MIAMI, Florida – The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has come to a close in what was a tournament to remember in many ways for the Concacaf participants.
Here are the top five Concacaf moments from Qatar 2022.
Canada achieve major World Cup milestone with Davies header
Heading into the tournament, Canada were on the hunt for their first ever Senior Men’s World Cup goal. After a slew of narrow misses in their opening match of Group F against Belgium, Canada would find that historic score just 62 seconds into their second match with Croatia.
Winger Tajon Buchanan served up an inch-perfect cross from the right wing that met the soaring Alphonso Davies, who smacked a header into net to give Canada their first ever Senior Men’s World Cup goal. It was also the fastest goal scored throughout the entire tournament at Qatar 2022.
Concacaf referees shine bright on World Cup stage
One of the legacies of this World Cup will be the mark left by Concacaf’s team of referees. History was made when Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico was part of a crew for the Germany-Costa Rica match in Group E, with Diaz serving as an Assistant Referee on the first ever all-female refereeing trio to take charge of a Senior Men’s World Cup match.
Diaz was one of six women referees at the World Cup, along with Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States, who worked as one of the Assistant Video Assistant Referees in the Germany-Costa Rica contests. Nesbitt was designated as the Offside VAR.
Cesar Arturo Ramos of Mexico became just the third Concacaf referee to ever officiate a World Cup semifinal, as he was on the whistle for France’s 2-0 triumph over Morocco. Ramos also led all Concacaf referees as the most games as a Head Referee, officiating seven matches at Qatar 2022.
Concacaf referee also had a strong presence in Sunday’s Final between France and Argentina. Ismail Elfath of the United States worked as the Fourth Official, while Nesbitt was selected as the Reserve Assistant Referee. Fernando Guerrero of Mexico and Kyle Atkins of the U.S. served as Assistant Video Assistant Referees, while Corey Parker of the U.S. was the Stand-By Assistant Video Assistant Referee.
Stephanie Frappart, Neuza Back and Karen Diaz made history at #Qatar2022 👏 pic.twitter.com/Fk5I4odyhp
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 2, 2022
Costa Rica show fighting spirit in resilient win vs. Japan
After an opening loss to Spain in Group E, Costa Rica were able to dig deep and bounce back in resilient fashion with a 1-0 victory against eventual group winners Japan.
The two sides were locked in a defensive duel for most of the match, but a late surge from the Ticos saw Yeltsin Tejeda feed a pass into Fuller, whose curling effort tipped off the fingertips of Japan GK Shuichi Gonda and rippled the back of the net for a 1-0 Costa Rica lead.
Costa Rica were able to hold on the rest of the way and nail down a dramatic three points to snap the team’s seven-math winless skid in World Cup play and also improve Costa Rica’s all-time World Cup record versus opponents from the Asian Football Confederation to 2W-0D-0L.
Mexico's Chavez shakes up Qatar 2022 with wonder-blast
There were many great goals scored at Qatar 2022, including the wonder-blast that came off the foot of Mexico’s Luis Chavez against Saudi Arabia. Ahead 1-0 in the second half of their Group C finale, Mexico were on the hunt for more goals and a golden opportunity was presented when a foul was whistled about 10 yards outside the Saudi Arabia penalty area.
Chavez stepped up to take the free kick and delivered a left-footed rocket that brought all the Mexico fans to their feet. The effort from the Pachuca man was unstoppable, as it sizzled through their air and went screaming into the top right corner of net at a stunning 121.6km/h, making it the most powerful shot at Qatar 2022.
Pulisic soars to U.S. rescue with dramatic winner over Iran
With two points from their first two matches, it was imperative for the U.S. to obtain a victory in their Group B finale against Iran in order to reach the knockout stage. In recent years, Christian Pulisic has emerged as the hero on so many occasions for the U.S., and that was once again the case at Qatar 2022.
Midway through the first half and the score locked at 0-0, Pulisic made a surging run deep into the Iran area to meet a cross from Sergino Dest and steer home a shot from just a few yards out to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. It turned out to be the game’s lone goal and was enough to send the U.S. to the Round of 16 for the third consecutive in which they have appeared in a Senior Men’s World Cup.
Pulisic would finish the tournament with a goal and two assists.
