Argentina vs Croatia, France vs Morocco Semifinals Kick Off on the 14th
[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup semifinal matchups have been confirmed, including Morocco, the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals.
On the 14th at 4 a.m. KST, Argentina and Croatia will play the first semifinal match at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The second semifinal will be held on the 15th at 4 a.m. at Al Bayt Stadium between France and Morocco.
This is the first time in 20 years since South Korea in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup that a nation outside Europe and South America has reached the World Cup semifinals. The 2006 Germany tournament featured an all-European semifinal with Italy-Germany and France-Portugal, and the 2010 South Africa tournament had Spain-Germany and Uruguay-Netherlands in the semifinals.
The 2014 Brazil tournament saw clashes between Europe and South America with Germany-Brazil and Argentina-Netherlands, while the 2018 Russia tournament was an all-European affair with France-Belgium and Croatia-England. Nations outside Europe and South America have reached the World Cup semifinals only three times: the USA in the inaugural 1930 tournament (3rd place), South Korea in 2002, and now Morocco.
The semifinal between Argentina and Croatia draws fans’ attention to the showdown between the two teams’ star players. This tournament is effectively the last World Cup for Argentina’s Lionel Messi (35, Paris Saint-Germain) and Croatia’s Luka Modri? (37, Real Madrid). If Messi plays in the semifinals, he will tie Lothar Matth?us (Germany) for the most World Cup matches played in the finals (25 games), and if he plays in the final or third-place match, he will set a new record with 26 games.
Croatia’s Modri? was the runner-up and Golden Ball winner (best player) at the 2018 tournament. Although he has no goals or assists in this tournament, there is no dispute that Modri? is the key player holding Croatia together. While Croatia is considered weaker than Argentina objectively, having defeated world No. 1 Brazil in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals, the outcome is hard to predict.
The match between France and Morocco is expected to be a battle between offense and defense. Kylian Mbapp?, the top scorer with 5 goals, and Olivier Giroud, who has scored 4 goals, are expected to lead the attack. If France wins, they will achieve back-to-back World Cup titles for the first time in 60 years since Brazil in 1962.
However, Morocco’s ironclad defense, which has conceded only one own goal in five matches this tournament, is a variable. They held the "Invincible Armada" Spain scoreless through 120 minutes of extra time in the round of 16 and kept Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, scoreless for 90 minutes in the quarterfinals. If Morocco wins, they will be the first nation outside Europe or South America to reach the World Cup final.
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