Last weekend’s quarterfinals were some of the most thrilling matches at this or any other World Cup. In the end, we have a semifinal lineup that few expected and yet could produce so many possibilities in terms of stories and potential matchups. For this exercise, we’ll look at each of the four semifinalists in alphabetical order by happenstance:
ARGENTINA: Lionel Messi stays on course, just, to claim the World Cup for Argentina. There are some parallels between this team and the one that Maradona led to the 1986 World Cup. However, what could be crucial is that both Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel are suspended for this semifinal due to yellow card accumulation after a match that saw a record number of yellow cards.
The Albiceleste have been one of the favorites to win it all since the World Cup started and will be the favorites on Tuesday. However, they undoing could come as a Croatia side that has shown to be more resolute than the Dutch were last Friday.
CROATIA: Like 2018, Croatia reached the semifinals by winning on penalties in both the Round of 16 and quarterfinals. Unlike 2018, just six players from that squad that reached the final are on the squad in 2022 that has reached the semifinals (Livakovic, Perisic, Lovren, Kramaric, Modric, Brozovic) which makes this more impressive.
Luka Modric rolled back the years in the win against Brazil. He will most certainly be called on along to do the same against Argentina along with fellow midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic. Dominik Livakovic looks on his way to the Golden Glove for the tournament. He’ll need the golden touch yet again to deny Messi and Company the way they did Neymar and Brazil.
FRANCE: I have to confess that given all the injuries prior to the start of this World Cup (and their history of implosion after reaching the Final at the Cup before), I felt Les Bleus would no go far in this World Cup. Olivier Giroud has been the next man up after Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, and Karim Benzema all went out injured. Kylian Mbappe, who already has the World Cup to his name, looks odds on to be the Golden Boot winner in this World Cup and looks to eventually become the all-time leading scorer at World Cups in due time passing Miroslav Klose.
The French have been in “survive and advance” mode in virtually all their games this World Cup coming from behind to beat Australia, being pegged back by Denmark to push back ahead, and having to fend off Poland and England in the knockout stages. France does not have a clean sheet at this World Cup, and that could spell trouble against the Atlas Lions.
MOROCCO: Morocco has tried five times to host a World Cup, including for 2026, but five times have been denied. It’s not certain if that has been motivation, but they do not come in alone, they come in together. The Atlas Lions are playing with house money and threaten to break the bank as the representative for the Arab Region and Africa.
Walid Regragui has instilled a discipline in this team that has not been seen in many teams at the World Cup and the result is a team that feels they can beat anyone in the World. They already have taken care of their neighbors across the Strait of Gibraltar and their Iberian neighbors. Now the current holders of the World Cup stand in their way with their attacking talent. Yassine Bounou and crew will be hard pressed to keep their goals allowed total at one, but for the history Morocco has made in this World Cup, the prospect is there for more history on Wednesday.
By Sunday at 9am Central Time, we could see a heavyweight fight between Argentina and France, a rematch of 2018 between France and Croatia, Messi vs. the Magnificent Morocco, or a guaranteed ninth member of the World Cup champions club. Each of the four teams have a story to write about in this World Cup. Now, their quest is to write the history.
