The 2022 FIFA World Cup has been full of surprises, drama, and unending entertainment. We have seen teams razzle and dazzle in their glory while others have bowed their heads in disappointment. As the competition is in its late stage, we have four national teams left. Argentina, France, Croatia, and Morocco are the four countries left and are about to face up for a chance to book a spot in the finals.

After battling it out on penalties against the Netherlands, Argentina is now up against Croatia. At the same time, Morocco, who, against all odds, edged past Portugal, will face reigning World Cup champions France. Here we will look at the events that led to this stage of the competition and give a prediction of the outcome of the semi-finals matchups.

Argentina Vs Croatia

Argentina is the only South American team in this stage of the competition. They face a Croatian side who defeated Brazil, another South American team, in the quarterfinals to get to the semi-finals. 

Croatia

If Morocco did not make it to the semi-finals, Croatia would have easily been the dark horse of the tournament. Croatia is only a game away from making its back-to-back finals appearance. They do not boast of a particularly outstanding star player, but they have been a team that thrived on collective effort, although they have a Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric leading them. 

• Croatia was in Group F, the same as Morocco, Canada, and Belgium. They opened the tournament against Morocco, ending in a goalless draw. 

• Croatia played Canada next, and they won emphatically. Four goals to one, potentially ending Canada’s hopes of making it out of the group stage. 

• In a bid to grab a spot in the round of 16, Croatia held Belgium to a goalless draw to finish second in Group F behind Morocco. 

• Croatia was up against Japan in the round of 16, and it was a fight till the end kind of game. It came down to penalties after playing a 1-1 draw, including extra time. Croatia won 3-1 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals.

• Croatia faced title-favorite Brazil in the quarter-finals and played out another 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. Croatia won 4-2 on penalties to send Brazil home and advance to the semi-finals.

Argentina

Argentina is exactly living up to expectations in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and it might finally be Lionel Messi’s time to lift the much-coveted trophy. Argentina has brilliantly recovered from an early scare to start the competition and is now a game away from making the finals. La Albiceleste has all that is required to get the job done, as they were tipped as one of the favorites to win it all. 

• Argentina was up against Saudi Arabia to begin the tournament. They suffered a 2-1 loss, to everyone’s surprise, but they recovered in their remaining group games.

• Next up, Argentina was up against Mexico and won by two goals to nil for their first points in the group.

• Another 2-0 win against Poland secured Argentina’s spot as group leader 

• Argentina was up next against Australia in the round of 16. They defeated Australia 2-1 to progress to the quarter-finals

• Argentina was up against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Messi gave Nahuel Molina the assist for his first-ever international goal as Argentina took the lead. Messi converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to make it 2-0 for Argentina. To keep the Netherlands within striking distance of Argentina, 2-1, substitute Wout Weghorst breached the Argentine defense and pierced the goal. He scored again late in extra time to force extra time and ultimately force penalties, which Argentina eventually won 4-2. 

Match Prediction

Argentina, one of the most competitive teams at the FIFA World Cup, will again rely on Lionel Messi’s artistic wizardry this week. The Albiceleste have several difficulties in addressing before this match after giving up late goals against the Netherlands. Croatia has previously caused problems for Argentina and has already caused heartbreak for Brazil at the World Cup. Croatia wants to return to the finals, so we could see them put up another strong showing. Croatia boasts a solid defense and should be able to keep this game under two goals. Under 1.5 is the pick for this game.

France Vs Morocco 

Morocco is clearly the dark horse of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with impressive showings against all odds. They face the reigning champions France, who appear to show no signs of slowing down as they gradually make their way to the finals once again.

France

France was one of the favorites to win the World Cup despite a number of important players faltering in the last days before the tournament. The remarkable depth of Les Blues’ roster and head coach Didier Deschamps has been crucial to their progress to the semifinals.

• France opened the tournament with a win over a 4-1 win over Australia 

• They went on to win their second group game  2-1 against Denmark. They secured qualification to the round of 16 with this win. 

• In a game that did not affect their qualification hopes, France lost their third group game to Tunisia. 

• France was up against Poland in the round of 16, and they cruised past them, winning three goals to one.

• France played England in the quarter-finals, and a second-half Harry Kane penalty miss ensured their progression to the semi-finals. France opened the scoring, but England got a penalty to bring the game to level terms. Giroud, in the second half, put the French team up front, proving decisive. 

Morocco

The accomplishment of Morocco, the first African team to go to the World Cup semifinals, has the potential to “galvanize” Africa. Morocco has already surpassed expectations in this tournament. Still, if they can defeat France, they’ll be able to set an excellent record.

• Morocco kicked off the tournament with a goalless draw against Croatia 

• They earned their first points of the tournament by defeating Belgium 2-0, to everyone’s surprise. 

• Canada defeated Morocco 2-1 in their last game in the group stage to secure qualification for the round of 16. 

• Morocco played Spain in the round of 16, and the game ended 0-0, including extra time. Morocco went on to win on penalties as the Spanish side failed to convert a single penalty. 

• Morocco went on to play another European giant in Portugal in the quarter-finals and won the game 1-0 as underdogs to make history and book their spot in the semi-finals. 

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Match Predictions

The physical and emotional hunger with which the Moroccans have been playing has been astounding. For Morocco, weariness is a factor. Noussair Mazraoui and Nayef Aguerd missed the victory over Portugal, and they might make a comeback, but they’ll still be hurt.

After yet another center defensive masterclass, the valiant Romain Saiss was stretched off, and they will be much weaker without him. France will easily win this match thanks to their superior quality all over the field, especially in attacking areas. Morocco is one step behind France, which has more experience at this stage of the tournament. Morocco will lose by a wide margin, and the pick here is France -1 Asian handicap.

The World Cup is full of drama and iconic moments; simply anything can happen, but the picks above have been carefully analyzed and backed with facts to attain maximum returns. Argentina against Croatia will be a close game, while France is expected to cruise past Morocco. 

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A once-worshiped Portuguese National team player Cristiano Ronaldo is now seen in a different light by a country he gave his all for the majority of his career. This occurrence backs the saying, “you either live long enough to see yourself turn into the villain, or you die a hero.” The erratic season for Cristiano Ronaldo on the football field continues to get worse.

This year alone, he has had serious issues with club football that resulted in a dramatic exit from Manchester United. Now, the most recent one is the eventual elimination of Portugal at the hands of Morocco.  The World Cup dream of Cristiano Ronaldo has likely ended, but is his entire career nearing its conclusion? Here we will look at the events that led to Ronaldo being seen in this light by the Portuguese Fans.

Ronaldo 2022 Qatar World Cup Stint

• Portugal opened their 2022 Qatar World Cup stint against Ghana, and Ronaldo appeared to have put all the drama at Manchester United behind him. He scored a penalty to put Portugal in front, and it was all smiles for the Portuguese forward, who appeared to have debunked rumors of any strain between him and the players in the national team.  
• Moving on, Portugal played Uruguay; next, Ronaldo failed to record any goal contribution in an eventual win for the Portuguese to establish their dominance in Group H. 
• The most recent incident began when Ronaldo responded to being substituted in the 65th minute of Portugal’s 2-1 defeat to South Korea in the last round of group games. He showed displeasure in what he believed was an early substitution, but the coach laid any discrepancies to rest and assured Ronaldo was still in sync with the team.
•  Ronaldo was substituted on the bench against Switzerland in the last 16; this was the first major tournament game he had not started in fourteen years. Goncalo Ramos, his teenage replacement, then scored a hat-trick, making Ronaldo the star player who had previously only played as a sub.
• Even though he was given most of the second half to have an impact and entered the game with his team behind 1-0, it was how he was deployed against Morocco.

Why Are The Portuguese Fans Against Ronaldo

Ronaldo’s rocky tournament never seemed to have a happy ending, as he was demoted to the role of replacement by his country. However, his tears following Portugal’s quarterfinal exit turned out to be an accurate representation of his current condition. The Portuguese fans started turning against Ronaldo when they realized he was no longer the player he was and might not be able to propel them to the World Cup finals.

The Portuguese fans widely supported dropping Ronaldo from the starting lineup. To confirm that, 70% of respondents to a poll by the newspaper A Bola want him to come off the bench when the Quinas play Switzerland in the round of 16 of the competition. However, no matter how much Ronaldo tries to show he’s more about collective success than individual accolades, his claims on what seemed to be Bruno Fernades’ goals against Uruguay and his attitude towards being on the bench just made it worse. 

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What’s Next For Ronaldo

Ronaldo is without a club, and top teams around the world are boldly refusing the chance to sign him, which did not come as a surprise, especially with how his contract at Manchester United was terminated. 

• Off the pitch, Ronaldo’s attitude is seen to bring discrepancies in the locker room, and while on the pitch, he doesn’t have the same impact and intimidating presence. A Saudi Arabia team offered Ronaldo a multi-million dollar deal. He has not commented on his acceptance or refusal of the offer. Where next he will play, club football is yet to be known.
• Fernando Santos, the Portuguese coach of the Portuguese National team, has freed his team by benching Ronaldo in the round of 16. The fact that Portugal performed with significantly better flexibility, fluidity, and potency without the all-time leading scorer in the history of the international game justified his decision, not simply because Ramos, who took Ronaldo’s position up front, scored a hat-trick.

• Ronaldo claimed his time in the Portuguese national team is not over and that he’d play for them in the upcoming Euro 2024. His world cup dreams might be over, but he will not give up on getting more silverware for Portugal. 

Ronaldo, within a twinkle of an eye, became a villain in the eyes of the Portuguese fans, and at some point in time, he will have to realize that he’s no longer the player he once was so that the team can move forward. The same thing happened to him in Manchester United, as the team started performing better without him in the starting lineup. The Portuguese National team is no longer his, and it is better he passes the torch in an honorable way rather than end things on a sour note. 

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