World coup 2022
Croatia is the first team to qualify for the semi-finals
Croatia qualifies against Brazil in
penalty kicks after several attempts to beat Al-Bazel in 90 minutes
The Croatian national team in the
Qatar World Cup assured us that it is capable of playing with all
ferocity and challenge in order to impose its place in the
Qatar World Cup 2022
It's hard to believe we're just days away from finding out the teams in the
2022 FIFA World Cup Final. The semi-finals are the next stage early next week.
In the tradition of the FIFA World Cup, the two semi-final matches will be
played on separate days with one semi-final on Tuesday 13 December and the
other on Wednesday 14 December.
This means that one of the World Cup finalists will get an extra day of rest
before the final on Sunday 18 December.
The trailing semi-final teams will have one last chance to finish the
tournament on a positive note in the third-place match to be played on the eve
of the final.
More: How players can be suspended in the World Cup semi-finals or finals
World Cup semi-finals schedule
There are eight teams competing for a place in the semi-finals. Two
semi-finalists will be decided on Friday 9 December and another two on
Saturday 10 December.
The date of the World Cup quarter-final match
Time coup du monde Qatar 🇶🇦
The Stadium Friday, December 9, Croatia vs. Brazil, 10am/3pm. Education City
Friday, December 9 Netherlands vs Argentina 2pm / 7pm Lusail Saturday,
December 10 Morocco vs Portugal 10am / 3pm. Al Thumama Saturday, December 10
England - France 2 pm. 7:00 pm, the date of the Al-Bayt World Cup semi-final
match
Stadium Tuesday, December 13th, Argentina/Netherlands vs. Brazil/Croatia at
2pm. / 7 p.m. Lucille Wed, December 14, England / France - Morocco / Portugal
2 p.m. / 7 p.m. Al-Bayt
ARGENTINA / NETHERLANDS - BRAZIL / CROATIA DATE: TUESDAY DECEMBER 13 TIME: 2
PM ET / 7 PM GMT / 10 PM. Qatar's home stadium: The iconic Lusail Stadium
(Lusail, Qatar)
There are a few great groups that could form in Tuesday's first semi-final.
At the top of everyone's list is a potential South American heavyweight title
showdown between Argentina and Brazil. That match will be tough depending on
how the 2021 Copa America final develops.
Both South American powers are likely to be favorites against their potential
European counterparts: Argentina versus Croatia or Brazil versus the
Netherlands.
If we get two surprises in the quarter-finals, there could be an all-European
semi-final between the Netherlands and Croatia as both countries aspire to
reach the final and win their first ever World Cup title.
England/France-Morocco/Portugal Date: Wednesday December 14th Time: 2pm. ET /
7 p.m. GMT / 10 p.m. Home stadium in Qatar: Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor, Qatar)
The winner of the England v France quarter-final will be the favorite against
either Morocco or Portugal.
Morocco is the longest shot out of the eight teams that qualified for the
quarter-finals, and if they reach the quarter-finals, they will be the first
African team to achieve this feat.
An all-European encounter - England v Portugal or France v Portugal - will be
exciting as it will feature a talented and understated Portuguese team that
will cause an upset and take superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to the World Cup
Final for the first time. A chance to win the title in what is likely to be
his last tournament.
How does the semi-finals work?
Just like the previous knockout rounds, the semi-finals will be a
single-elimination and there must be a winner after each match.
So if there is a draw after 90 minutes of regulation, the teams get 30 minutes
of extra time to decide the winner. The overtime session isn't sudden death.
(In other words, it is not a case of winning the next goal or the "golden
goal").
How do penalty kicks work?
If the teams are still deadlocked after extra time, the match will go to a
penalty shootout where each team will take turns trying to score from the
penalty spot. The team with the most successful conversions after five
attempts is declared the winner. If the teams are still level after five
kicks, they will enter an extra round until the deadlock is broken.
History of the World Cup semi-finals
In the seven men's World Cups held since 1994, the 28 available quarter-final
spots have been taken by 16 different countries, having competed six times in
multiple matches at this stage.
A total of 12 of these 16 nations hail from Europe, three from South America,
and just one from Asia with South Korea surprisingly making it to the last
four when they co-host the tournament.
If Brazil can reach the quarter-finals, they will have reached this point for
the fifth time in eight tournaments.
Among the quarter-finalists in 2022, only Morocco will be a first-time
semi-finalist if they beat Portugal.