England’s Bukayo Saka and France’s Kylian Mbappe headline our Team of Game One at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain stars shone on the FIFA stage.
Saka and Mbappe helped their respective nations start the 22nd edition of the quadrennial tournament with 6-2 and 4-1 wins. England thrashed Iran to kick off Group B before France tormented Australia in Group D. Both forwards proved to be endless threats off the wings.
Arsenal product Saka will now go into England’s second game in the co-lead for the Golden Boot with two goals. Only six of the 35 players to score a goal during the first set of fixtures hit the net multiple times. There were also four 0-0 draws over the 16 games played so far.
England’s Saka and France’s Mbappe headline our World Cup Team of Game One
Goals were not a sure factor behind a stellar showing at Qatar 2022, however. Richarlison scored twice as Brazil edged Serbia 2-0. Yet the Tottenham Hotspur forward produced an otherwise quiet Group G game before hitting an early Goal of the Tournament contender.
Cristiano Ronaldo also became the first player ever to score at five World Cups through his penalty in game one as Portugal beat Ghana 3-2. Yet the 37-year-old free agent produced an otherwise forgetful performance. He also missed a few chances he usually would score.
So, as all 32 teams at the World Cup have now played their first fixture, HITC Football takes a look at the best-performing players by position in our Qatar 2022 Team of Game One…
Guillermo Ochoa (GK): The Mexico star denied Poland a World Cup win in game one
Guillermo Ochoa was Mexico’s hero after he saved Robert Lewandowski’s penalty to draw 0-0 with Poland in game one at the Qatar World Cup. The 37-year-old is at his fifth edition of FIFA’s tournament. But he did not let age stop from him making a brilliant dive for one point.
Angelo Preciado (RB): Set Ecuador on course to beat Qatar in World Cup game one
Ecuador beat Qatar in the first game as Angelo Preciado helped La Tricolor spoil the hosts’ opening ceremony. No right-back won possession with more tackles than the 24-year-old with five, per WhoScored. He also caused problems with a succession of runs up the wing.
Nikola Milenkovic (CB): A dominant presence for Serbia in their defeat to Brazil
Brazil beat Serbia but Nikola Milenkovic produced a dominant defensive display for Orlovi. The 25-year-old barely gave Richarlison, Vinicius Jr or Neymar a sniff for much of the game. His eight successful tackles were also the most won by a centre-back in game one by three.
Harry Maguire (CB): A surprise inclusion by Southgate but justified the decision
Gareth Southgate surprised many by starting Harry Maguire as England faced Iran. The 29-year-old has only started five of his nine appearances for Manchester United this term. Yet the 49-cap ace was a rock before going off due to illness and was key in circulating the ball.
Mathias Olivera (LB): A threat at both ends during Uruguay 0-0 South Korea
Uruguay and South Korea played out one of the four 0-0 draws in game one at the World Cup in Qatar. Yet Mathias Olivera was a threat at both ends as the Napoli full-back forged two key passes. The 25-year-old also won three of his tackles and in four of his aerial duels.
Bukayo Saka (RM): The Arsenal winger deserved a hat-trick in England 6-2 Iran
Saka deserved to score a hat-trick after the Arsenal winger hit two as England beat Iran 6-2 in game one at the World Cup. The 21-year-old showed why Southgate started him ahead of Phil Foden as he was a relentless threat in possession and produced two superb finishes.
Ritsu Doan (CM): He ran himself into the ground as Japan stunned Germany 2-1
Ritsu Doan was clearly not going to let the disappointment of not starting affect his efforts for Japan against Germany. The SC Freiburg star ran himself into the ground after coming off the bench and got a reward to draw the Samurai Blue level before their shock 2-1 win.
Gavi (CM): The third-youngest World Cup goalscorer and youngest Spaniard ever
Gavi became the youngest-ever Spaniard to play at the World Cup when the Barcelona ace started against Costa Rica. He would also become the third-youngest player to score at the FIFA tournament for any team at 18 years and 110 days after his volley beat Keylor Navas.
Kylian Mbappe (LM): Australia will be glad they only face France in game one
Australia will be glad they only face France in game one at the 2022 World Cup unless both reach the final. Mbappe ran rings around the Socceroos as he consistently sought to drop a shoulder and run at the goal. He ended up with a goal and an assist but deserved far more.
Olivier Giroud (ST): France’s joint all-time top-scorer delivered in Benzema’s absence
Olivier Giroud is now France’s all-time joint top-scorer on 51 goals with Thierry Henry. The AC Milan star also showed he is ready to fill the void of Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema due to his thigh injury. Giroud showed effortless grace as he scored twice against Australia.
Enner Valencia (ST): The Ecuador hero spoiled Qatar’s party to start the World Cup
Enner Valencia was the spoilsport as Ecuador kicked off the World Cup by beating Qatar 2-0 with utter ease. The forward scored both goals after seeing the VAR rule an early hit out for offside. He later limped off with an injury but his strength had terrorised the host team.
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