The 2022 Qatar World Cup has already had its ups and downs. The controversy surrounding the tournament’s host country and a few lackluster games threatened to make this World Cup one to remember… and not necessarily for the best reasons.

Despite that, there have still been some unforgettable moments.

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As we head into the quarterfinals, we wanted to look back on our five favorite moments of the World Cup thus far.

Spain absolutely demolishes Costa Rica 7-0

Okay, so, this might not be a “best of” moment for everybody watching the games this year. Still, the first few games were real nail-biters. Every kick, pass, and strike counted even more because of how tight the games were. That is, of course, until Spain and Costa Rica took the field on November 23.

With a final score of 7-0, the Spain vs Costa Rica match was the first real pummeling of the 2022 World Cup. Even now, it’s still the most severe. As we head into the Quarterfinals, we’re unlikely to see a game that ends quite like this. At least, we hope not. There were times when this was pretty rough to watch.

Ecuadorian fans chant “we want beer!” and get the team fined by FIFA

Fans attending this year’s World Cup in person were most dismayed to learn that alcohol would not be permitted inside any of the stadiums.

Fans from Ecuador were not having it. So much so that they’ve been chanting “we want beer!” at just about every game Ecuador has played thus far. In response, FIFA ended up fining Ecuador because of their “unruly” fans. Honestly, we think everyone has been on their best behavior. And, let’s be honest, FIFA is in no position to be judging anybody’s character.

Saudia Arabia secures a surprise victory over Argentina in their first game

One of the biggest shocks this year came courtesy of the Saudia Arabian team, which broke Argentina‘s 36-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory. When we say that nobody expected this, that includes the Saudi Arabian team. The fans went so incredibly wild, we got the already-iconic “Where’s Messi?” video out of it.

Sadly, Saudi Arabia may have flown too close to the sun. They ended up at the very bottom of their group while Argentina, predictably, dominated the rest of their first three games. Still, there was something satisfying about watching one of the most talented football teams in the world actually break a sweat for once.

One World Cup fan takes his celebration a little too far

Even though Qatar asked fans to take things down a notch this year, it’s the World Cup. Sometimes our reactions are involuntary! One fan, 34-year-old Clovis Carvalho, couldn’t help but tear off his shirt after Brazilian player Richarlison scored the greatest World Cup goal of all time (we’ll get to that).

Carvalho and his wife actually live in Qatar, making his cultural faux pas all the more concerning. Still, risking his longstanding relationship with the Qatari people was a small price to pay. Like we said, there’s no telling what a crazed football fan might do in the heat of the moment. To be honest, it could’ve been worse.

Richarlison bicycle kicks his way into the World Cup Hall of Fame

Okay, let’s get to the reason why Carvalho felt compelled to pop his shirt off in the first place. Listen, we’re not saying there haven’t been some great goals during the first 17 days of competition. What we are saying is that Richarlison’s bicycle kick goal against Serbia is so incredibly amazing, it’s hard to think of anything else that comes close.

Nobody thought Serbia was going to win, but after Saudia Arabia’s surprise victory against Argentina the day before, all bets were off. The Thanksgiving bout between Brazil and Serbia went as expected, with the former clinching a 2-0 victory. The real question, however, is this: did they have to do it with such unstoppable panache?

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