Football storms in the Qatari desert draw to a close

Let us immediately break the chronology of the quarter-final schedule and first talk about the most interesting pair of this stage of the competition.

England – France

The rivalry between France and England for many centuries took place not only on football fields. Therefore, the integrity of the upcoming match goes far beyond football.

The British have long dreamed of winning the World Cup. For the founders of this sport, it is simply a shame to have only one trophy, obtained back in 1966.

In Qatar, the England team has so far made a mixed impression. At the group stage, the Iranians and the Welsh were defeated, but a draw with the Americans spoiled the picture. In the 1/8 finals, the team of Gareth Southgate “carried out” the national team of Senegal – 3:0. But this success failed to convince experts that the British are the favorites in the upcoming match. Perhaps it’s just the long-standing belief that no matter how well the England team performs in the early stages of the World Cup, when it comes to decisive fights, they invariably lose. Even the authoritative English sports columnist for the Daily Mail newspaper Martin Samuel noted with regret that the national team does not enjoy respect from his compatriots, although its current composition undoubtedly deserves it. The British grumble that the victory over Senegal was largely due to luck. Although for any other team, a victory over the African champion would be a dizzying result.

Adding to the headache for the English coaching staff is the departure from Qatar of striker Raheem Sterling, whose home in the UK has been attacked. The player himself promises to return to the championship on Friday to help his team in the battle with the French. However, family troubles can have a bad effect on his athletic form.

The French, on the contrary, are among the favorites of the tournament. They are the reigning world champions and their national team is stronger than ever. In Qatar, the Blues will go out of their way to repeat the achievement of the Brazilians who defended the crown of the strongest team in the world in 1962. And they may well be able to do it.

The team is coached by Didier Deschamps, himself a 1998 world champion. Under his leadership are solid stars, the brightest of which is undoubtedly Kylian Mbappe, forgive us Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, who are also stars of the first magnitude.

At the group stage, the French had only one misfire – a defeat from Tunisia, and in the 1/8 finals they dealt with the Poles without any problems – 3:1.

Mbappé is on a roll in Qatar, having scored five goals so far. Giroud has three goals. And this is a sufficient reason to worry about the English team.

In general, Deschamps is able to put up a starting line-up against the English, which, as football observers write, has awesome power. Mbappe, Giroud and Dembele in attack, Adrien Rabiot and Aurélien Chouameni in midfield. And the link between us is Antoine Griezmann. Small problems are only in the defensive line. Kunde is not very comfortable on the right flank, and left-back Theo Hernandez more often than necessary, strives to run away to the attack.

What can Southgate oppose to this “machine”? Only well-coordinated team play, which, by the way, he does well in this championship. Harry Kane, the top scorer of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, has scored only one goal in Qatar so far. But he became a good assistant, having already given three assists. And in total, the British have already scored 12 goals, which is also not bad. The 19-year-old Bellingham excels in midfield beyond his years, and Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling come on as subs to bring fresh energy to the attack and become a real problem for tired opposition defenders.

The main battle, again according to experts, in the upcoming match will unfold between one of the fastest defenders of this tournament, Kyle Walker, and the fastest striker, Mbappe.

What else can be added to all that has been said? At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the author of this article happened to witness one of the most high-profile scandals in the French team, when all the players quarreled with each other and crashed out of the tournament. There is no such problem in Qatar.

“We spend a lot of time together. The mood in the team is really good, the older players help the younger ones,” French defender Jules Kunde said.

Netherlands – Argentina

Lionel Messi, along with the Argentine national team, continues the path to the world title.

Having sensationally lost in the first match to Saudi Arabia, La Skaloneta then no longer allowed misfires. The game of the 1/8 finals against the Australians turned out to be especially difficult, but the Argentines also brought it to victory, and Messi scored his ninth goal, overtaking Maradona himself. So far, only Batistuta has more, but this record is quite achievable.

However, according to Messi, the meeting with Holland will not be easy.

“Another tough fight is coming. And I want to thank all our fans who came to Qatar. I know that the whole of Argentina would like to be here,” said the striker.

Argentina head coach Scaloni has concerns about the fitness of Ángel di Maria, who missed the game against Australia with a left thigh injury. Now the football player has already returned to training and is preparing to enter the Lusail field on the evening of December 9th.

For 71-year-old Dutch head coach Louis van Gaal, Messi’s problem in the upcoming game is not the only one. But he has already managed to surprise the experts by abandoning the usual Dutch attacking style in this championship. Moreover, the Dutch national team needs to return the favor to the Argentines for the defeat in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup, when Albicelesta beat them in the penalty shoot-out.

“We can surprise the opponents with a plan for this match. As in that semi-final meeting eight years ago, when Messi almost did not see the ball, ”van Gaal promised reporters. The best basis for such confidence is the Dutch national team’s 19 games unbeaten since van Gaal returned to the post of head coach 15 months ago.

Croatia – Brazil

The Brazilians, along with the French, are the undisputed favorites of this tournament. They literally burst into the quarter-finals with a crushing 4-1 victory over South Korea, scoring all their goals in the first 36 minutes of the meeting.

The king of football, Pele, whose health is on the mend, before the start of the championship, demanded that the Selecao bring him a sixth championship star from Qatar, and the Brazilians are unlikely to want to upset the football legend.

The team is in a great mood. The players, together with the coaches, celebrated each goal against the South Koreans with dances, which has already caused sharp criticism from fans of other teams and the media. Someone even demanded that they be disqualified for disrespectful attitude towards rivals. But for the Brazilians…

Croats quite soberly assess their strength in the upcoming match. And even hope to win, paying tribute to rivals.

“Brazil was the favourite, from the very beginning. They can have two full-fledged teams on the field that can play at the highest level. Any substitute player can instantly turn the tide of the match. We respect the Brazilians and that’s how we prepare for the game. Our goal is to try to stop the whole team. It will be a very difficult fight,” said Zenit captain and Croatian national team defender Dejan Lovren. The head coach Zlatko Dalic, who called Brazil “terrible”, agrees with him.

For Croatia, keeping control of the ball will be key and that will be quite a feat. Since everything is going to the fact that the head coach of the Selesao Tite is finally ready to put up the strongest squad in this tournament. Including Neymar, Danilo and Alex Sandro.

As for Brazilian dances, the Croats treat them with Balkan calmness.

“Honestly, everyone can celebrate however they want. Brazilians are born to sing and dance, and we have no problem with that,” Lovren summed up.

Morocco – Portugal

Passions are running high in the Portuguese national team. Cristiano Ronaldo continues to excite fans and journalists with his stellar ambitions.

Many media reported that Ronaldo allegedly threatened to leave Qatar after a conflict with national team coach Fernando Santos. As if he was furious when he was not included in the starting lineup for the round of 16 match against Switzerland. And he even argued with the coach, believing that Santos listened to some people who did not want to see him at the base. The basis for the rumors was, again according to media reports, Ronaldo’s insulting remarks about Santos when he was substituted in the group stage match against South Korea. And the coach himself later publicly stated that he did not like Ronaldo’s reaction to the replacement. “I will use what I consider to be the right strategy, as I have done all my life,” Santos said.

It got to the point that Ronaldo’s relatives, as MK wrote earlier, advised the star Portuguese to pack his bags, since he was not appreciated in the national team.

But it looks like the crisis is over.

“An amazing evening for Portugal, with a historic result in the biggest competition in world football. Luxurious game of a team full of talent and youth. Congratulations to our team. The dream is alive! Until the very end! Come on, Portugal! — wrote Ronaldo in social networks after the victory over Switzerland in the 1/8 finals.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is our leader. He is the captain, he is the leader, we always look forward to playing side by side with him. He is my guide and an idol for many of us. Ronaldo is my role model,” Gonçalo Ramos, 21-year-old striker for the national team and Benfica, answered him.

A strong team spirit, of course, is good, but … The Moroccan team in Qatar has already cracked a couple of hard nuts – Belgium and Spain. And the mood of the “Atlas lions” is also at the highest level. After all, for the first time in history they reached the quarterfinals of the championship. The whole of Africa and the whole Arab world are looking at the Moroccans with hope. Expecting that after Spain they will be able to get another Iberian scalp.

The success of the Moroccans in this tournament is based on resilience in defense and unpredictability in counterattacks. It was this strategy that was implemented to perfection against the 2010 champion Spain. Wards of Walid Regraga know well how to “dry” the game, and in the penalty shootout, their goalkeeper Yassin Bunu can give odds to the Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Coste. In any case, I would very much like to see another sensation at this 22nd World Championship rich in surprises.