's Manuel Akanji.

Quarter finals 

The quarterfinal matches took place on December 9 and 10. 90 minutes of play between Croatia and Brazil concluded in a  0-0 tie, forcing overtime. Brazil's Neymar scored in the fifteenth minute of extra time. Bruno Petkovi, though, gave Croatia a point in the second overtime period. After the score was deadlocked, the match was settled by a penalty shootout, which Croatia won    4-2. Before Wout Weghorst scored twice just before the game's conclusion to tie it up, Argentina's Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi both scored a goal. Argentina prevailed 4-3 in the match after extra time and on penalties. Youssef En-Nesyri scored at the end of the first half to give Morocco a 1-0 victory over Portugal. The first country from Africa and the first from the Arab world to reach the competition's semifinals was Morocco. Harry Kane's penalty kick for England was insufficient to overcome France, who triumphed 2-1 thanks to goals from Aurélien Tchouaméni and Olivier Giroud, propelling them to their second straight World Cup semifinal.

Semifinal

1st SF (13 Dec 2022)

Argentina vs Croatia

2nd SF (14 Dec 2022)

France vs Morocco 

Astronomical Advancements: The Story of the James Webb Telescope

Introduction

Imagine if, one day, you could visit a planet orbiting a distant star. With the James Webb Space Telescope, that might soon be possible.

This powerful telescope is designed to study the first stars and galaxies that formed in the universe, as well as planets around other stars. It's also equipped with a five-layer sunshield that will keep it cold enough to operate in the extreme temperatures of space.

The James Webb Space Telescope has been in development for more than two decades, and its launch is currently scheduled for 2021. In this article, we'll take a closer look at this amazing telescope and its groundbreaking mission.

Introduction to the JW Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, and it's going to be one impressive piece of machinery. Webb will have a 6.5-meter mirror—over 25% wider than Hubble—and will be able to see infrared light up to 13.5 billion years ago, more than 700 million years after the Big Bang.

Webb is also going to be much more powerful than Hubble. It will be able to detect smaller and fainter objects, and will have a field of view that's ten times larger. And unlike Hubble, which was launched into orbit by the space shuttle, Webb will be carried into space on an Ariane 5 rocket.

So what does this all mean for us? Webb will give us a much better understanding of the origins of our universe, including how galaxies form and evolve. It will also help us learn more about the planets orbiting other stars, and could even help us find evidence of life beyond Earth.

Design and Build of the JW Telescope

The James Webb Telescope is an amazing piece of machinery. Designed to replace the Hubble Telescope, the Webb telescope is larger, has a longer lifespan, and is much more powerful. It's also been built with state-of-the-art technology, which means that it's capable of capturing far more data than its predecessor.

The Webb telescope will allow us to see further into space than we ever have before. Not only that, but it will also help us unlock the mysteries of the universe. With its advanced optics and infrared capabilities, the Webb telescope will be able to see things that are invisible to the naked eye.

It's an ambitious project, and it's taken many years of planning and construction to make it a reality. But it's been worth the wait. The James Webb Telescope is going to change the way we look at space, and it's going to help us learn more about our universe than we ever thought possible.

What Makes the JW Telescope Special?

The Webb telescope is special for a number of reasons. For starters, it's the largest and most powerful space telescope ever created. It also has a suite of advanced instruments that will allow scientists to study some of the most distant and mysterious objects in the universe.

But most importantly, the Webb telescope will be able to see infrared light. This is important because infrared light can penetrate clouds of gas and dust that block visible light from reaching us. This means the Webb telescope will be able to see objects that are hidden from view, including the first galaxies that formed in the universe.

The JW Telescopes’ Impact on Astronomical Discoveries

The James Webb Telescope is not just important for the discoveries it will make possible—it’s also important for the way it will make those discoveries.

To date, most astronomical research has been conducted using what’s called “ground-based telescopes.” These are the big ones you might see in pictures, like the Hubble Space Telescope. But ground-based telescopes have some major limitations.

For one thing, they can only observe a small patch of sky at any given time. This means that they can only image a limited number of objects, and that their observations are necessarily less deep and less detailed than what’s possible with a space-based telescope.

But the James Webb Telescope will be different. Its primary mirror is nearly seven times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, and its ability to focus on distant objects will be vastly enhanced by its location above the Earth’s atmosphere.

This combination of factors will allow the James Webb Telescope to image planets and galaxies in unprecedented detail, and to conduct surveys of the sky that are orders of magnitude more comprehensive than anything that has been possible before.

Potential Challenges for the JW Telescope

While the James Webb Telescope is an incredible accomplishment, it's not without its challenges. For one, the telescope is incredibly sensitive to light, which means that it needs to be kept in a dark and cold environment.

This is why the telescope will be located in space, where it can be protected from interference from Earth's atmosphere and sunlight. However, this also means that the telescope will be more difficult to repair if something goes wrong.

Another challenge facing the James Webb Telescope is its size. At 6.5 meters in diameter, the telescope is so large that it can't be launched on a traditional rocket. Instead, it will have to be launched on a specialized rocket called an Ariane 5, which is designed for large payloads.

And finally, the cost of the James Webb Telescope is estimated to be around $9 billion, making it one of the most expensive telescopes ever built. Thankfully, though, most of the funding has already been secured and construction is on track to begin in 2021.

Looking Ahead With the James Webb Telescope

The James Webb Telescope is just the beginning. This incredible instrument will give us insights into the universe that we never could have imagined, and it will pave the way for even more incredible discoveries in the future.

The James Webb Telescope is just one example of the amazing things that can be accomplished when we work together to push the boundaries of science and technology. With each new generation of telescopes, we will be able to see deeper into space and time, unlocking secrets that have been hidden from us for centuries.

So what's next for the James Webb Telescope? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the sky is no longer the limit.

Conclusion

So, what's the big deal about the James Webb telescope? Webb will study every phase in the history of our universe, from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the assembly of galaxies, to the birth of stars and planets. Webb will also study the atmospheres of exoplanets, worlds beyond our own solar system, to see if they could support life.

Webb is an incredible feat of engineering, and it will allow us to explore the universe in a way that has never been possible before. It's an exciting time to be a scientist, and we can't wait to see the amazing discoveries that Webb will make.