2022 FIFA World Cup: completion of the 1/8 final stage

On December 6, all participants in the 1/4 finals of the World Cup in Qatar were determined. In the final matches of the 1/8 finals, four teams fought for the last tickets to the quarterfinals. Spain and Morocco painted a goalless draw in regular and extra time, and Fury Roja sensationally lost on penalties (0:3 pen.). While their neighbors – the Portuguese national team – beat the Swiss with a crushing score of 6:1.

Spain – Morocco – 0:0 (0:3 pen.)

77% of the time Spain had the ball in this match. However, to call this advantage overwhelming or at least somewhat useful simply does not turn the tongue. Terrifyingly sterile possession of the ball by the Spaniards was constantly accompanied by a shrill whistle from the stands.

Many fans on social networks sincerely regretted the time spent watching the first half. Despite an incredible record of possession, the Spaniards delivered only one shot on goal, and then off target. The Moroccans, who only got the opportunity to attack on local holidays, landed three and looked much more dangerous.

In the second half, the pattern of the game did not change, except that Spain began to roll the ball even more furiously across the field. Nevertheless, the number of shots increased: by the middle of the half, the Moroccan football players were noticeably tired of such energy-intensive football, so they began to defend themselves with a lower block, even more rarely running into counterattacks.

So, the Moroccans fought furiously all 120 minutes – and not only managed to keep the score convenient for them 0:0, but also occasionally threatened Unai Simon. In the very same penalty shootout, they destroyed the Spaniards – 3:0. Goalkeeper Yassin Bunu deflected shots from Carlos Soler and Sergi Busquets, while Pablo Sarabia hit the post. Unai Simon, in turn, parried only one of the four blows of the Moroccan national team players. The final blow turned out to be dramatic, as it came out to be performed by a native of Madrid, Ashraf Hakimi, who at one time was not accepted into the Spanish national team. He converted a decisive penalty, causing a deafening roar of joy from the fans of Morocco: their team became the first Arabic-speaking country in history to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

After the match, Spain head coach Luis Enrique spoke about the relegation from Morocco: “Football is a wonderful sport, but it implies that the team can win if they attack. I think we have dominated this game, but at the same time we would like to create more chances. We had 11 shots, but only one hit the target – and it cost us dearly. We gave all our strength, but, unfortunately, it remains only to congratulate the opponent on the victory. I feel for the fans, I felt their support.” In addition, many players of the European team spoke in a similar vein, saying that they did not deserve such a defeat. However, most neutral fans do not share this opinion: they believe that Spain itself paid the price for not wanting to win back in the match against Japan in the third round, and in general for such inept use of the advantage in possession.

Morocco defender Javad El Yami was proud of his team’s performance: “We paid tribute to Arab and African football, coach Regraga gave us the confidence we needed, he boosted our morale. We knew Spain’s game was all about possession, our plan was based on that. They didn’t pose any real threat.” Indeed, every Moroccan defender already has a reason to be proud – their team conceded only one goal in four matches, and then from Canada. They left the gate intact in matches against much more status teams (Belgium, Spain, Croatia).

Portugal – Switzerland – 6:1

Portugal head coach Fernando Santos made a difficult decision: he left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the first time in this tournament. And this replacement fully justified itself – the team played quickly and dynamically both with the ball and without it.

Instead of Ronaldo, Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos appeared at the start. Already in the 17th minute, Ramush received the ball in the penalty area, easily turned around and shot into the upper near corner – Jan Sommer could only look at the ball. In the 33rd minute, defender Pepe, who has already become a legend in Portuguese football, hit the Swiss goal after a corner. Thanks to this ball, he set a World Cup playoff record. He became the oldest goalscorer in knockout matches at the World Cups (39 years and 283 days).

In the 51st minute, Ramos doubled his lead after a Diogo Dalot cross, and in the 67th minute he scored a hat-trick, becoming the first such player at the 2022 World Cup. In addition, he was the first since Eusebio to score three goals for Portugal in the playoffs of the World Cup. Then Eusebio scored four goals against North Korea (5:3) at the 1966 World Cup. Since then and until today, no one has managed to score more times for Portugal in a World Cup play-off match.

In the 74th minute of the match, Cristiano Ronaldo nevertheless entered the field, but he could not bring any real benefit, the score allowed him to play relaxed. In the 92nd minute, Milan’s substitute Rafael Leao set the final score at 6-1.

Thus, the Swiss conceded more in one game than in the entire group stage (3 goals in 3 matches) and World Cup qualification (2 goals in 8 meetings) combined. This match also proved to be the most productive in the 1/8 finals of the 2022 World Cup, and a total of 28 goals were scored at this stage.

Pairs 1/4 finals:

Netherlands – Argentina
Croatia – Brazil
England – France
Morocco – Portugal

Matches will be played on December 9th and 10th.

Daniel Prilepsky.