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Sports FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
- Thread starter awyp
- Start date
So I love how I've been right about Morocco from the start and I will continue to support them, fantastic team. I did think Portugal might've had a the best defense in the tournament but from a statistical standpoint it's Morocco all the way (Always thought they were 2nd best defense in the competition). I love the Moroccan team, I watched them all year and this team they had never formulated because they wouldn't have all their starters playing depending on the tournament or game. During the Arab Cup pretty much En Nesyri, Ziyech, and Mazraoui (and other players) didn't even play at all. The team to my knowledge hasn't had a lot of playing time with the full team. But I knew based on their talent alone that they had a big shot making it for because their flair, skill, speed and coaching especially Bono being the best African goal keeper (Take that Mendy) it was going to be hard to beat them (just look at my post history about them). FIRST AFRICAN NATION TO WIN A WORLD CUP LETS GO!!!!
Semi Finals prediction -
Morocco vs France - Morocco wins (Boufal wants revenge)
Argentina vs Croatia - Argentina wins (They cannot keep going to extra time)
It’s all up to you Messi.
Those quarterfinals were beautiful. Each of them were memorable in their own way and each reminded of this basic fact: the World Cup belongs to the winner. Those cutthroat games very close to each other are what make this competition unique, cruel and beautiful. For big nations like England, Brazil or Portugal the victors of the Wednesday are the nobodys of the Sunday and it is the priviledge of the small nations to remember those who didn't win. Morocco and Croatia are the big outsiders and even if the finals ends up being a clash of the titans between France and Argentina, Morocco will be remembered as the first African nation to reach the semi-finals and Croatia as the country of less than 4 million people and younger than most of its players that reached the semi-finals twice in a row. For the losers of the weekend it is a monumental failure only amplified by the fact that they had a relatively easy game prior (Portugal 6-1 vs Switzerland, Brazil 4-1 vs South Korea) but so is the cruelty of the World Cup and also its greatest asset. This hasn't been an extraordinary World Cup by any means and seeing all those former players including David Beckam and Marcel Dessailly do the advertising for it and Qatar has been repellent but even a not extraordinary World Cup is an extraordinary event.
I hate not being neutral for the Argentina-Croatia. The kind of games I love in a WC. Two strong rivals with similar levels, two of the best players of the decade leading them, great defenses and midfields (Croatia's midf is my fav in the WC), both have reached this point after living impressive moments in the tour, many players know their rivals from clubs, both countries and teams have that incredibly strong fighting spirit.. the context. This game is full of details.
The most important thing is that both teams have not reached their full potential yet, so this game is so hard to predict.
The most important thing is that both teams have not reached their full potential yet, so this game is so hard to predict.
I agree with this alot, Argentina and Croatia certainly have not shown their full potential. Croatia was able to hold off the Brazilian assault because their midfield is great and Livakovic is apparently the next Lev Yashin; if he can keep his Brazil Game with decent consistentcy, it's gonna be really difficult to Argentina to score against them. Both take good shots to the goal and can play aggressive if need be. Luka Modric is playing consistent as always, while Messi is still scoring goals with good consistency. This will probably go down to penalties, if Livakovic plays like Yashin once more.
Although Morocco is the favorites considering France's middling defense, don't count France out. I do have to admit France isn't playing as aggressive as they are supposed to be. They always lag behind in possession% and those possession can lead to goals which they conceded a lot of due to losing Matuidi, Kante, Pogba, Samuel, Mason Greenwood's Friend
and others. They were really detrimental to France's defense last world cup which allowed them to play a bit more passive. England played right against them but lost because Harry Kane's rocket with the second penalty and Maguire damn near had that corner header conversion to a goal. France were a bit lucky with England so this is definitely a real test. France should play a lot more aggressive against a middling Moroccan offense (maybe Idk their offense but I believe it's not like England's or France's offense.)Btw, the last thing I wanna see is Morocco vs Croatia in the Final, that is going to be the most heinous world cup match ever, easily going into penalties.
4 years ago, Argentina lost to Croatia 0-3 in the group stage
In 2006, Argentina had a friendly against Croatia, Messi wearing the number 19 shirt (18 years old) scored his first goal for Argentina, and 20-year-old Luka Modric made his Croatia debut. In the end, Croatia won with a score of 3-2.
The last time at the 2018 World Cup, the two faced each other in the group stage, Croatia beat Argentina with a score of 3-0 and went straight to the final.
And tomorrow, both teams will meet again in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, it will be a fascinating confrontation between two legends of each team - and possibly their last in the World Cup.
Both Messi and Modric are in the final chapter of their careers and now they have to compete for tickets to the final round.
In 2006, Argentina had a friendly against Croatia, Messi wearing the number 19 shirt (18 years old) scored his first goal for Argentina, and 20-year-old Luka Modric made his Croatia debut. In the end, Croatia won with a score of 3-2.
The last time at the 2018 World Cup, the two faced each other in the group stage, Croatia beat Argentina with a score of 3-0 and went straight to the final.
And tomorrow, both teams will meet again in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, it will be a fascinating confrontation between two legends of each team - and possibly their last in the World Cup.
Both Messi and Modric are in the final chapter of their careers and now they have to compete for tickets to the final round.
I was having a conversation with Lialiabeast and 3MoreMinutes about Modric being a top 5 midfielder of all time. (Behind the likes of Zidane, Xavi, Iniesta). I think if Modric pulls it off to bring this team again in the finals 2 WC in a row, it gives a big bump to his legacy which is already great.
HMMMMMMMMMMM
I'd say Modric is definitely above bums like Ozil for sure probably imo, do you agree Lialiabeast?
the more things change the more they stay the same. messi played of his mind in parts today, most obviously the assist for the third goal, and legit looked like the best player in the world once again. he's been ramping up throughout the tournament and, if he goes up against france, i think argentina will have a big advantage simply through wanting it more than the french, a lot of whom won it in 2018. it'll be weird if it's morocco as, despite them singlehandedly ushering in a new era of football, they'll likely still be seen as the villains standing between messi and the one trophy that's eluded him for so long.
still stuff to work on today but argentina's formation was amazing - perfect for mostly toothless teams such as croatia as the extra defensive pressure isn't needed so much as a stronger offense is. same would likely be effective against morocco due to their remarkably low possession % and tendency to stick 11 men behind the ball for the entire game outside of counters.
thought croatia would be more solid defensively but i think they mentally fell apart after conceding the penalty so early on - their plan is always to take you to penalties and beat you there so they panicked and quickly conceded again - same thing that likely would have happened in the QF if brazil scored one of neymar's earlier chances rather than leaving it so late and enabling croatia to get the lucky deflection in the 127th or whatever. nothing they could've done to stop the 3rd goal but argentina's 1st and 2nd went right down the middle, pretty inexcusable to let those go right the way through.
despite their loss, i would nonetheless like to congratulate croatia for having two shots on target - that is one more than in their previous game. however, their quest to win an elimination game at a 21st century world cup without going to extra time is looking like it will have to continue in 2026.
Hopeful for Morocco today. They remind me of 2004 Greece. I really think they can go all the way now, they're so disciplined and their tactics are so anti-meta that I'm not sure France or Argentina can develop ways to clap them in time. Their game against Portugal in particular was masterclass, their goal wasnt even from a counter attack, it was from a build up where pretty much every team member had touches, insane stuff. That said, this isn't a prediction, I still think France can find a way to score and if this moroccan team gets behind in the scoreboard it might be free real state, I don't see them turning a scoreboard around with these super low possession tatics.
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After celebrating, I will talk a bit about the game:
Even with the 3-0, Croatia were the best team Argentina faced in a first half this World Cup. Idk if it was Scaloni's plan, but Croatia dominated the midfield and fairly won the possession of the ball for at least 20 minutes. Kovacic was really good and Luka had touches of class, as always. But Argentina understood what to do: the team tried 2 or 3 long balls to Julian, none of them were really good chances but it was clear that croatia wasn't defending well those passes. Argentina's def was excellent, Croatia's possession was slowly starting to be harmless; the four argentine midfielders work was key for this. Then Argentina found that pass Julián needed to turn it in a big chance, then the pen happened. Messi scored it and after the game he revealed that he trained it with Rulli, as Rulli told him how he should try to score a pen against Livakovic; details, WC games are won by details. Croatia was simply not ready for conceding a goal that early, and Argentina started to dominate the game, Julián second goal is incredible, altough with some luck, he is just too good and smart for pressing rivals and forcing them to make mistakes, the help of the two argentine players on his sides was crucial because the croatians always expected a pass.
Dalic for some reason subbed off Brozovic, and I think Croatia lost it all in that moment. Messi's play against Gvardiol is ICONIC, it's just too good and legendary. Gvardiol is 20yo and has been one of the best CBs of the WC, Messi is 35yo and made Gvardiol look like an amateur in that play, impressive. Julián, smart as always, was where he had to be. Argentina never had problems in the game after that, Croatia was totally out of the game at that point and Scaloni decided to give some minutes to players like Dybala and Correa.
I want to talk about Luka: he is amazing man, good match for him, with touches that make every fan of football smile. That shot from him that Otamendi blocked remembered me of that goal he scored against us in 2018, life is curious: the defender that failed to block his shot in 2018 was the same Otamendi. When Luka was subbed off, argentine crowd applauded him, we really appreciate good players and he is one of the best of the last 15 years. Croatia is so likable, at least for us, I really hope they can win a trophy in the future, maybe the Euros 2024, who knows..
Even with the 3-0, Croatia were the best team Argentina faced in a first half this World Cup. Idk if it was Scaloni's plan, but Croatia dominated the midfield and fairly won the possession of the ball for at least 20 minutes. Kovacic was really good and Luka had touches of class, as always. But Argentina understood what to do: the team tried 2 or 3 long balls to Julian, none of them were really good chances but it was clear that croatia wasn't defending well those passes. Argentina's def was excellent, Croatia's possession was slowly starting to be harmless; the four argentine midfielders work was key for this. Then Argentina found that pass Julián needed to turn it in a big chance, then the pen happened. Messi scored it and after the game he revealed that he trained it with Rulli, as Rulli told him how he should try to score a pen against Livakovic; details, WC games are won by details. Croatia was simply not ready for conceding a goal that early, and Argentina started to dominate the game, Julián second goal is incredible, altough with some luck, he is just too good and smart for pressing rivals and forcing them to make mistakes, the help of the two argentine players on his sides was crucial because the croatians always expected a pass.
Dalic for some reason subbed off Brozovic, and I think Croatia lost it all in that moment. Messi's play against Gvardiol is ICONIC, it's just too good and legendary. Gvardiol is 20yo and has been one of the best CBs of the WC, Messi is 35yo and made Gvardiol look like an amateur in that play, impressive. Julián, smart as always, was where he had to be. Argentina never had problems in the game after that, Croatia was totally out of the game at that point and Scaloni decided to give some minutes to players like Dybala and Correa.
I want to talk about Luka: he is amazing man, good match for him, with touches that make every fan of football smile. That shot from him that Otamendi blocked remembered me of that goal he scored against us in 2018, life is curious: the defender that failed to block his shot in 2018 was the same Otamendi. When Luka was subbed off, argentine crowd applauded him, we really appreciate good players and he is one of the best of the last 15 years. Croatia is so likable, at least for us, I really hope they can win a trophy in the future, maybe the Euros 2024, who knows..
the respect you show is admirable
sadly, i am english though, hence we lack class and thus we have a vendetta against France for beating us in the QF, we have a vendetta against Croatia for 2018, we have no vendetta on Argentina, but Messi used to beat United a lot and i'm petty
so really it's Morocco or sadness for an Englishman at Christmas...