Qatar World Cup 32 now confirmed – VAR ruins Newcastle United player’s hopes of finals

The 2022 Qatar World Cup finals are now finalised.

New Zealand v Costa Rica playing at 7pm at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (also known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium) in Al Rayyan, Qatar, for the final place on Tuesday night.

Newcastle United’s Chris Wood named in the starting eleven for New Zealand, in this winner takes all play-off.

Former Arsenal striker Joel Campbell gave Costa Rica a third minute lead but after that, New Zealand pretty much dominated.

Chris Wood playing really well and causing problems for the Costa Rican defence, finally getting his reward with a close range finish goal seven minutes before half-time…however…the referee went to VAR after protests by the Costa Rica players about an alleged foul by a New Zealand player in the build-up. After a lengthy check, the referee giving Costa Rica the benefit of the doubt and striking off the Newcastle striker’s goal.

To make matters worse, just before that ‘goal’ was ruled out, Chris Wood saw a penalty claim disallowed by VAR just

It was then VAR that also finally finished off New Zealand’s hopes of a comeback, Kosta Barbarouses sent off in the 69th minute. A yellow card originally given for a challenge but after VAR intervened, that upgraded to a red and the Kiwis down to ten men.

Despite that, the overall stats showed just how dominant New Zealand had been by the final whistle. Losing 1-0 but having 67% possession, 16 shots for NZ compared to 4 for Costa Rica, as well as a corner count of 6 v 1.

A great effort from Chris Wood and his New Zealand teammates but no consolation as they see the Qatar World Cup finals slip from their grasp.

With all 32 countries now confirmed, this is the schedule below for the group matches.

The TV schedule for all 48 Qatar World Cup group games:

21 November, 10:00: Senegal v Netherlands – ITV

21 November, 13:00: England v Iran – BBC

21 November, 16:00: Qatar v Ecuador – BBC

21 November, 19:00: USA v Wales – ITV

22 November, 10:00: Argentina v Saudi Arabia – ITV

22 November, 13:00: Denmark v Tunisia – ITV

22 November, 16:00: Mexico v Poland – BBC

22 November, 19:00: France v Australia – BBC

23 November, 10:00: Morocco v Croatia – ITV

23 November, 13:00: Germany v Japan – ITV

23 November, 16:00: Spain v Costa Rica – ITV

23 November, 19:00: Belgium v Canada – BBC

24 November, 10:00: Switzerland v Cameroon – ITV

24 November, 13:00: Uruguay v South Korea – BBC

24 November, 16:00: Portugal v Ghana – ITV

24 November, 19:00: Brazil v Serbia – BBC

25 November, 10:00: Wales v Iran – BBC

25 November, 13:00: Qatar v Senegal – BBC

25 November, 16:00: Netherlands v Ecuador – ITV

25 November, 19:00: England v USA – ITV

26 November, 10:00: Tunisia v Australia – BBC

26 November, 13:00: Poland v Saudi Arabia – ITV

26 November, 16:00: France v Denmark – ITV

26 November, 19:00: Argentina v Mexico – ITV

27 November, 10:00: Japan v Costa Rica – ITV

27 November, 13:00: Belgium v Morocco – BBC

27 November, 16:00: Croatia v Canada – BBC

27 November, 19:00: Spain v Germany – BBC

28 November, 10:00: Cameroon v Serbia – ITV

28 November, 13:00: South Korea v Ghana – BBC

28 November, 16:00: Brazil v Switzerland – ITV

28 November, 19:00: Portugal v Uruguay – ITV

29 November, 15:00: Ecuador v Senegal – ITV

29 November, 15:00: Netherlands v Qatar – ITV

29 November, 19:00: Iran v USA – BBC

29 November, 19:00: England v Wales – BBC

30 November, 15:00: Tunisia v France – BBC

30 November, 15:00: Australia v Denmark – BBC

30 November, 19:00: Poland v Argentina – BBC

30 November, 19:00: Saudi Arabia v Mexico – BBC

1 December, 16:00: Canada v Morocco – BBC

1 December, 16:00: Croatia v Belgium – BBC

1 December, 19:00: Japan v Spain – ITV

1 December, 19:00: Costa Rica v Germany – ITV

2 December, 16:00: Ghana v Uruguay – BBC

2 December, 16:00: South Korea v Portugal – BBC

2 December, 19:00: Serbia v Switzerland – ITV

2 December, 19:00: Cameroon v Brazil – ITV