World Cup Football: These are the characteristics of the 4 teams that reached the semi-finals
Kathmandu. The draw for the semi-finals of the 22nd FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been completed.
Five-time winners Brazil are out by the time they reach the semi-finals. One of the best players of the current generation, Cristiano Ronaldo was not the first choice. The African country Morocco reached the semi-finals by making history. Some goalkeepers have become heroes by saving penalties. As the final result approaches, this World Cup is shaping up to be exciting as well as surprising.
This time the results of the game are different than expected. After claiming the title and famous players are getting out. Similarly, the new team also made history. After 8 matches in the quarter-finals, the Qatar World Cup has four teams that will reach the semi-finals.
Brazil, the most five-time World Cup winner, was eliminated from the quarter-finals. Morocco became the first team from Africa to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
60 out of 64 matches of the World Cup have been completed and now only four matches are left. If we skip the third place match, the next three matches will be highly anticipated.
Now the curiosity about who will win the title among the remaining four teams has increased. Will the new team be the winner this time or will the old team win the title? For that, you will have to wait till the 3rd of January.
Along with Brazil, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and the Netherlands have been eliminated from the quarter-finals.
Before that, two former winners Germany and Uruguay were eliminated from the group stage, while another former winner Spain returned home from the last 16.
This time, when it reached the semi-finals, the biggest surprise was Morocco. Representing the whole of Africa, Morocco made history by reaching the semi-finals.
Two of the semi-finalists are former winners, while two teams have not won the title.
Argentina and France have already won the title, while Croatia is the former runner-up. Morocco is new.
Now the final equation can be like this. Two former champions or the remaining team to win two titles can also reach the finals.
If Croatia and Morocco reach the final, the World Cup will have a new winner after 12 years. The new team that won the World Cup last time is Spain. Spain won in 2010.
What are the 4 teams that reached the semi-finals of FIFA World Cup 2022?
Argentina: FIFA ranking no. 3
Among the semi-finals, Argentina is the highest ranked team in FIFA rankings. Two-time title winner. And Argentina, who is aiming to win the first World Cup after 36 years, has set a journey to the last four thanks to the inspiring performance of captain Lionel Messi.
Argentina reached the final of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 but lost to Germany. After 8 years, Argentina reached the semi-finals. In the 2018 World Cup, they lost to France in the last 16.
Since this is likely to be the last World Cup for Messi, the whole team and Argentina are now united to win the World Cup. Even in Qatar, Argentina is getting equal support from supporters.
Argentina was shocked by Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the first match that came to Qatar as one of the contenders for the title. Even though it raised doubts about going home from the group, Messi still has the dream of winning the World Cup for Argentina with a great performance.
Despite losing the first game, Argentina won two consecutive games and became the winner of Group B and made it to the knockout stage. After losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia, Argentina bounced back and beat Mexico and Poland with the same 2-0 result.
Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in the last 16. In the quarter-finals, Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-3 in penalty shootout and qualified for the semi-finals.
Argentinian captain Messi is second in the list of top scorers with 4 goals. He also made two assists.
Croatia: FIFA ranking 12
Croatia is the team that will send Brazil home from the quarter-finals. Croatia has stopped even Brazil’s best attack and has emerged as the penalty king in this World Cup.
When reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup for the second time in a row, Croatia won two games in the knockout stage in penalty shootouts.
Croatia, which is one of the undefeated teams in this World Cup, reached the final four years ago in the World Cup held in Russia. But when they lost to France, they were limited to runners-up.
This time too, Croatia has continued that performance.
Led by veteran midfielder Luka Modric’s inspirational performance and leadership, Croatia have put together a consistent performance and are becoming a challenge for the opposition team. Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic is performing well. He has become like a flash in the post.
He stopped three shots when Croatia defeated Japan in the last 16 penalty shootout. Similarly, he made a save in the quarterfinal against Brazil.
Croatia finished runner-up in Group F with one win and two draws. Croatia, who were held to a goalless draw against Morocco, defeated Canada 4-1 in the second game despite conceding one goal at the start. Then, in the last match of the group, after holding Belgium to a goalless draw, Croatia confirmed their place in the knockout stage.
Despite the lack of star and name players, Croatia has been performing organized and has presented a model of strong defense for the opposing forwards.
Morocco: FIFA Ranking 22
In this World Cup, Morocco made a new history. Morocco as a team that reaches the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first timeHe has made history.
Among the four semi-finalists, Morocco is the last in the FIFA ranking, i.e. 22nd. But Morocco’s performance in Qatar is excellent.
This time, Morocco is seen as a team like Giant Killer, Dark Horse, Under Dog.
Known as the Atlas Lions, Morocco will represent Africa as a whole and play the semi-finals.
Morocco previously made it past the group stage of the World Cup in 1986. But after 36 years, Morocco has achieved more success. It has made even more history. Everyone will remember the history made by Morocco.
Morocco became the group winner with two wins and 1 draw in Group A, which includes teams like Belgium and Croatia.
Another exciting fact about Morocco is that this time the opposition has not been able to score a goal. He did not even score a goal in the penalty shootout.
Morocco, who started the World Cup with a goalless draw with Croatia, defeated Belgium 2-0 and defeated Canada 2-1. The only goal conceded by Morocco in the ongoing World Cup was a suicide.
In the last 16, Morocco won 3-0 in a penalty shootout against former winner Spain.
While defeating big teams, Morocco created history by shocking Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinals. Now by maintaining it in the semi-finals, Morocco is aiming to create a new history by reaching the final.
France : FIFA ranking 4
In the last few World Cups, former winners have performed poorly, while France, as former winners, is performing well this time.
After Brazil and Argentina, France was seen as a contender for the title this time. While Argentina reached the semi-finals, Brazil was eliminated. If both of them win the semi-final, they will meet in the final.
France are aiming to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to defend their World Cup title.
Before the World Cup and since the start of the World Cup, France was plagued by injuries this time. But France, with the help of Kylian Mbappe, has reached the semi-finals and is almost close to its goal.
After defeating another former winner, England, in the quarter-finals, France has confirmed its place in the last four.
Although some players are injured, France’s attack is excellent. Kylian Mbappe is the top scorer with 5 goals. Now France is two games away from defending the title. France will play against the African team Morocco in the semi-finals. This time, Morocco became the first African country to reach the semi-finals by becoming a giant killer.
Although it looks relatively easy for France, Morocco has defeated teams like Spain and Portugal.
France won the first two matches in Group D and confirmed their place in the last 16, but lost in the last match. France defeated Australia 4-1 in the first match and Denmark 2-1 in the second match. France lost 1-0 to Tunisia in the third match.
By defeating Poland easily 3-1 in the last 16, France has already indicated that they are back in the rhythm. After that, while defeating England 2-1 in the quarter-finals, France won the match in regular time.