FIFA Men's World Cup

Best of the World Cup so far: Top goal, save, player, team and more

Published Dec. 3, 2022 1:18 p.m. ET

With the knockout stage underway, we're at the halfway point of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. But it's not too early to hand out some superlatives!

Let's take a look at the standout teams, performers and moments of the tournament so far.

BEST SAVE

For many, Memo Ochoa's save on Robert Lewandowski will go down as the save of the group stage, but given that the difference between Mexico advancing and Poland advancing turned out to just be a goal and a few yellow cards, Wojciech Szczęsny's double save against Saudi Arabia gets the nod.

Wojciech Szczesny makes an incredible save on a PK to keep Poland ahead of Saudi Arabia

BEST ASSIST

The prettiest assists are almost always the ones that are low-driven and sent from just behind the halfway line into the box. That being said, Son Heung-min's sneaky through ball to Hwang Hee-Chan was so impressive, especially when you consider what it ultimately meant for South Korea.

BEST GOAL

As if this was going to anyone else but Richarlison. The amount of skill and precision it takes to set yourself up for a volley cannot be undersold and Richarlison made it look like a routine training ground exercise. And maybe it was for him, but for everyone at home watching, it was spectacular.

Every angle of Richarlison's JAW-DROPPING scissor kick goal for Brazil in the 2022 FIFA World Cup

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE GROUP STAGE

Cody Gakpo has had an outstanding group stage, scoring three goals in three games for the Netherlands.

But Gakpo is 23 years old, and the Young Player of the Tournament award is given to the best player under the age of 21. That award might ultimately go to one of Spain's youngsters, Pedri and Gavi, but in the group stage, it was Croatian center back Joško Gvardiol.

PLAYER OF THE GROUP STAGE

Statistically speaking, Bruno Fernandes was the player of the group stage. In three games for Portugal, the midfield maestro had two assists and two goals. But no one was more electric in the group stage than France's Kylian Mbappé. He came into the tournament with the expectation that he'd be one of the standout performers and he's lived up to those expectations.

TEAM OF THE GROUP STAGE

Anyone that had Brazil winning the World Cup before the tournament should only feel better about their pick going into the knockout stage. Even without Neymar, Brazil has looked like the most cohesive group at the tournament. It still has a long way to go to the final, but if its continues to impress the way it has, it should at least get there.

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