Croatia 1-1 Brazil (4-2 on Penalties)
The first quarter final of this years World Cup saw the favourites Brazil take on the very tough to beat Croatia. Brazil had a few decent chances in the 90 minutes but goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic kept them out meaning we were going to extra time. Right before the end of the first half of extra time, Neymar and Brazil showed their quality to put them on the brink of qualifying for the final 4. However, in the 117th minute, Bruno Petkovic’s shot deflected off of Marquinhos and into the back of the Brazilian net meaning we were going to penalties. Nikola Vlasic made it 1-0 to Croatia before Rodrygo’s penalty was saved by Livakovic. Lovro Majer, Casemiro, Luka Modric and Pedro all then converted their spot kicks meaning it was 3-2 to Croatia after 3 penalties each. Mislav Orsic then stepped up and scored one of the best penalties you will ever see at the World Cup, couldn’t have placed it any better. The pressure was fully on Marquinhos and his penalty hit the post and came out meaning Croatia advance to the World Cup Semi Final. Overall, this will go down as a very disappointing tournament for Brazil. They showed why they are the favourites multiple times in this tournament but in the end, they just couldn’t get the job done and they crash out way earlier than they should’ve. As for Croatia, they are so hard to beat. As soon as this game when to extra time, I knew they were winning. They’ve played 5 games at this tournament and on their record, they have 1 win and 4 draws. Insane!
Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (3-4 on Penalties)
Argentina took the lead after 35 minutes through Nahuel Molina. Messi played a nice ball through and Molina couldn’t miss. In the 73rd minute, Argentina were awarded a penalty after Marcos Acuna was fouled by Denzel Dumfries and Lionel Messi stepped up and scored to put Argentina in control of this quarter final tie. 10 minutes later, the Netherlands had one back through Wout Weghorst. It was a simple ball in and a header from the centre forward to get the Dutch back into the game. And then, in the 101st minute, Wout Weghorst scored again after a fantastically worked freekick goal. It was amazing scenes! Neither team really created any chances in extra time meaning we were going to penalties. Netherlands captain Virgil Van Dijk stepped up first and his penalty was saved by Emi Martinez. Lionel Messi stepped up and scored because of course he did and things got even worse for the Dutch as Steven Berghuis’ effort was also saved by Martinez. Leandro Paredes, Teun Koopmeiners, Gonzalo Montiel and Wout Weghorst all calmly dispatched their penalties meaning if Enzo Fernandes scored from the spot, Argentina would be through. That didn’t happen though as he poorly guided his effort wide of the post. Luuk de Jong scored to make it 3-3 but in the end, Inter Milan Centre Forward Lautaro Martinez smashed the ball home to send Argentina into the World Cup Semi Final. Overall, the Dutch will be slightly frustrated to be eliminated on penalties given the fact that they have looked pretty good in this tournament. Also, I don’t really understand why they changed how they played in extra time. As for Argentina, this was a massive win for them and it now means that they face Croatia for a spot in the World Cup Final.
Morocco 1-0 Portugal
Morocco took on Portugal looking to become the first ever African Nation to make the World Cup Semi Final. Youssef En-Nesyri had a couple of good headed chances but he wasn’t able to take either of them. However, in the 42nd minute, En-Nesyri got his headed goal to put Morocco 1-0 in front. Even though it was a good header, the goalkeeping from Diogo Costa was absolutely shocking. A couple minutes later, Bruno Fernandes tried to catch out the goalkeeper but unfortunately for him, his effort came back out off the crossbar. Portugal created lots of half chances but they just couldn’t get through the Morocco defense. However, a mistake allowed Joao Felix to have a go but his shot was saved by Yassine Bounou. I doubt they’ll be a better save all tournament. In additional time, Cristiano Ronaldo got his chance but his effort was saved by Bono in goal. Walid Cheddira was then shown two yellow cards in the space of two minutes, this was a properly bad decision from the referee. Aboukhal had a chance to seal it for Morocco but he couldn’t take it and in the final minute of the game, the veteran Pepe header the ball wide. I don’t know how he didn’t score. Overall, Portugal will be gutted to go out given the fact that had they have won this game, they genuinely could have gone on and won the World Cup. They will need to go back to the drawing board. As for Morocco, they made history! I’ve never known a team to be so good defensively and that fact gives them a chance to go all the way now.
England 1-2 France
After 17 minutes, the World Champions were ahead through Aurelien Tchouameni. It was a truly brilliant strike. Also, I’ve seen a lot of complaints about a foul in the build up to the goal. For me, it was a foul on Bukayo Saka, but England’s defenders had ample time to win the ball back of the French and stop them from scoring. In the 24th minute, Harry Kane was brought down by Dayot Upamecano but the referee didn’t give a foul. Again, it was a foul but it wasn’t in the penalty area. At the start of the second half, Jude Bellingham struck the ball with lots of power but his effort was saved by Hugo Lloris. 5 minutes later, Bukayo Saka was taken down by Tchouameni before Harry Kane smashed the ball home from 12 yards out to make it 1-1. Harry Maguire had a good chance but his header hit the side of the post and in the 78th minute, Olivier Giroud scored a bullet header to put France back into the lead. After a VAR check, the referee awarded England another penalty after Theo Hernandez fouled Mason Mount. Harry Kane stepped up and smashed the ball over the bar! In the final kick of the game, Marcus Rashford’s freekick went just over the bar meaning England are out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Overall, England will be frustrated with a loss here as they know that they had a chance of winning the whole thing. However, they can still take positives from this tournament, particually with how far they pushed the reigning World Champions. As for France, this was a big win for them and they are fully on course now to become back to back World Champions.
Semi Final Preview:
Argentina VS Croatia
Argentina take on Croatia for the right to play in this years World Cup Final. Argentina just about got over the line in a penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands and they come into this game with a tournament aggregate score of 9-5. As for Croatia, they pulled off another penalty shootout victory, this time against Brazil to make their second successive World Cup semi final. They have an aggregate score over the whole tournament of 6-3. Overall, both teams can win this game. Argentina are probably the favourites and that is down to the fact that they have Lionel Messi. However, Croatia have Luka Modric and that man is also a serial winner. It’s going to be very tough to beat this Croatia side. Which one of these teams is returning to the World Cup final? My pick is Croatia!
My Prediction: 1-2 (AET)
France VS Morocco
The reigning and defending World Champions France managed to beat England 2-1 to advance to the final 4 and they come into this game with an aggregate score of 11-5. As for Morocco, they managed to make history by beating Portugal 1-0 to become the first ever African Nation to reach the final 4. They come into this game with an aggregate score of 5-1. Overall, France are big favourites in this game but the big question is can the French put the ball into the back of the Moroccan net. Morocco are already history makers so why can’t they go one step further. A big thing to point out is Morocco are yet to go behind in a game so I will be intrigued to see how they cope if they do fall behind in this one. Surely Morocco can’t make it to the World Cup Final? Arguably, they’re never going to get a better chance but it will take something special to beat this French team.
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