What you should know about the World Cup semifinals

Argentina has had a wild ride during the 2022 World Cup. It started with a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, which was one of the biggest surprises in the tournament’s history.

The team got back on track after Messi led them to a 2-0 win over Mexico. Lionel Scaloni’s team then beat Poland 2-0 to make sure they were first in Group C.

Then came a win against Australia in the last 16 by a score of 2-1, which was much more tense than most people expected.

That made it possible for them to play the Netherlands in a fast-paced and often heated quarterfinal. After giving up a 2-0 lead when the Dutch made a stunning late comeback, Argentina won in the end on penalties.

Semifinal opponents Croatia also made it to the final four by beating Brazil in a dramatic shootout. The team led by Zlatko Dalic has shown that they are good at penalty kicks by beating Japan in the last 16 on a penalty kick.

Before that, Croatia finished second in Group F, behind Morocco, which was one of the stars of the tournament. The first game between Croatia and North Africa ended in a 0-0 tie. They then beat Canada 4-1 and tied Belgium 0-0.

France beat England 2-1 in their quarterfinal match on Saturday night. Harry Kane missed a late penalty kick, which could have given England the win. Before that, Les Bleus beat Poland 3-1 with little trouble in the round of 16.

Even though France lost to Tunisia 1-0 in the last round of games, they still won their group and moved on to the next round. Before that, they beat Australia by a score of 4-1 and beat Denmark by a score of 2-1.

Their opponent, Morocco, is the tournament’s biggest surprise. The Atlas Lions are the first African team to ever get this far in the World Cup. They beat Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals to get here.

In the round of 16, Morocco beat Spain in a penalty shootout after the score was tied 0-0. This meant that another Iberian team had to go home.

In the group stage, Morocco won Group F because they tied with Croatia, beat Belgium 2-0, and beat Canada 2-1.
Argentina: Messi’s happy ending or a fairy tale?

Messi’s “last dance” has been the most talked-about thing about Argentina and this World Cup.

The 35-year-old player has already said that this will be his last tournament. This is his last chance to lead his country to victory like the late, great Diego Maradona.

In 1986, Maradona was the best player at the World Cup in Mexico, where Argentina won their second title.

Messi, Argentina’s star player, has helped the team get to the semifinals in Qatar. Along the way, he played his 1,000th professional game, which was a big deal.

The captain of Argentina scored a great goal against Mexico and a great goal against Australia. One of the best moments of the tournament was when he set up Nahuel Molina to score against the Netherlands.

The star number 10 did miss a penalty against Poland, but he scored from the spot against Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands.

Messi provoked the Dutch bench and coach Louis van Gaal when he played against the Netherlands. This is a less-seen side of his personality.

Messi has never won a big tournament before, but he won the Copa America in 2021. The World Cup is the only big prize he hasn’t won yet.

Qatar is his fifth World Cup final, and he has scored 10 goals in 24 games over the course of those five tournaments.

Messi’s best chance at World Cup glory was in 2014, when he lost the final to Germany. Is he now ready to make up for that loss and write a fairy-tale ending in Qatar?
Croatia is still beating the odds.

Even though Croatia has a population of less than four million people, they continue to do well in international football.

Croatia was a finalist in Russia in 2018 but lost to France. They are now one step away from going back to the World Cup.

Their progress in Qatar has been mostly steady, if not spectacular, and based on their ability to make more penalty kicks.

Dominik Livakovic, the goalkeeper, saved an amazing three penalties against Japan before stopping Rodrygo in the shootout against Brazil. After beating Denmark and Russia on penalty kicks at the World Cup four years ago, Croatia will always trust themselves from the spot.

Luka Modric, the 37-year-old captain, is still in charge of the midfield, and Ivan Perisic scored the equaliser against Japan to give him goals in all three World Cups.

Head coach Dalic, who is 56 years old, keeps showing that he is a smart person who knows how to handle big events.
France, the defending champions, don’t mind who isn’t there.

France wants to be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win the World Cup again after winning it in Russia four years ago. Didier Deschamps is in charge of the team.

Even though big names like Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, and current Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema are out with injuries, they are still doing well.

Even though he didn’t play very well against England, star forward Kylian Mbappe has shown flashes of his brilliance and is currently in the lead for the Golden Boot with five goals.

Olivier Giroud, another forward, made history in Qatar by passing Thierry Henry as his country’s all-time top scorer. He scored his 53rd goal in international football by heading in the game-winning goal against England, giving France a 1-0 win.

The 36-year-old Giroud has already scored four goals in Qatar. He seems to be a key part of France’s chances of winning their third World Cup.

Aside from that, playmaker Antoine Griezmann has made up for a rough patch with his club team with some great games, including two assists against England.

Griezmann will probably also be important if France wants to break through Morocco’s tough defence.
Morocco: Africans who made history

Morocco is without a doubt the most talked-about team at this World Cup. As the first African team to ever make it to this point in the tournament, they have a lot of fans in Qatar and all over the world, from the streets of Casablanca and Rabat to the diaspora in Europe.

Their success is based on having the toughest defence at the tournament. They only gave up one goal in Qatar, and that was because Nayef Aguerd put the ball in his own net when they played Canada.

Yassine Bounou, also known as “Bono,” has been a revelation in goal. He saved two penalties in the shootout win against Spain.

Big names like Paris Saint-Germain’s Hakimi and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech have stood out, but the team as a whole has been unstoppable.

This has been clear during their celebrations, from kisses with family members in the crowd to group prayers on the field.

Even more amazing is that Walid Regragui, who used to play for the team, was just named head coach at the end of August.

The 47-year-old coach has done a great job turning the team into a surprise contender for the World Cup. He referred to them as the “Rocky” of the competition, after the famous boxer from movies.

Regragui will, however, be worried about the captain’s health for the game against France. The central defender was taken off on a stretcher in the 57th minute of the game with Portugal, and Regragui will want to know if he can play.

Saiss, who is 32 years old, has promised to try “everything possible” to get the game made. Walid Cheddira, a striker who came on as a substitute, will definitely not be able to play because he got a red card in stoppage time against the Portuguese.
Comparative records

Argentina and Croatia have played each other at the World Cup twice before, in 1998 and 2018. Both times, the games were in the group stages.

In Russia four years ago, Modric, Ante Rebic, and Ivan Rakitic scored goals to help the Croatians beat the South Americans 3-0 in Nizhny Novgorod.

At France 98, Argentina won a close game by a score of 1-0.

Aside from those games, the two teams met in a friendly in London in 2014, which La Albiceleste won 2-1. Messi scored one of the goals on a penalty kick.

In a friendly game in Basel, Switzerland, in 2006, Messi also scored, but Croatia won 3-2.

In 1994, they played a friendly game in Zagreb, and it ended with no goals.

When France and Morocco play at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, it will be the 12th time they have met.

Morocco has only won one of those games, and that was their very first one, in an unofficial game in 1963.

Since then, France has won seven games and tied three, the last of which was a friendly in 2007.

The match in Qatar will be the first time that these two teams have ever played against each other at a major tournament. Morocco hopes to pull off another historic upset at the match.