FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals : England vs France

 In an absolute cracker of a game, France finally prevailed over a much better organised England to win the last of the quarterfinals 2-1 & proceed to the last four of this World Cup. On paper & on field, England were arguably a better side & were more threatening in exchanges for the better part of the game, but they failed to cash on key moments, allowing France to nose ahead & finally win the tie. The reigning Champions reached the semis back to back now, looking good & growing in stature for the business end of the tournament. 

Aurelien Tchouameni's first half strike in the 17th minute saw the Les Blues take the lead over the Three Lions. From a well organised move in the English half, Mbappe carried the ball to Dembele, who in turn passed to Greizmann who deftly squared it for Tchouamenito receive & blast a 25 yarder into the right corner of the English net, past a stunned pack of defenders & a flailing Pickford under the bar. France were on top 1-0. However, England were unfazed & came roaring back, & the reigning champions were certainly the second best for the middle part of the game. HarryKane tested Lloris under the bar with a stinging shot, but the French keeper managed to fist it out.  Mbappe, Greizmann, Dembele, Giroud, none got a chance to control, as English duo Bellingham & Declan Rice bossed the midfield with Henderson, Saka, Kane & Foden looking to breach the French defense, as the referee blew the half time whistle. 

In the 2nd half, the Three Lions roared back into the game, having France on the ropes, as Foden & Bellingham caused havoc across the flanks & Harry Kane went deep to initiate attacks. A Bellingham pile driver from a Foden corner was again tipped over the bar by Lloris, as the French camp heaved a sigh of relief. The break came around the 54th minute, when Saka played one to one with Bellingham down the right & cut into the French box, where Tchouameni clipped him & the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Stepping up Kane, wrong footed his Tottenham colleague keeper to hammer the ball into the right corner, to level the score at 1-1, as English supporters came roaring back. It was Kane's 53rd goal for England making him the joint top scorer with Wayne Rooney. This was also his fourth World Cup goal from penalty kicks in regulation time, a record of sorts, as Southgate's fisted cry of relief  from the line aptly described the English sentiments. With game now a see saw battle of wits, skills & nerves, both teams pressed for a lead. Rabiot had a sniff with a rousing drive, but Pickford was alert enough to thwart any danger. Another great run by Mbappe down the flank & a sweet cross saw Dembele head into the box & Giroud volleyed hard from the middle, but Pickford made a brilliant save stretching full & fisting the ball out for a corner. However, this ensured Greizmann's corner pushed back & Kounde smartly passed the ball to Herenandez who rolled it to Greizmann again & his cross into the box is met by Giroud who outreached Mcguire to head into the left corner of the net, as the English defense & Pickford clutched in thin air. France had restored their lead back to 2-1. This was Giroud's fourth goal of the tournament, the man of the moment for France, with a brilliant finish. Southgate, in an attempt to increase his attacking options, brought in Sterling & Mason Mount to replace a tiring Hendersen & Bukayo Saka, while France brought in Koman to replace Dembele. Mount had an immediate impact running into the French box with less than 10 minutes to go, & had Hernandez shoulder him hard to the ground - a clear penalty denied by the referee initially, but VAR intervention made him look again & he pointed to the dreaded spot one more time - the whole English camp & supporters were looking at redemption time, as Harry Kane once gain stepped into to take the kick. However, probably the pressure of the situation, or a moment's indecision, or both, Kane blew the ball over the bar, & with that the English hopes of coming back vanished. 8 minutes of added injury time saw a desperate England looking for inroads & a frantic French looking at defending the slender lead. Maguire got the first yellow card for England in this tournament (a reflection of their stern discipline through the tournament), but he made amends by earning a freekick just outside the French box. Substitute Rashford stepped in & whipped over the French wall, but the ball did not dip enough as a relieved Lloris saw land on the roof of the net, as the full time whistle blew the game to an end. 

It was a fabulous match, & perhaps England were the better side on the day, unfortunately ending up losing. This certainly was not a typical England exit, where as earlier time, they would win emphatically against lower class of international side only to struggle & pale out against the first good team they faced. This team was rich in class, very strong on mentality & intent, scoring heavily & not reliant on Kane alone, awesome bench strength to back & astute leadership from Southgate. The Three Lions had done their supporters proud with their performance, & its a shame, they did not go further up in the tournament. With this, in a tournament of upsets, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Portugal & now England, all pre tournament favourites have been packed home. 

France, have now reached the semi finals for the seventh time, while the first time since 1982/1986 to do so consecutively. They will take on a rather tricky encounter with emerging Africans, Morocco, who have quietly surprised football fans & critics world over. 

FIFA World Cup : Portugal vs Morocco

 History was written, when arguable minnows Morocco became the first African to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, slaying a prodigal Portugal 1-0. Defending relentlessly against a very strong Portugal attack, & exhibiting super counter attacking intent, the Atlas Lions, have roared into the last four, having eliminated Belgium, Spain & now Portugal, all strong per tournament cup contenders. 

In an entertaining encounter, both teams went toe to toe without taking any backward steps, as Portugal held the initiatives in the early part of the game, dominating the openings without getting any clear view of the goal, while, Morocco went ahead, just minutes before the half time, as En-Nesyri struck with a decisive header. From a cross by Attiyah-Allah from the left, Portugal keeper Costa failed to read the flight & the Sevilla striker leapt beautifully to head the ball into the unguarded net, putting Morocco ahead 1-0, as the half time whistle blew. En-Nesyri became the first Moroccan to score three times in a World Cup tournament, & that too with just three shots on target - speak of conversion rates against all odds. 

The 2nd half continued to be a tightly contested affair, as the Portugal attacking line failed to convert their chances, & Moroccans held firm on their slender lead. Portugal players screamed for a penalty as Fernandes went down to a challenge by Achraf Hakimi, but a VAR review went abegging, as the Selecao players fumed in anguish. Finally the resilient & hard working Morocco scalped their more fancied opponent Portugal to a narrow 1-0 win. For Ronaldo & Pepe, this is most probably the end of the road in World Cup, as the new generation of Ramos, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Leao, Felix et all take over. 

Morocco, ranked as low as 22nd in the world, three places below Wales, have actually faced just two defeats in their last 45 games, which is probably a statistic that went unnoticed by all the major critics & football lovers, as the Atlas Lions have grown huge under the radar. They scored goals when it mattered the most & saved goals when it mattered the most - the hallmark of a Champion team in the making. Coach Walid Regragui has only been around 100 days with this team, & what transformation he was brought about. They now await the winners of France & England later in the night, the last of the quarterfinals. 

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FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals : Netherlands vs Argentina

 In a high temper knife edged match Messi's Argentina pipped Netherlands to reach the semifinals of this World Cup to meet giant slayer Croatia. 

The game started quite tentatively, testing each other's intent & depth, but it was surely the Latin American outfit that was having the better of the exchanges, with Messi weaving through at will around midfield to create openings. In around the 35th minute, it was Messi magic on display as he dropped behind around midfield & then darting through, threaded a pass into the Dutch box, where Molina quickly latched on to the ball & stepping beyond Blind, stabbed past the keeper Noppert into the net, as the Albiceleste crowd went into raptures. 1-0. The Dutch were quite a loose bunch in the first half, with solo efforts from Depay, Gapko & De Jong, but looked a tad off colour, as the referee blew the half time whistle. 

2nd half started with Argentina holding the upper card & Messi weaving magic across the field, & the Dutch team looking further down the barrel. Around the 70th minute, Acuna dribbled down the flank to enter the box, & Dumfries tripped him for the referee to immediately blow the whistle & point to the dreaded spot. Messi stepped in as expected & his calm, composed shot buried inside the net, with Noppert rooted to his spot, & Argentina were already celebrating, believing in the semis spot, 2-0. It looked done & dusted for the men in White & Blue stripes, as the Orange looked glum. Netherlands threw in their last card on deck by bringing in Luuk de Jong & Wout Weghorst to try something different, & almost immediately got dividends, as Berghuis curled in a beautiful cross & Weghorst raced to the front post & his glancing header was a peach to bounce beyond the Argentinian keeper Martinez & enter the net to make the score 2-1, & Dutch looked to be vback in the game. Deep into the injury time, Weghorst did it again, when Koopmeiners shaped to shoot, but instead rolled the ball where Weghorst received & slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net to square the score at 2-2, with just seconds to full time. Weghorst had become the first Netherlands player to score a brace as a substitute in a World Cup, & what a time to gather the accolades. 

The extra time was cagey & ill tempered & as both sides had opportunities to score, as tension & tempers raised ugly heads. Dumfries received his 2nd yellow card of the match to get marching orders, as referee looked baffled. 

In the penalties, Argentina prevailed 4-3 to finally heave a sigh of relief, as the match had almost slipped away from them despite leading 2-0 around 72nd minute of the game. Their untested defense came under a barrage of Dutch attacks, led by Weghorst & de Jong as the score levelled & went into extra time & then the penalties. Argentina will now meet Croatia in a very tricky encounter, who are relishing their staying powers, having dispatched Cup favourites Brazil in the quarters, purely on strategy & resolve.