Surprises continued to prevail in the quarterfinals stage of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar on Saturday as Morocco extended their dream run at the World Cup on Saturday as they out-thought and out-fought Portugal in a 1-0 win to become the first ever African country to reach the semi-finals, thanks to a towering headed goal from Youssef En-Nesyri.
In the 42nd minute En-Nesyri leapt above the Portugal defenders to meet a Yahya Attiat-Allah cross, getting just enough of his head to the ball to tip it past goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who misread its flight and crashed into his own defender.
Portugal meanwhile struggled to break through the Moroccan defence, Bruno Fernandes coming closest with a shot off the bar shortly after Morocco’s goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench six minutes after the break but was unable to help his team avoid defeat, with Morocco coming out as the winner to seal a semi-final showdown with either England or France, who play later on Saturday.
It was the first time that any Arab country has reached the Semi finals of the WorldCup.
Earlier, on Friday both matches headed into extra time and were decided in the penalty shootout.Emotions ran high as Argentina overcame the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after the teams couldn’t be separated over 120 minutes.
The high-scoring match, where both teams scored two goals each, was quite ill-tempered with the referee dishing out 16 yellow cards and a red card.
The players’ emotions reached a tipping point after Argentina scored the winning penalty as the two teams clashed.
Five-time champions Brazil crashed out in dramatic fashion, losing to Croatia on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while Lionel Messi’s Argentina survived a fightback from the Netherlands to win in a shootout. Now Croatia and Argentina will now battle for a place in the final.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is heading towards its decisive stage. Of the 32 teams that began the global football tournament in Qatar, only four will remain after the quarter-finals.
The winners in the quarter-finals will advance to the semi-finals to be played on 13 and 14 December. Both Croatia and Argentina have qualified for the semi-finals of Qatar 2022.
Reigning champions France take on England in a World Cup knock-out match for the first time on Saturday, while Morocco will bid to become the first African or Arab nation to ever reach the semi-finals but face a Portugal side.
About the key teams
1.The Netherlands were the favourite to top Group A and did so albeit not as comfortably as everyone thought. However, they were overall solid only conceding one goal in 3 games, Cody Gakpo in particular has shined for the Dutch scoring in all matches.
2.England justified their status as favourites by dispatching off Iran and Wales with strong, dominant, and comfortable performances, therefore topping the group.While there was much optimism about the USA in this World Cup, there was still doubt if they could make it past the group stages.
3.Argentina bounced back from a surprise loss against Saudi Arabia to comfortably dispatch Mexico and Poland 2-0, in the process topping the group.
4. Morocco turned out to be the biggest surprise package in Group F as the Atlas Lions finished at the pinnacle of the group. After a goalless draw against Croatia in the opening fixture, the Moroccan side produced a major upset by beating favorites Belgium in their second fixture.
They rounded off their fairytale group stage run with a routine 2-1 victory against Canada to qualify for the knockout stages. Morocco are making their first appearance of the World Cup quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup.
5. Portugal secured qualification to the next stage with solid victories against Ghana and Uruguay but suffered a surprise shock defeat to South Korea.
For Portugal, everything revolves around their star player, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the star forward is not a certainty in the starting XI against Morocco. Portugal’s 6-1 triumph over Switzerland was the most one-sided result in the Round of 16 of the tournament. On the other hand, Morocco, a side that dumped out Spain from the tournament, will be high on confidence.
Next Matches
On Sunday, December 11, England will face France, Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
Key Players in France Team
1. France’s Kylian Mbappe leads the goals coring charts with five goals in the tournament so far. But he isn’t the only superstar playing a key role in their nation’s drive towards World Cup glory.
Mbappe is undoubtedly their key player. He has already impressed at the tournament with three strikes to his name and will be looking to add more to his tally against Poland.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward was the difference-maker against Denmark as he single-handedly steered Les Bleus to the three points.
He has had nine more shots (16) and five more shots on target (7) than any other France player at the 2022 World Cup, which shows his importance to the squad.
2. Antoine Griezmann provides the creative spark in this French team playing in a typical number 10 role. He pulls apart defences and has the calibre to make those incisive passes in the attacking third.
He has created more chances than any other France player at the 2022 World Cup. Indeed, the only player to create 10+ in either of the last two World Cup tournaments for France has been Griezmann, while he’s already surpassed his total from 2018 when Les Bleus lifted the trophy.
3. Dayot Upamecano is centre-back was rested against Tunisia but make no mistake, Dayot Upamecano is undoubtedly one of the first names on the France teamsheet.
With Raphael Varane still struggling with injury, the Bayern Munich defender is the mainstay in the French defence. He has good strength and anticipation which should make his duel with Robert Lewandowski intriguing.
Key Players in Argentina Team
1. Lionel Messi gained a significant measure of consolation by winning the Copa America, his first title with the senior national team. La Pulga (‘The Flea’) will now go in search of the biggest title of them all as the icon of a rejuvenated side and still one of the best players in the world, despite the passage of time and the fact he is now midway through his 30s.
2. Emiliano Martinez is Argentina’s first-choice keeper had to wait while before getting an opportunity that he seized with both hands. After joining Arsenal in 2010, he was farmed out on loan six times before an injury to the then Gunners No1 Bernd Leno in June 2020 gave the Argentinian a long-awaited chance to show what he could do.
His performances in a struggling Gunners side caught the eye and went a long way to helping the north London club lift the FA Cup that year.
3. Cristian Romero: The Cordoba-born defender was living out his lifelong dream of playing for his beloved Belgrano only for a disagreement with the club’s directors to throw his future in jeopardy.
He ended up moving to Italian club Genoa, the first step in his development into a mainstay of Scaloni’s side. Romero quickly caught the eye of Juventus, who loaned him back to Genoa and then to Atalanta, where he had a big hand in the club’s surprise run to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2019/20.
Key players in Morocco team
1. Achraf Hakimi for Morocco team has been a relatively quiet 2022/23 campaign for Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi, but the live wire in defence will undoubtedly serve as Morocco’s driving force in Qatar. Hakimi has scored eight times in 52 caps for the national team.
2. Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech has been pretty anonymous in 2022, but Morocco supporters are thrilled to have him back playing for the Atlas Lions. After refusing to play under the previous regime and retiring from international football earlier this year, new manager Walid Regragui immediately recalled the 29-year-old and he is heading to Qatar.
3. Youssef En-Nesyri is Morocco’s fourth all-time leading goalscorer with 14 goals. Like his fellow star teammates, the striker has endured a subdued 2022/23 campaign thus far.
Key players in Netherlands team
1.Andries Noppert: Despite the lack of experience the Heerenveen goalkeeper possesses, he has been picked over Justin Bijlow and Remko Pasveer, while Jasper Cillessen was even left out of the squad entirely.
His performances have been under a microscope as a result, but the lanky stopper has risen to the challenge and particularly impressed in his side’s win over Senegal.
2. Virgil van Dijk has endured a tough start to the season at Liverpool, but there has been little evidence of his club struggles at the World Cup.
He remains the defensive lynchpin of his national team and if they are to make a deep run into the competition, he will be absolutely vital.
3. Frenkie de Jong has also been struggling for consistency at club level, but he’s looked a player transformed in Qatar.
It’s been a joy to watch the Barcelona man weave his way through midfield for the Netherlands and he really looks at home in Van Gaal’s system.
Records of World Cup 2022
21-year-old Goncalo Ramos was the star of the show for Portugal, scoring the first hattrick of the 2022 World Cup against Switzerland in the Round of 16 encounter.
Replacing Portuguese talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos became the first player to score a hattrick on his first World Cup start since Miroslav Klose for Germany in 2002. He also became the youngest man to score a hattrick in a FIFA World Cup knock out match after Pele as well as the first man to score a hattrick in a World Cup knockout game since 1990.
2. In leading France to victory against Poland, captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris moved level with Lillian Thuram as France’s most-capped men’s player.
He also matched Henry’s and Fabien Barthez’ record for most World Cup appearances. The Spurs goalkeeper made his senior debut for france in 2008 and was elevated to captain in 2012.
3. At 37 years and 247 days old, French goalkeeper Steve Mandanda became the oldest player in history to represent France when he started for Les Bleus against Tunisia on Wednesday 30 November.
4. Portuguese soccer star Pepe became the oldest player to ever score in the knockout stage of the World Cup Tuesday after his goal against Switzerland—the latest in a series of records and tournament firsts happening in Qatar.
Controversies and News
Portugal and Switzerland squared off in their 2022 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 matchup this week to see who was going to punch their tickets to the quarter-finals, with Portugal getting the nod in a 6-1 blowout victory.
The game was clouded with drama for the Portuguese, after manager Fernando Santos made the move to bench Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it worked out great for Portugal, with Ronaldo’s replacement Goncalo Ramos scoring not one, not two, but three goals to achieve the only hat trick of the World Cup so far.
His girlfriend and sister even directly go after Santos.This was from Ronaldo’s girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez
“Congratulations Portugal, While the 11 players sang the anthem all goals placed on you. What a shame he didn’t get to enjoy the best player in the world for the 90 minutes. The fans haven’t stopped claiming you and screaming your name. I hope God and your dear friend Fernando hold hands and make us vibrate one more night,”
While Ronaldo’s sister has called out Portugal’s manager on Instagram.
2. A prominent football journalist from the United States has died while covering the World Cup in Qatar. Grant Wahl, 48, collapsed as extra time began in the Argentina-Netherlands game on Friday night.
Early reports suggest he may have had a heart attack, but this has yet to be officially confirmed.
Last month Mr Wahl was briefly detained by Qatari authorities for trying to enter a stadium wearing a rainbow shirt, in support of LGBT rights.
3. The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has recorded the highest-ever attendance in the global football tournament’s history, with a cumulative stadium attendance of 2.45 million spectators.
A report published by FIFA on its Qatar 2022 portal suggested that after 13 days and 48 matches, the first edition of the tournament to be hosted in the Middle Eastern region has seen a record turnout, with an average of 96 percent occupancy, higher than the corresponding 2.17 million figure recorded during its 2018 edition in Russia.
