This year's FIFA World Cup is coming to an end as 28 teams left after 60 matches. There have been several incidents and upsets at the World Cup in Qatar. Among the favorites, Brazil, Germany, and Spain are out. Portugal could not survive in the fight for the last eight. Croatia, Argentina, and Morocco, France will meet in the semifinals of the World Cup. Let’s take a look at the semi-final round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
4 Teams in the FIFA World Cup semifinals
Last World Cup’s runners-up Croatia will face Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the first semifinal on December 13. In the next match, on December 15, Morocco will face the current champion France. Both matches will start at 1 am Bangladesh time.
Croatia
Croatia, the finalists of the World Cup in Russia, kept their glory in Qatar. Luka Modric’s team defeated Japan in the last sixteen as runners-up from Group F. The Croats booked their place in the semifinals by upsetting Brazil, who were on a mission to win the Hexa. The game ended 1-1 in extra time after neither team could score in the first 90 minutes.
After defeating Brazil by 4-2 in the tiebreaker, Croatia reached the last four. When Neymar scored a goal in the injury time of the first half of extra time, it seemed that one of the favorites in the tournament this time, Brazil, would go to the semifinals. But Petkovic’s goal late in the match equalized and eventually won the tiebreaker as Croatia reached the semifinals.
Croatia will face Argentina in the first semifinal of the tournament. This might be a tough match for Argentina as ever-dependable Luka Modric is in full form as their captain. Additionally, Josko Gvardiol will stay as the great wall of China in Croatian defense.
None of Croatia’s players saw a yellow card in the last eight matches against Brazil. So, no player will miss the match.
Overall, Croatia is a balanced team, as they have some good players in all positions. Hence, Croatia will have the edge over Argentina.
Argentina
This time Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina confirmed the last sixteen from the ‘C’ group. Albicelestes are unbeaten after stumbling to Saudi Arabia in the group stage. After beating Mexico and Poland to become the group champion, Messi-De Paul’s team defeated Australia in the last sixteen and the Netherlands in a tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. Now their obstacle is Croatia on their way to the final.
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Like their opponent Croatia, Argentina beat the Netherlands in the same way in the tiebreaker. The game was drawn 2-2 draw in 90 minutes. With no goals in overtime, the game went to a tiebreaker. Lionel Messi’s Argentina won that by 4-3.
Referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz showed 18 yellow cards and one red card in the Argentina-Netherlands match in the quarterfinals. Among them, eight players from Argentina, including Lionel Messi. Apart from this, coach Lionel Scaloni and another member of the coaching staff, Walter Samuel, also received yellow cards.
It was Messi’s first yellow card in this world cup, so there is no problem for him to play in the semifinal. However, Acuna and Montiel saw their second yellow card at the World Cup in Qatar.
According to the FIFA 2022 World Cup laws, if a player receives a yellow card in any two matches from the group stage to the quarterfinals, the player will miss the match following the second yellow card. As a result, Acuna and Montiel will not be available in the semifinal matchup. So, Argentina might face problems because of their absence. And this might give them a chance to Croatia.
Morocco
Morocco, the lion of the Atlas Mountains, is showing strength throughout the tournament. The favorites like Belgium, Spain, and Portugal have been sent away by Morocco. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, Morocco has confirmed the semifinals as an African team.
After sharing points with Croatia on the group stage, the African nation defeated Canada and Belgium. Yassine Bounou’s team stopped Spain in a tiebreaker in the last sixteen. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal is also defeated by the Moroccans. Reigning champions France face Ziyesh-Hakimidi at Al Bait Stadium.
At the beginning of the World Cup, in group stages, Moroccan footballers ran a lot on the field. Now it seems they didn’t do it without purpose. Their recovery runs, challenges on the ball, everything has been good. Moroccans didn’t do anything unnecessary on the field with excessive passion; everything they did came in handy, and they eventually saw success.
Moroccan footballers’ main strength is the ability to run relentlessly. In the running, they seem to be the best athletic team in this World Cup. Some players play in Europe and Hakimi in PSG. Morocco is the best surprise of this World Cup with the quality of the players and maturity. Also, Yassine Bounou is another reason behind Morocco's win in all those games.
But, compared to their opponent, France, Morocco’s speed might not work, as stopping Mbappe will be very hard for them.
Read More: Morocco become first African & Arab nation to reach WC semis
France
Didier Deschamps’ French team is most favorite to win the World Cup 2022. The injury-plagued team played great in the group stage and secured the last sixteen. After beating Lewandowski’s Poland by a big margin, France faced another favorite, England. France made it to the last four after a hard-fought battle. Now, they will face Morocco to reach the Final.
This time, France reached the semifinals of the World Cup for the second consecutive time after defeating the English. Four years ago, coach Didier Deschamps’ team won the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This time, the French did not get star midfielders like N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba and world-famous forwards like Karim Benzema due to injuries.
Despite this, a number of young and experienced footballers continue to show eye-catching performances. Although there are some issues in the defense, it is compensated by the stars of the midfield and attack. Now they have a chance to become world champions for the second time in a row.
France is getting all their star in their semifinal. Except for the defense, they have a great rhythm in the midfield and attack. France is the favorite to win in the semi.
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Final Words
There is no doubt that the 22nd FIFA World Cup in Qatar is the best in terms of incidents and surprises of medium-power teams. Like the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there is a bright possibility of a final between France and Croatia. But, again, this World Cup has been very unpredictable. Not to mention, the semi-final matches of FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 will be entertaining. Hence, we have to wait until Thursday to know the two finalists.