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World Cup 2022: Six shocks from the group stages

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Leroy Sane of Germany looks sad following the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Costa Rica and GermanyImage source, Getty Images

The Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar is now officially in the knockout rounds.

The group stages have been full of twists and turns, from shocking underdog comebacks to some of the best teams of the world failing to progress.

Here are six of the biggest shocks of the World Cup so far!

What have been your favourite moments from the tournament? What's been the biggest surprise? Let us know in the comments!

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1. Germany have crashed out!

Image source, Getty Images

In a dramatic night of football Japan knocked Germany out of the World Cup on Thursday, after sealing a surprising 2-1 victory over Spain.

This means Germany have finished third in Group E after being eliminated by goal difference. This is the second World Cup in a row where they've been knocked out in the group stages.

The Germans' 4-2 win against Costa Rica in their final group game was just not enough to secure them a place in the last 16.

It could have been a different story as Japan's winning goal was initially ruled out by officials but the decision was overturned by VAR.

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2. Saudi Arabia's win against Argentina

Image source, Reuters

When Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in their first match, it produced what is likely to go down as one of the most surprising results in World Cup history.

The team were one down in the first half of the match after football star Lionel Messi scored a penalty for his side in the first 10 minutes of the game.

But the green falcons turned it around after half-time, with Saleh Al Shehri scoring the equaliser and Salem Al Dawsari firing another into the back of the net sparking screaming cheers from the stands.

This unexpected win made Saudi Arabia the first non-European team to beat Argentina at the World Cup since Cameroon in 1990.

3. Underdog Japan's comeback wins

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Japan have been named the comeback kings of the Qatar World Cup so far.

They have become the unlikely winners of their group - Group E - after their 2-1 win over Spain.

No one predicted them to win this game and they beat Germany 2-1 too!

They only had 18% of the possession in their game against Spain, but they scored two quick goals in the second half, showing that they are not a team to be underestimated.

4. Favourites Belgium's early elimination

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Belgium are heading home early after their goalless draw against Croatia.

It's the first time the team have been knocked out of the World Cup group stages since 1998.

They finished third in the last World Cup in Russia four years ago and are ranked second in the world, so this is really unexpected.

They have lots of talented players on their team like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku had several chances at goal in the second half, but the striker just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net.

5. Tunisia's victory over France

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Tunisia achieved a shock victory over France, despite failing to qualify for the knockout stages.

France are the reigning World Cup champions after winning the last FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018, so people really didn't predict they would be defeated by Tunisia.

Despite this, the current champions are through to the last 16 and finished top of Group D after beating Australia 4-1 and Denmark 2-1 in their previous matches.

Tunisia won this match by the skin of their teeth as France had an equalising goal ruled out by offside in the final minute of stoppage-time!

Tunisia manager Jalel Kadri said they were happy to beat a team like France.

6. South Korea win against Portugal (and knock out Uruguay in the process)

Image source, Chris Brunskill/Fantasista
Image caption,

Heung-min Son's emotional reaction to their win against Portugal

It was an uphill battle for South Korea, who needed to win against Portugal in order to progress.

At 90 minutes in they were level at 1-1, but Hwang Hee-chan's injury-time strike secured South Korea's progression into the knockouts.

And their win had other consequences, too - despite a 2-0 victory in a dramatic match against Ghana, Uruguay were one goal short of taking the second place spot in the group, meaning they were ultimately knocked out.

The news came through as the final whistle blew, and Luis Suarez could be seen crying on the bench after receiving it.