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All four teams are still riding high after their respective World Cup quarter-final victories, but anticipation is already mounting ahead of the next stage: the half-season on Tuesday and Wednesday. Croatia will be looking to reach their second World Cup final in as many competitions, and Morocco are looking to continue their historic run after becoming the first African team and the first Arab team to qualify for the last four.
Reigning champions France beat England 2-1 on Saturday as Harry Kane missed a late penalty in the World Cup quarter-finals after Morocco became the first African side to reach the semi-finals. finals.
France will face the surprising North Africans on Wednesday, earning their place when Olivier Giroud’s header was the difference at Al Bayt Stadium.
In a tense game, Aurlien Tchouamni’s strike opened the scoring in the 17th minute, but Kane leveled England from a penalty early in the second half.
England were the better side for much of the game, but Giroud scored when it mattered most, overtaking Harry Maguire to put the ball into the net in the 78th minute for his 53rd goal for France.
As England desperately searched for an equaliser, they were thrown a late lifeline when Theo Hernandez pushed unnecessarily on Mason Mount and the referee kicked after a VAR review.
But Kane kicked over the crossbar, fending off the chance to send the game into extra time. He was the first English player to fall to his knees at the final whistle with his head in his hands.
“We gave them a bit of ammunition with two penalties, but it was with heart and guts that we held on to this result,” said France coach Didier Deschamps. “It’s fabulous because it was a big game against a very good English team.”
“We replied once again, it’s wonderful to reach the last four again, you have to savor it, a World Cup semi-final is something.”
England manager Gareth Southgate said he told his players: “I don’t think they could have given more.”
“They played very well against a top side. It was nice margins and things on both sides that decided the game,” Southgate added.
Morocco enters the history of the World Cup
Only Morocco’s staunchest fan would have bet his side would reach the World Cup semi-finals before the tournament kicks off.
On Saturday they beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal 1-0 thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header to go further than any African team has ever been in the World Cup.
Morocco, ranked 22nd in the world before the start of the tournament, overtook the other three African teams to reach the quarter-finals Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.
Ronaldo, who came on as a second-half substitute, couldn’t save his team and at the final whistle went into the tunnel wiping away tears without recognizing either his team-mates or the victorious Moroccans.
Ronaldo, 37, who along with Lionel Messi has dominated world football for the past two decades, probably played his last World Cup game after making a world-record 196th international appearance at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
The Moroccans far exceeded expectations in Qatar and coach Walid Regragui hailed his injured side’s fighting spirit.
“We are drawing on everything we have, we still have injured guys. I told the guys before the game that we have to write African history. I am very, very happy,” said Regragui.
As their national team made history, crowds gathered in Casablanca and chanted “Qualified! Qualified!”
There were also celebrations in the Arab world and Europe, with Morocco also being the first Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
“My heart will stop, what a team, what endurance, what an achievement,” Ilham El Idrissi, a 34-year-old woman, told AFP in Casablanca.
Argentina and Croatia meet on Tuesday
Argentina and Lionel Messi will face 2018 finalists Croatia in the other semi-final after the Croats knocked out pre-tournament favorites Brazil on Friday.
The five-time champions fell apart in dramatic fashion, losing on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while Argentina survived a riposte from the Netherlands to also win in a shootout.
Brazil star Neymar said he was considering retiring from international football after the crushing defeat, but on Saturday Brazil legend Pele urged him to “keep inspiring us”.
“I’m 82, and after all this time, I hope I’ve inspired you in some way to get here… Your legacy is far from over,” Pele wrote on Instagram. .
Neymar had equaled Pelé’s official record in Brazil with 77 international goals in Friday’s game.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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