2022 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

The knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. Played from 3 to 18 December, the knockout stage ended with the final, held at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. There were 16 matches in the knockout stage, including a third place play-off played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.

Format
The knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup was contested between 16 teams that qualified from the group stage. Matches in the knockout stage were played to a finish. If the score of a match was level at the end of 90 minutes of playing time, extra time was played. If, after two periods of 15 minutes, the scores were still tied, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. All times listed are local in Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3).

Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage.

Bracket
The tournament bracket is shown below, with bold denoting the winners of each match.



Netherlands vs United States
The teams had previously met five times, with the Netherlands winning the first four encounters. They most recently met in a June 2015 friendly, with the United States winning 4–3.

Early on in the contest, Christian Pulisic was sent through on goal for the United States but saw his shot saved by the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Andries Noppert. The Netherlands then went in front in the 10th minute, when Memphis Depay received a ball from the right from Denzel Dumfries and finished into the left corner of the net after a sequence of passes. In added time in the first half, Daley Blind made it 2–0 for the Dutch with another low finish, receiving the ball on the right from Dumfries for his second assist of the game. In the 76th minute, the United States pulled a goal back when Haji Wright finished with a deflection from Christian Pulisic's looped cross at the far post. Dumfries sealed the win with a third goal for the Netherlands five minutes later, adding to his two assists with a side-footed finish at the far post from Blind's cross.



Argentina vs Australia
The teams had previously met seven times, with Argentina winning five, drawing one, and losing one of these encounters. The sides notably met in the 1994 FIFA World Cup inter-confederation play-off, which Argentina won 2–1 on aggregate. They also faced off in Argentina's 4–2 win at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. Their most recent meeting was in a September 2007 friendly, with Argentina winning 1–0.

On his 1,000th career appearance, Lionel Messi scored his 789th career goal and first in a World Cup knockout stage, giving Argentina the lead in the 35th minute with a low left-footed finish into the left corner. Julián Álvarez made it 2–0 in the 57th minute when he pounced on an error by Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan to finish low to the net past the stranded goalkeeper. Australia pulled a goal back in the 77th minute when Craig Goodwin's strike took a huge deflection off Enzo Fernández and ended up in the right corner of the net. Australia had chances to level the match, first when Aziz Behich dribbled past four players before his shot was blocked by Lisandro Martínez, then in added time when Garang Kuol had a shot saved at close range by Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. Argentina also spurned several opportunities to add to their advantage, with substitute Lautaro Martínez guilty of squandering multiple chances.



France vs Poland
The teams had met sixteen times prior to this match, with France winning eight and Poland winning three of these encounters, along with five draws. Poland's three victories included the 1982 World Cup third-place play-off, which they won 3–2. The sides most recently met in a friendly in June 2011, won by France 1–0.

After Olivier Giroud missed a chance for France in front of goal off a cross from Ousmane Dembélé, Poland nearly opened the scoring later in the first half when Piotr Zieliński saw two close-range shots blocked in quick succession. In the 44th minute, Giroud received a pass from Kylian Mbappé before firing low to the right corner of the net to put France into the lead, in the process also breaking the all-time French scoring record with his 52nd goal for the nation. Mbappé made it 2–0 in the 74th minute, when he received the ball on the left just inside the penalty area before firing powerfully into the top left corner of the net. Mbappé got his second of the game in the first minute of added time with a right-footed curling finish past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. In the final minute of the match, Robert Lewandowski pulled a goal back for Poland to make it 3–1 with a penalty low to the left corner, awarded after a handball by Dayot Upamecano; goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saved Lewandowski's initial attempt, but it was retaken after Lloris was deemed to have left his goal line too early.



England vs Senegal
This was the first ever meeting between the sides. It was also the first time England faced an African opposition in the World Cup knockout stage since a 1990 quarter-final win over Cameroon.

After a tight opening period where Senegal's Boulaye Dia saw his strike saved by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, England went in front in the 38th minute, when Jordan Henderson scored low into the net from twelve yards off of a pass from Jude Bellingham on the left. In added time in the first half, reigning World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane made it 2–0 with his first goal of the tournament, firing into the net from the right after a pass from Phil Foden. In the 57th minute, Foden crossed from the left for Bukayo Saka to make it 3–0 with a clipped left-footed finish over Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy.



Japan vs Croatia
The teams had previously met three times, with a draw and a win for each side. Two of these encounters were in World Cup group stages: Croatia won 1–0 in 1998, and the teams drew 0–0 in 2006. The latter draw was the most recent encounter between the two.

In the 43rd minute, Daizen Maeda scored the opener for Japan with a low finish in the penalty area, after the ball was knocked back to him from the left. Ten minutes into the second half, Ivan Perišić equalised when he headed powerfully to the right corner of the net after a cross from Dejan Lovren on the right. The match saw no further goals scored either in the ninety minutes or during extra time and thus went to a penalty shoot-out. Japan missed three of their four penalties, with all three saved by goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. After Marko Livaja's effort struck the post, Mario Pašalić scored the winning spot kick with a low shot to the left, as Croatia won the shoot-out 3–1. Livaković became the third goalkeeper to make three saves in a World Cup shoot-out, after Ricardo for Portugal in 2006 and his fellow countryman Danijel Subašić in 2018.



Brazil vs South Korea
The teams had previously met seven times, with Brazil winning six and South Korea winning one of these encounters. The most recent meeting was in June 2022, a 5–1 friendly win for Brazil.

Vinícius Júnior opened the scoring for Brazil in the 7th minute, when he converted a side-footed shot to the right of the net past three Korean defenders on the line. Brazil were awarded a penalty six minutes later when Richarlison was fouled just inside the penalty area, which the returning Neymar scored with a low shot to the right corner of the goalkeeper, who didn't move. Richarlison made it 3–0 in the 29th minute when he controlled the ball with his head before receiving the ball back from Thiago Silva and passing into the left corner of the net. Lucas Paquetá got Brazil's fourth goal before half-time in the 36th minute, volleying low into the left corner of the net with his right foot after a cross from Vinícius Júnior on the left. In the second half, South Korea pulled a goal back when Paik Seung-ho finished into the right of the net from thirty yards out. With ten minutes left and leading by three goals, Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson was substituted for third-choice keeper Weverton, making Brazil the first team to ever use 26 different players play time in one World Cup.

The match was the last held at the Stadium 974 before its demolition.



Morocco vs Spain
The teams had met in three previous international matches, with two wins for Spain and one draw. Spain won both legs of the 1962 World Cup inter-continental play-off, while the sides' most recent meeting was a 2–2 draw in the 2018 World Cup group stage.

After a goalless 120 minutes that were dominated in possession by Spain but saw few chances created, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Spain failed to convert any of their three attempts, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saving two of them from Sergio Busquets and Carlos Soler, and Pablo Sarabia hitting the post, whilst Morocco scored three out of four, including the winning penalty from Achraf Hakimi via a panenka kick in the middle of the goal, seeing Morocco progress to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in history.

Morocco also became the first Arab country to reach the quarter-finals, and just the fourth African nation – after Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010 – to qualify for the last eight. Additionally, Morocco manager Walid Regragui became the first African and first Arab head coach to progress this far at a World Cup. Spain became just the second team to fail to convert a single attempt in a World Cup penalty shoot-out, after Switzerland lost to Ukraine in 2006 by exactly the same scoreline at the very same phase.



Portugal vs Switzerland
The teams had met 25 times, with nine wins for Portugal, eleven wins for Switzerland, and five draws. The sides faced off in several editions of World Cup qualification, including 1938, 1970, 1990, 1994, and 2018. Their most recent meeting was in June 2022, with Switzerland winning 1–0 in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the starting line-up for Portugal – a first in major tournaments since their UEFA Euro 2008 group stage defeat, also against Switzerland – with Gonçalo Ramos named instead to make his first start.

After Portugal took a 2–0 first-half lead via goals from Ramos and Pepe, Ramos would score a further two efforts – either side of goals by Raphaël Guerreiro (assisted by Ramos) and Swiss defender Manuel Akanji – in the second half to become the first hat-trick scorer of the 2022 World Cup, the first player to score a hat-trick on their debut World Cup start since Miroslav Klose in 2002, and the youngest World Cup hat-trick scorer since Flórián Albert in 1962. A late long-range strike from substitute Rafael Leão concluded a 6–1 Portuguese victory as they reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2006.

The result equalled Switzerland's 5–0 defeat to West Germany in 1966 as their biggest ever World Cup loss. In getting Portugal's second goal, Pepe became the oldest player to ever score in the World Cup knockout stage, and the second-oldest to have scored at any stage of the World Cup, behind only Roger Milla, who scored the consolation goal in Cameroon's thumping by the opposite scoreline in the 1994 group stage against Russia.

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Croatia vs Brazil
The teams had met on four previous occasions, with three wins for Brazil and one draw. Two of these encounters took place in the World Cup group stage, with Brazil winning both matches: 1–0 in 2006 and 3–1 in 2014 (Brazil was hosting the World Cup at the time, with the victory being the opening match of that tournament).

Brazil created the majority of the game's chances, forcing Croatian keeper Dominik Livaković into eleven saves, the most in a single match at the tournament. Early in the second half, a handball in the Croatian penalty area by Croatian defender Josip Juranović was dismissed by the referee after being deemed accidental. Following a scoreless ninety minutes, Neymar finally claimed the opener just before half-time of extra time with his 77th international goal, bringing him level with Péle as the nation's all-time top scorer; after receiving the ball back from Lucas Paquetá, Neymar rounded Livaković and shot high into the net from the right side of the penalty area. A defensive lapse then cost Brazil their lead, as Bruno Petković equalised for Croatia three minutes from the end; after picking out Mislav Oršić's cross on the left flank, he fired a shot into the corner of the net that took a deflection off the leg of Brazilian defender Marquinhos. This would be Croatia's only shot on target of the game. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Croatia scored all four of their attempts, while Brazil's first kicker Rodrygo had his shot saved by Livaković diving to his left, before Marquinhos hit his penalty low against the left post to confirm Brazil's elimination.

Croatia qualified for their second successive World Cup semi-finals and their third ever, while Brazil exited the tournament at the hands of a European team for the fifth consecutive edition; their 2002 World Cup final triumph against Germany remained their last knockout stage win against European opposition. In the same period, Brazil was eliminated at the quarter-final stage in all four World Cup tournaments they played away from home, excluding a fourth-place finish at the 2014 tournament which they hosted. <section begin=QF1 /><section end=QF1 />

Netherlands vs Argentina
This was the tenth meeting between the teams, continuing a historic rivalry among the two nations. The Netherlands had won four of the previous nine encounters, Argentina had won one, and the remaining four matches were draws. The sides had faced off five previous times in World Cup matches; a 4–0 win for the Dutch in the second group stage in 1974 was replied to with a 3–1 Argentine victory in the 1978 final. The Netherlands then won 2–1 in the 1998 quarter-finals, prior to goalless draws in the 2006 group stage and the 2014 semi-finals, with the Argentines winning the latter tie 4–2 on penalties.

Nahuel Molina opened the score for Argentina after 35 minutes, when he received a through ball in traffic from Lionel Messi and flicked it low past advancing goalkeeper Andries Noppert. In the 73rd minute, after Marcos Acuña had been fouled in the penalty area by Denzel Dumfries, Messi scored the resulting penalty to the right of the net to double Argentina's advantage. After being subbed on by the Netherlands in the 78th minute, Wout Weghorst pulled a goal back just five minutes later, converting a downward header via a cross on the right from Steven Berghuis. He then scored an equaliser in the eleventh minute of added time, when a late Dutch free kick on the edge of Argentina's penalty area was played by Teun Koopmeiners directly to Weghorst as he stood in a decoy wall, sending the match to extra time. Argentina controlled the majority of the thirty-minute period, which saw Enzo Fernández strike the post in its dying moments, but the sides could ultimately not be separated and thus entered a penalty shoot-out, just as they had in 2014.

In the shoot-out, Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez saved both of the Netherlands' first two attempts from Virgil van Dijk and Berghuis, as Argentina scored twice to earn a 2–0 advantage. After Fernández missed the chance to send his side through with their fourth penalty, Lautaro Martínez scored Argentina's subsequent spot kick to end the shoot-out 4–3 in their favour and progress to the semi-finals.

There were a number of contested incidents between the sides both during and after the match that garnered much discussion. Players clashed on multiple occasions across the contest, during both regulation and the subsequent shoot-out. Messi was also involved in confrontations with Dutch manager Louis van Gaal and an unwanted encounter with Weghorst during his post-match interview.

In total, the match saw a total of eighteen yellow cards brandished, breaking the World Cup record of sixteen that was set in another Dutch knockout defeat, their infamous round of 16 game against Portugal in 2006. Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz received criticism for his failure to control the match, with many fans and media outlets considering his yellow cards to be too lenient for some instances that could have seen players sent off, while other incidents were ignored altogether. The amount of yellows issued by Mateu Lahoz was also criticised.

Because of these events, the match has been referred to as the "Battle of Lusail", in reference to the aforementioned 2006 contest between Portugal and the Netherlands that had been dubbed "The Battle of Nuremberg".

The match was also marred by the controversial death of American sportswriter Grant Wahl after he collapsed near the end of the match while watching in the press box. <section begin=QF2 /><section end=QF2 /> <section begin=Line-ups QF2 />

Morocco vs Portugal
The teams had met twice before, both during the World Cup group stage, with both sides winning one match: Morocco won 3–1 in 1986, while Portugal prevailed 1–0 in 2018.

In the first half, Youssef En-Nesyri would put Morocco in front after 42 minutes when he jumped highest from a Yahia Attiyat Allah cross to head past advancing goalkeeper Diogo Costa and into the empty net, followed by Bruno Fernandes' attempted equaliser just before half-time striking the bar from long range. Portugal subbed on Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half, which saw him equal the record of 196 international caps set by Bader Al-Mutawa. Despite late Portuguese chances from João Félix, Ronaldo and Pepe, and the dismissal of Moroccan defender Walid Cheddira following two yellow cards in quick succession, Morocco would hold on to win 1–0.

With their victory, Morocco became both the first African and first Arab country to reach the World Cup semi-finals, as well as the second Muslim-majority country after Turkey in 2002 to qualify for the last four. This was also the first time a nation not located in Europe and South America reached this stage since South Korea did so, also in 2002.

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England vs France
The teams had previously met 31 times, with 17 wins for England, nine wins for France and five draws. Two of these meetings took place during the World Cup, with England winning on both occasions: they defeated France 2–0 in the 1966 group stage and 3–1 in the 1982 first group stage. The sides most recently met in a friendly in June 2017, with France winning 3–2.

Aurélien Tchouaméni opened the scoring for France in the 17th minute, with a shot from outside the penalty area to the left corner which beat England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford diving down to his right. Several pundits questioned the goal because England's Bukayo Saka had been brought to the ground, allowing France to win possession, in the build-up to the opener. Some claimed it was a clear foul, while others, including British journalists, thought the contact was not clear enough for the VAR to overturn the on-pitch decision. Early in the second half, England were awarded a penalty after Tchouaméni fouled Saka inside the area. Harry Kane scored from the spot against his club teammate Hugo Lloris, shooting to the left, which put Kane level with Wayne Rooney as England's all-time top scorer at 53 goals. Just moments after seeing his volley saved by Pickford, Olivier Giroud, who himself entered the match as France's all-time top scorer, also scored his 53rd international goal twelve minutes from time, with a header to the left of the net after a cross from Antoine Griezmann. In the 84th minute, the VAR awarded England a second penalty after English substitute Mason Mount was seen being pushed over in the area by Théo Hernandez. Kane again took the spot kick but this time shot over the bar, as France held on to win 2–1 and progress to the last four, while England were eliminated in the World Cup quarter-finals for a record seventh time.

France became the first reigning world champions to reach the World Cup semi-finals since Brazil in 1998, whom France would beat in that year's final. France's passage to the semi-finals along with Croatia's, the side they defeated in the 2018 final, marked the first time that both teams from a World Cup final reached the last four of the subsequent tournament since Argentina and West Germany in 1990.

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Argentina vs Croatia
The teams had met five times before, each side winning twice and drawing once. Two of these matches took place in the World Cup group stage: a 1–0 win for Argentina in 1998 was followed by Croatia's 3–0 victory in 2018.

Both sides kept a cautious approach in the match's opening half hour, until Croatian defenders Dejan Lovren and Joško Gvardiol mistakenly let Julián Álvarez pass through the defence in the 32nd minute, leading to goalkeeper Dominik Livaković colliding with Álvarez. Referee Daniele Orsato booked Livaković and awarded a penalty kick to Argentina, which Lionel Messi converted high into the top right corner of the goal. The collision also sparked a feud between Orsato and some Croatia players, causing Mateo Kovačić to be booked and the sending off of assistant coach Mario Mandžukić. In the 39th minute, Álvarez ran through several Croatian defenders and scored Argentina's second goal. In the second half of the match, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić substituted off five players, including team captain Luka Modrić, in order to boost the attacking ability of the team, but this didn't stop Messi and Álvarez from providing another goal for the Argentinians; in the 69th minute, Messi twisted past Gvardiol on the byline before teeing the ball up to Álvarez in the center, enabling Álvarez to score his second goal. The match ended in a 3–0 victory for Argentina, a reversal of the scoreline from their 2018 encounter.

Messi's goal from the penalty spot was his eleventh at a World Cup, taking him ahead of Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's most prolific goalscorer in the competition. Messi also drew level with former German midfielder Lothar Matthäus's record of 25 matches played in World Cup finals.

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France vs Morocco
The teams had previously met seven times, with France winning five matches and the other two being draws. Their most recent encounter was a friendly in 2007, ending in a 2–2 stalemate. This was the first World Cup meeting between the sides. The match marked the first ever World Cup semi-final featuring either an African or Arab country, and just the third time that a team from a confederation outside Europe and South America played at this stage, after the United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002.

Théo Hernandez would give France an early lead in the fifth minute, netting an acrobatic volley from a tight angle on the left after Kylian Mbappé's shot was diverted into his path. Hernandez's goal, timed at four minutes and 39 seconds, was the fastest in a World Cup semi-final since Vavá netted in the second minute of Brazil's 5–2 win against France in 1958. It was also just the second goal Morocco had conceded at the tournament and the first since the group stage. Olivier Giroud would hit the post for France, before Moroccan captain Romain Saïss was forced to withdraw after 21 minutes, having been a doubt to start the match after going off injured in the quarter-finals. Morocco would then nearly equalise right before half-time, after Jawad El Yamiq saw his overhead kick strike the post and be cleared away. Despite being in possession of the ball for the majority of the contest, Morocco were not rewarded for this pressure, and after Mbappé dribbled into the penalty area in the 79th minute, his ball would find Randal Kolo Muani, who scored his first-ever goal for France with his first touch of the game to double their advantage, having come on as a substitute 44 seconds prior.

France's 2–0 victory set up a final against Argentina, putting them one win away from becoming the first nation to successfully defend the World Cup since Brazil won the 1958 and 1962 editions.

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Third place play-off
The teams had previously faced each other twice, including their opening game in Group F at this World Cup, which ended 0–0. This marked the second consecutive World Cup where the teams playing in the third place match also played each other in the group stage, following Belgium vs England in 2018.

Croatia went in front with an early goal, after defender Joško Gvardiol diverted a diving header into the top left corner of the net in the seventh minute, assisted via a headed pass from Ivan Perišić. Croatia's lead would only last two minutes; Morocco's Achraf Dari received the ball after a Hakim Ziyech free kick struck the Croatian wall, and levelled the score in the ninth minute with a close-range header, having been left unmarked in front of the net. However, the Vatreni managed to regain the lead shortly before half-time through Mislav Oršić, who shot a long-range bending strike from just inside the penalty area on the left, hitting the inside of the post before the ball nestled in the back of the net. Although Croatian keeper Dominik Livaković was forced into a smothering save at close range to deny Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri, the second half saw no further goals scored, handing Croatia a third-place finish at the World Cup for the second time, following the one achieved in 1998.

This was the eleventh consecutive World Cup in which a European team finished third, dating back to 1982. Despite the defeat, a fourth-place finish still signified the best ever World Cup achievement for Morocco and an African team; they won more matches in the 2022 edition than in their first five World Cup appearances combined.

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Final
The teams had met on twelve previous occasions, with Argentina winning six matches, France three, and the other three ending in draws. The sides had faced each other three times in the World Cup, with two of these encounters coming in the group stage: Argentina won 1–0 in 1930 (their World Cup debut) and 2–1 in 1978, while their most recent World Cup meeting was France's 4–3 victory in the 2018 round of 16, their first defeat of Argentina since 1986.

Both teams were seeking to win a third World Cup title. France were the first title holders to play in the final since Brazil, whom France defeated as hosts in 1998, and were aiming to become the first nation to retain the World Cup since Brazil's victories in 1958 and 1962. French coach Didier Deschamps was attempting to become the second manager to win multiple World Cup titles, and the first since Vittorio Pozzo in 1934 and 1938 with Italy. Argentina, who had been defeated by Germany in both of their previous two trips to the final (in 1990 and 2014), were looking for a first world title in 36 years, having last won the competition in 1986.

Following a dominant first half that saw Argentina go up 2–0 thanks to a Lionel Messi penalty and a goal from Ángel Di María, they were suddenly caught out late into the second period with two goals in two minutes for France from Kylian Mbappé. After the match headed to extra time, Messi would score his second to regain Argentina's lead, only for Mbappé to again equalise two minutes from time via his second penalty, making him the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Having scored once in the 2018 final, Mbappé also became the first player to score four World Cup final goals, as well as the first player to reach eight goals in a single World Cup since Ronaldo for winners Brazil in 2002. However, Mbappé failed to emulate Hurst's and Ronaldo's successes; despite him scoring the first attempt for France, they lost 4–2 in the penalty shoot-out after Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni failed to convert their efforts, with Gonzalo Montiel's spot kick sealing Argentina's victory.

Argentina achieved their third world title, surpassing France and Uruguay's totals. They also became the first non-European side to win the title since Brazil in 2002, the previous occasion that the World Cup was held in Asia. France's loss was their second in a World Cup final, having been defeated by Italy in 2006, a match which was also decided by penalties. Many reporters, pundits and fans regarded the match as the greatest FIFA World Cup final of all time.

Both the tournament and the final itself saw Messi break multiple World Cup records. The match, which was his 26th overall in World Cup finals, saw him surpass Lothar Matthäus as the player with the most appearances in the competition. His goals against France also made him the first player to score in all five rounds of a World Cup since the group stage to round of 16 format was introduced in 1986. Messi was subsequently named the final's official Player of the Match, before being awarded the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament. His five Player of the Match titles in 2022 were the most ever won at a single World Cup by a player since their introduction in 2002, and his Golden Ball award made him the first player to claim the accolade in multiple World Cups, having done so previously in 2014.