In the early morning of December 19, Beijing time, the Qatar World Cup ended. Messi's merit is complete, and Argentina will have a third star embroidered on his chest. The feast that lasted for nearly a month and detonated the northern hemisphere winter carnival is about to end.
The quadrennial World Cup is not only a competitive competition, but also a vane for the development of football. After the competition, these green ecosystems will change.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos on the sidelines on December 10. On the same day, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the Artumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Morocco eliminated Portugal. Xinhua News Agency
On December 16, Beijing time, the Portuguese Football Federation announced that Fernando Santos ended his 8-year coaching of the national team. Santos also became the eighth coach in Qatar to finish coaching in the round of 32.
Santos led Portugal to a European Cup and a UEFA Nations League title, and is one of the most successful managers in the history of the Five Shields. Santos' contract with Portugal was supposed to expire after Euro 2024. But in Qatar, against Morocco, the dark horse who is considered the weakest of the eight, Portugal lost and failed to reach the last four, and Santos' Portuguese national team journey came to an end.
The boss's behavior of putting Ronaldo on the bench after entering the knockout round caused great controversy. The relationship between Ronaldo and Santos originally transcended the mentor-apprentice relationship, but the friction in the World Cup in Qatar made the two enemies. Any Portuguese manager who ended up at odds with Cristiano Ronaldo was dismissed, ahead of Santos with Queiroz and Paulo Bento. Since the 37-year-old Ronaldo did not say that he wanted to quit the national team, he could only go with Santos.
Prior to Portugal's amicable parting with Santos, seven teams in the round of 32 in Qatar had also been confirmed for coaches in Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, Ghana, Belgium and South Korea.
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal (left) with assistant coach Davis after a game on December 9. Xinhua News Agency
Boss Louis van Gaal and Tite have long confirmed that they will leave after the World Cup. In April, the Netherlands confirmed that Koeman would be Louis van Gaal's replacement. Tite reiterated his commitment to the role of Brazil manager after Brazil's loss to Croatia, saying: "I said that a year and a half ago and I will not regret it. Tite has previously said he would prefer to see a Brazilian replace him rather than a foreign manager, despite calls from many Brazilians for a manager to coach the Brazilian team.
Luis Luis Enrique's contract with Spain ended after the World Cup, but the Spanish Football Federation failed to offer a contract extension and instead confirmed Under-21 manager De la Fuente to replace Luis Lui Luente. The South Korean team had always wanted to renew Paulo Bento's contract, but the coach himself refused.
South Korea head coach Paul Bento (second from right) and referee Anthony Taylor (third from left) argue on November 28. On the same day, Ghana defeated South Korea 3-2 in Group H of the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the Raiyang Education City Stadium in Qatar. Xinhua News Agency
Martino is the first manager to leave this World Cup. After Mexico did not qualify from the group, Martino said in his post-match press conference that his contract as Mexico manager ended after the final whistle.
Hours later, Martinez, who has been the manager of Belgium since August 2016, announced his departure after the team stopped in the group stage: "I was going to stop anyway, no matter what happened, even if we became world champions, I made this decision before the World Cup. ”
Belgium coach Martinez (right) and player De Bruyne during a match on December 1. On the same day, Croatia drew 0-0 with Belgium in Group F of the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the Ahmed Ben Ali Stadium in Raiyang, Qatar. Xinhua News Agency
The next day, after Ghana finished their three-game group stage journey, head coach Otto Addo also offered his resignation: "The result is clear, I want to rest for a while after the World Cup. My family and I have decided to return to Germany where I want to continue my work as a youth coach. ”
It is worth mentioning that it was also missing the group, but German coach Flick remained, and only Bierhoff, whose title was the general manager of the German national team and football academy, went away.
Nandu reporter Tao Xinlei