Adamo Marinelli
That was one of the best quarterfinals of a World Cup we’ve seen in recent memory with many exhilarating matches including Croatia stunning Brazil, Argentina beating the Netherlands, Morocco stunning Portugal, and France topping England in an instant classic. Here is how I see the semifinals going down.
Argentina 1 - 1 Croatia (3-4 penalties)
Croatia showed just how well they could defend against a lethal Brazil attack. It was consistently able to get back in transition, get players behind the ball, and press well against a dangerous Brazil counter-attack that has hurt many of their previous opponents. Offensively, they were able to create scoring chances with their patience and the skill of their midfield trio that can control the ball, make accurate passes to teammates in the final third or advance the ball up the field with their speed and quality dribbling before crossing it into a scoring position. Croatia defended very well all match and scored on the counter-attack late in the second half of extra time to tie the match after Brazil took a 1-0 lead late in the first half of extra time to force penalties. Croatia dispatched their penalties with ease and calmness, often finding the corner of the net, in a place where Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker couldn’t reach, and their incredibly talented goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic took over once again making multiple saves.
Argentina showed their offensive brilliance against the Netherlands by quickly getting out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a stellar pass by Leo Messi which led to the goal. Messi now has more assists in a World Cup than any other player. Argentina controlled the majority of the match, creating several quality chances and playing well defensively. Their formation change to a 5-3-2 ahead of the match threw the Dutch off and made it harder for them to break through their back line, and create in the final third. After Messi scored a penalty in the 74th minute to put Argentina up 2-0, the Dutch scored two goals in the span of 25 minutes including one of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen to send the game to extra time, thanks in part to subbing on taller players like Wout Weghorst (who scored both Dutch goals) and Luc Dejong which made every cross into the box more dangerous.
This match will be more or less the same. Croatia will start the match defending well and will score early in transition. They will defend well for the rest of the match but a late free-kick goal from Argentina will tie the game and force extra time. Nothing will be decided, but in penalties, Luka Modric will put the winner into the bottom corner and Livakovic will make two huge saves to put Croatia in the final for the second tournament in a row.
France 1 - 2 Morocco (AET)
France is loaded with talent and defeated England in a 2-1 thriller which saw two penalties awarded, a ton of missed calls, and a few nice goals. Aurelien Tchouameni scored a screamer from outside the box to give France a 1-0 lead within 20. England rebounded and controlled the match until halftime and early in the second half. A tackle from Tchouameni on Saka awarded a penalty and Harry Kane equalized with a nice strike, tying Wayne Rooney for the most-ever England goals with 53. Olivier Giroud headed home the winner on a nice cross into the box by Antoine Griezmann and minutes later, after England was awarded another penalty, Kane stepped up to the spot again, but this time skied it over. France held on to win the match. Superstar Kylian Mbappe was a non-factor, Kyle Walker defended him well, but it just goes to show how much depth France has.
Morocco defended brilliantly all match against Portugal and Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the match to give Morocco the 1-0 win. Morocco is the first ever African team to advance to the semifinals of a World Cup, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Morocco has defended well all tournament long and has done a fantastic job limiting the effectiveness of all their opponents’ counterattacks and reducing the number of high-quality scoring chances their opponents get. The only goal they conceded at this entire World Cup was an own goal against Canada in their final group stage match, where they won 2-1 after two early goals. Defending against France will be a challenge, given the amount of talent and creativity France has offensively, but if right-back Achraf Hakimi (who plays alongside Mbappe at PSG) defends Mbappe like Walker did today and the rest of his team, including their fantastic goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, play a strong defensive game - which they’ve proven on multiple occasions they can do - they can pull off the upset.
In this match, France will start with an all-out attack and will score relatively early. Despite conceding, the Moroccan defense will not give up and will continue playing extremely well. They will limit any future chances France gets in transition and reduce the quality of France’s setup play in the final third. Their backline will consistently get involved in the attack and late in the second half, Morocco will equalize in transition as soon as France’s backline momentarily let their guard down while the ball is in Morocco’s half. In extra time, France will create a plethora of chances and will have many set-piece opportunities but Bonou will make several key saves to keep the game 1-1. Midway through the second half of extra time, Morocco’s attack will create a freekick in a dangerous area which will beat French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to give Morocco a 2-1 lead which they hold onto.
The World Cup Finals will feature Morocco and Croatia, in a match where both sides can make history. Croatia can win their first World Cup in their third appearance since 1998 and Morocco can win not only their first World Cup but the first World Cup for any African nation.
Stay tuned for a World Cup Finals preview after the semifinals conclude.
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