Smart, successful people in my business tell me that overreaction is part of the gig. It’s what we do – and they tell me it’s OK.
Still, I can’t help but feel a little professional self-consciousness about Andrew Farrell and how much I’ve already made of the talented New England Revolution rookie.
As for Serbia, they were beaten by Brazil and although they hung in there until 30 minutes from time, they never had control of the game. That’s okay. Brazil are one of the favorites to win it all. Let’s now see if this golden generation of Serbian stars can get a big win to set up a showdown with Switzerland in their final group game.
How to watch Cameroon vs Serbia live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 5am ET – Monday, November 28 Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah TV channels en Español: Telemundo Streaming en Español:Peacock (all 64 matches)
2⃣ goals in 2⃣ minutes!#SRB wastes no times to score their second goal to take the lead over Cameroon. #FIFAWorldCup
Cameroon will be dangerous on the counter and their gameplan was pretty spot on against Switzerland and it will be the same against Serbia. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Bryan Mbuemo will cause all kinds of problems on the break and Andre Onana is going to have to excel in goal if the Indomitable Lions are going to get a huge win.
— Les Lions Indomptables Officiel (@LIndomptables) November 28, 2022
Serbia won’t be too disheartened to lose to Brazil in their World Cup opener but they now know this is basically must-win after Switzerland beat Cameroon in their opening game. Dusan Tadic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic hold the key for Serbia who will have to be patient as they will see plenty of the ball.
— Fudbalski savez Srbije | FA of Serbia (@FSSrbije) November 28, 2022
Cameroon quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 43
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 8
How they qualified: Qualified from CAF playoffs
Coach: Rigobert Song
Key players: Andre Onana, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Vincent Aboubakar, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Serbia quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 21
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 12
How they qualified: Qualified from UEFA via playoffs
Coach: Dragan Stojkovic
Key players: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Vlahovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Dusan Tadic
The 2022 World Cup is underway from the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar and as the group stage continues, we’ve seen unexpected upsets and some new contenders emerge – but there’s still a long way to go until the tournament champions are crowned in late December.
Along the way, spectators have already seen most matches impacted in at least some capacity by VAR technology when it comes to determining penalties, possession and, frequently, offsides decisions. After introducing semi-automated offside technology at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, FIFA announced this summer that the tool would return for this year’s tournament. Read on to learn how offsides works and how VAR technology is utilized to make decisions at the 2022 World Cup.
A player is in an offsides position when they are in the opponent’s half of the field and any part of their head, body or feet is “nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent.” Simply put, a player needs to be entirely in front of the last defender when their teammate passes them the ball. The offsides rule exists to keep players from lingering near their opponent’s goal to try and scoop up scoring opportunities.
The offsides rule does not apply when the player receives the ball directly from a corner kick, throw in or goal kick.
By now a familiar acronym to any fans of year-round leagues like the Premier League, VAR stands for “Video Assistant Referee.” It refers to officials off the pitch who are watching the match with access to multiple cameras, angles and data points, as well as slow-motion replay, who can weigh in on decisions including goals and penalties, with the objective of making officiating more accurate.
How does technology impact offsides calls at 2022 World Cup?
In Qatar, FIFA is using multiple forms of VAR technology to support officials in determining offsides. This includes 12 tracking cameras constantly collecting data on the limb position of each player, as well as “connected ball technology,” a sensor within the official match ball sending kick-point detection data to the video operations room. Per FIFA, “by combining the limb- and ball-tracking data and applying artificial intelligence, the new technology provides an automated offside alert to the video match officials inside the video operation room whenever the ball is received by an attacker who was in an offside position at the moment the ball was played by a teammate.”
After the video referee and the officials on the pitch have confirmed a decision, a 3D visualization of the offsides penalty is available to clearly communicate the infraction.
World Cup 2022 schedule, start time, dates, how to watch live
When: November 20, 2022 to December 18, 2022
Group stage game kick-off times: 5am, 8am, 10am, 11am, 2pm (all ET)
Location: Qatar
TV channels en Español: Telemundo, Universo, Peacock
Follow along with ProSoccerTalk for the latest news, scores, storylines, and updates surrounding the 2022 World Cup, and be sure to subscribe to NBC Sports on YouTube!
World Cup Today – Latest news, analysis, reaction on 2022 World Cup in Qatar
Mexico needs a win to have hope of reaching the World Cup knockout rounds, while Saudi Arabia’s hopes of the final 16 may require the same at Stadium 974 in Doha on Wednesday.
How to watch Saudi Arabia vs Mexico live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2pm ET, Wednesday Nov. 30 Stadium: Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail TV channels en Español: Telemundo Streamingen Español:Peacock (all 64 matches)
Key storylines, players to watch closely
The Saudis have arguably been the most fun team at the tournament amongst non-powers, always running and getting exceptional goalkeeping. Salem Al-Dawsari was very good in both games but his missed penalty before halftime against Poland looms large of a match that could’ve been 1-1 going to the break and instead ended 2-0.
Mexico has not scored at the tournament so far, and Raul Jimenez has only been used as a super sub. Hirving Lozano and Alexis Vega combined for just three shot attempts before being subbed out of the Poland loss, while Lozano and Henry Martin combined for two versus Poland (Vega attempted five). They need better up top to keep up their streak of making Round of 16 appearances at the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 51
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 5
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from AFC (Won Group B)
Coach: Herve Renard
Key players: Salem Al-Dawsari, Fahad Al-Muwallad, Mohammed Al-Owais
Mexico quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 13
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 16
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONCACAF (2nd place)
Coach: Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino
Key players: Guillermo Ochoa, Hector Herrera, Raul Jimenez
