In this edition of sport’s most anticipated event, there hasn’t been a dull moment. From the first days of the tournament, the 2022 World Cup has been filled with surprises and upsets, throwing all predictions out of the window. Now that we reached the final four, we have a mixture between two traditional giants and two underdogs trying to change the course of history. But once again, we’ll attempt to foreshadow the results, which has seemingly been an impossible task in such a bizarre tournament. So here are our predictions for the World Cup Semi-finals.
Argentina vs Croatia
While football fans were anticipating a mouth-watering South American battle between Brazil and Argentina in the semis, the football gods had other plans in store (whether Luka Modric is considered among the gods is a debate on its own).
Nevertheless, we’re still getting a thrilling affair on Tuesday between two national teams who are willing to put it all on the line.
Following their chaotic victory over the Netherlands, the Argentines have finally produced a performance befitting one of the favorites. Although the Dutch managed to climb their way back to the match, the Albiceleste were clearly the better side.
As for Croatia, they had to rely on their great determination, the heroics Dominik Livakovic and a bit of luck to thump Brazil out of their tournament via their weapon of choice: penalty shootouts.
Perhaps the Checkered Ones weren’t always the most entertaining or the most impressive, but they always seem to find an unlikely path towards victory, one that only Zlatko Dalic and his brave men can envision.
While Argentina should be superior in terms of quality and technique, replicating the mistakes committed in the previous rounds would prove fatal against the Croatians.
Prediction: One more upset from Croatia
France vs Morocco
Following their wins over Belgium, Spain and Portugal, the Moroccans surely didn’t reach the World Cup Semi finals by fluke. The Atlas Lions had the roughest path in the tournament and have survived to tell their story.
Morocco has achieved and unprecedented and historic feat by becoming the first Arabic and African nation to reach this stage of the tournament.
Their reward? A date with the reigning defending world champions.
Under the guidance of Didier Deschamps, France have never truly been sweet on the eyes, but we’re talking about a squad that features top class talent all over the pitch and knows what it takes to prevail when the stakes are at their highest.
In this tournament, some of the biggest European teams have thus far failed to break the Moroccan defensive walls, but if you’re going to build a team that is able to crash the resilient North Africans, then you’ll likely start with Kylian Mbappé.
This one will be neither easy nor entertaining, but we expect the French to emerge victorious despite Morocco’s valiant efforts, setting a rematch against Croatia from the 2018 edition.
Prediction: France for the win
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