Now we are down to the final four teams in our predictions, which is just one step before the finals game of the 2022 World Cup. So, let’s take a better look at the pairs and our predictions for the semi final matches.
The quarter finals are over and while the impressions are still fresh, let’s take a closer look at how what happened in this stage:
Croatia vs Brazil 1-1 (5-3 after penalties)
Not many people saw Croatia putting up a good fight against the first favourite of the tournament, but the South Americans struggled to break through Croatia’s defence and the match ended in a scoreless draw.
While that probably made a few people suspect that Croatia can cause an upset, after Neymar scored a goal in the 106th minute, it seemed like Croatia won’t get a chance to test their luck and composure on penatlies yet again. But Croatia got back into the match wiht a brace from Petkovic in 117th minute from their first shot on goal, which sent the match to a penalty shootout where Croatia again bested their opponents, second time in Qatar, to reach their second WC semis in a row.
Netherlands vs Argentina 2-2 (5-6 after penalties)
Right after that classic between Croatia and Brazil that saw the South American giants eliminated, the South American champions were scheduled to play against Netherlands and we saw another thrilling game.
It didn’t seem so when Argentina took a 2-0 lead at one point in second half, but Netherlands pushed back and managed to tie the game deep into the stoppage time after a tricky free kick. The two teams remained tied after overtime and we once again saw penalties decide who gets to the semi finals, which ended up being Argentina.
Morocco vs Portugal 1-0
After eliminating Belgium in group stages, Morocco surprised Spain to get to their first-ever quarter finals. Their sturdy defense only conceded one goal ahead of this game, but Portugal entered the match after scoring six against Switzerland, so they were rightfully hoping to get to the semi finals as the clear favourites.
However, Morocco once again proved how tough they are and they’ve kept a clean sheet in another game. On the other side, they managed to score a goal after a mistake by Portugal’s keeper to become the first-ever African team to reach the semi finals of a World Cup.
England vs France 1-2
The last match of the quarter finals promised to be an interesting one since we saw a duel between two old rivals, England and France, and the game didn’t disappoint at all since there was plenty of excitement.
France took the lead in first half, but England pulled back after Kane scored from penalty early in the second half. Then Giroud put France ahead once again, but England pushed back and they had a great opportunity to draw level after another penalty was awarded to them. However, Kane wasn’t as precise this time and sent the ball over the bar, along with England’s hopes of getting to the semi finals.