I always say about the World Cup after month of play, there’s only one nation still smiling in the end! It’s been unusual to see World Cup matches as winter has been approaching. The time zones didn’t help too much. Nevertheless I made every opportunity to enjoy games at cafes and other viewing places. I also had my share of entertainment with the 442oons videos.
It’s crazy that World Cup 2022 already felt like a circus. I think every World Cup becomes a bit of a circus. Throughout this World Cup, talks of endless corruption, the corruption of the nation of Qatar, questions about matches being fixed or some referees having prejudices. Possibly one of the best things about the match for the Cup is not just to reward the winner, but the fact that all this will end. I remember before the start of one World Cup final, I thought to myself that all the craziness is over. What happened, happened. What didn’t happen, didn’t happen. And now all that should matter is who will win the Cup.
Onto the World Cup finals, it’s interesting that the two teams playing have a few notable things in common. Both have won the World Cup twice before. In both cases, their first World Cup win was when they were host nation. Both played in the very first World Cup in 1930, and one of the teams was even a finalist. Both teams have a striker who has amassed a total of five goals this World Cup, and both teams lost a group stage match here in Qatar. Without further ado, here are my reviews of the last two matches of World Cup 2022:
THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFF REVIEW:
The third-place match will take place on Saturday December 17th in Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan: a suburb of Doha. One team is looking to make this its third Top 3 finish. The other is looking to make it their first Top 3 result ever. Both teams didn’t get a defeat until their semifinal match. Both teams are also the same two Group F teams that rivaled each other in their first group play match. This is the second consecutive World Cup in which the bronze-medal match is between two group play rivals!
Past Head-To-Head Results:
Croatia and Morocco have met only twice before. Besides the scoreless group play match here in Qatar, the only other time was back in 1996. That too ended in a draw. The score was 2-2.
CROATIA
They’ve only existed as an independent nation since 1991 and they’ve gotten as far as the World Cup semifinal or further a total of three times. It’s no wonder why I call Croatia “The little nation that can.” Since their independence, they’ve qualified for the World Cup six times out of seven attempts. Three of those times they’ve made it to the semifinals or further. The first was in 1998:their very first World Cup. Last World Cup, they made it to the final. Sometimes you wonder what’s the secret to The Blazers? Me, I can’t answer. One thing I have to say is that Croatia is one team low on arrogance, big on play!
Croatia has been getting a lot of attention for the overall play of Luka Modric, the scoring of Ivan Perisic, and the eye-catching fashion of Ivana Knoll! At the last World Cup, Croatia was known for great play as well as good luck. They opened with three wins in group play and then followed with penalty kicks in both their Round of 16 match and quarterfinal. Their semifinal was a win against England, but France ended their dream in the final 4-2.
At thins World Cup, the Croatian team has changed, but it’s also kept some similarities. In group play, they had two scoreless draws and a 4-1 win over Canada. In their Round of 16 match and their quarterfinal, history repeated itself and they bagged wins on penalty kicks. It was in their semifinal against Argentina where their luck finally ran out.
Croatia has shown a lot with their play from midfielder Luka Modric and from striker Ivan Perisic. Worthy of credit to the team’s success is goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. He’s one of the younger goaltenders of the tournament at 27, but he has done an excellent job in keeping Croatia alive, having only allowed in three goals before their match with Argentina. They could just be the team that has what it takes to clinch another Top 3 finish.
MOROCCO
It happens every World Cup. There’s always one team that has modest expectations before the competition but ends up going further than expected. Last World Cup, it was a case where Croatia and Belgium achieved their best-ever results. This year, it’s a case where Morocco is the “Cinderella story” of Qatar 2022. Nevertheless it’s wrong to dismiss Morocco’s success as a complete “Cinderella story.”
Morocco has to be one of the top African nations to adopt a football culture. They competed in their first World Cup in 1970. When they returned in 1986, they became the first African team in World Cup history to advance past the opening round. Returning to that success or taking it further has been a struggle. They qualified for the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, but went out in the group stage. Despite claiming a second-place in the African Cup of Nations in 2004, they had to wait until 2018 for their return to a World Cup. Even then, they were ousted with a draw and two losses.
When they arrived in Qatar, nobody knew what to expect of the Atlas Lions, but they delivered. They started with a scoreless draw against Croatia and then delivered a surprise 2-0 win over Belgium. A 2-1 win over Canada placed them at the top of Group F. Their Round of 16 match against Spain went goalless, but penalty kicks were the trick as they sunk three while Spain couldn’t sink one! The quarterfinals paved the way for a 1-0 win over Portugal. Their win made history as they became the first African nation to qualify for the World Cup semifinals. It was France that ended their quest for the Cup at 2-0.
Having Morocco in the semifinals was a big boost for African teams. Especially since none of the African teams of 2018 qualified for the knockout round. It’s hard to pinpoint how Morocco became so successful this tournament. I made the claim it could be since they’re a Sahara nation, they have better knowledge of how to play in a desert climate. Recently I’ve credited it to manager Walid Reguagui. Since he was hired four months ago, their semifinal loss to France is Morocco’s first loss since he was hired. Maybe that’s the secret. Others give credit to the great defensive play and the goalkeeping of Yassine Bounou. Bounou has only conceded three goals and a penalty kick this Cup. Whatever the situation, they had what they needed and they could just do it again on Saturday.
My Final Verdict: This is hard to tell. Both teams have played well. Both have been able to deliver when they needed to. Croatia has scored six while Morocco has scored five. Croatia however has conceded a total of six goals while Morocco has conceded a total of three. Both teams have a star player that may be absent. From Croatia, Mario Mandzukic because of his red card while assistant coach. From Morocco, Romain Saiss because of an injury sustained in the tournament. I think it will be a tight game but I expect Croatia to win 1-0 in added extra time.
THE FINAL
Can you believe it? After 28 days and 63 matches, there will be only one match left! This is the moment for a team to claim to their nation the world’s biggest bragging right! The final will be held in Lusail Stadium. One team aims to be the first South American team to win the World Cup in 20 years. The other team aims to be the first team in 60 years to successfully defend the World Cup.
Past Head-To-Head Results: France and Argentina have dueled each other a total of twelve times. Argentina have won six times including during the 1978 World Cup. France have won three times. Their last match was in the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 where France won 4-3.
ARGENTINA:
La Albiceleste knows about World Cup finals. This is Argentina’s sixth time to the World Cup final. Only three other nations have achieved six of more appearances. Argentina was even a finalist in the very first World Cup in 1930. Getting back to the finals was a real struggle. They didn’t return to the finals until 1978, which they hosted and won. Then in the 1980’s emerged a great player by the name of Diego Maradona. He helped captain Argentina to their second win in 1986. He retuned in 1990 to try and make it two in a row, but the team lost to Germany 1-0. From 1990 onwards, it was a struggle for the team to get back to the final. Early in this century, a young player named Lionel Messi was dazzling the world with his club play. Whenever the World Cup happened, he and the team would fall short. Then in 2014, they made the finals for the first time in 24 years. Unfortunately like in 1990, they lost to Germany 1-0.
Trying to get back to the finals has not been easy. In 2018, they had a disastrous run. They finished second in their group with a win, a draw and a loss, and then went out in the Round of 16. After the 2018, they hired Lionel Scaloni, who played for Argentina at the 2006 World Cup, as their new manager. Since his hiring the Argentine team has shown a lot of positive changes. Its most notable change was when they won the 2021 Copa America..
Here at the World Cup, Argentina got off to a rough start. The 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia isn’t the first shocking opener Argentina’s delivered at the World Cup, but they knew they had to get themselves in order if they wanted to advance well. They succeeded with 2-0 wins over Poland and Mexico. In their Round Of 16 match against Australia, they dominated play as they won 2-1. In their quarterfinal against the Netherlands, they endured a game marred with frequent carding from a referee to a 2-2 draw. Penalty kicks kept them alive. In their semifinal match against Croatia, they dominated to win 3-0.
Throughout this World Cup, people have been constantly talking about “This is Messi’s last chance.” or “This will finally be Messi’s” No kidding there’s a lot of attention on Messi. In fact winning the Cup will make the difference between Messi being remembered as The Best Ever or The Best Never. Nevertheless we should remember the success of Argentina isn’t just Messi. There’s also the goaltending of Emiliano Martinez and young player Julian Alvarez rising to the occasion. Argentina has the right mix of youth and experience for the team and it just might pay off in winning the Cup on Sunday.
FRANCE:
Success for Les Bleus has been like a yo-yo. Like Argentina, France has been there at the very start back in 1930. They themselves would have difficulty establishing themselves as a football power. Even when they hosted in 1938, the team was out in the quarterfinals. It wasn’t until 1958 that they finished in the Top 3 for the first time. During the 60’s and 70’s, it was a case of either failing to qualify or out in group play. It was in the 1980’s when France saw a spark of improvement. Led by Michel Platini, the team finished fourth in 1982 and third in 1986. Just after, they followed with two failures to qualify. Then in 1998, France hosted and the team performed brilliantly en route to winning their first-ever World Cup.
It hasn’t been easy for France to return. At the 2002 World Cup, they were out in the group stage without even scoring a single goal. In 2006, they were runner-up to Italy. In 2010, the team revolted against the coaches and their federation and they went out in the group stage. Then in 2014, there emerged a new French team coached by 1998 player Didier Deschamps. The team featured a lot of young promising talents and they finished in the quarterfinals. That was just the warm-up as they’d go on to make the finals of Euro 2016 and win France’s second World Cup in 2018. Staying on top wouldn’t be easy. France was reminded of that when they bowed out of Euro 2020 in the Round of 16.
France was often reminded of the alleged curse of the defending champion. At the beginning of 2022, it was still in question how France would do after they endured three losses in Nations League play. Any questions France were given, they were answered in Qatar. They won their first two games of group play 4-1 against Australia and 2-1 against Denmark.The win against Denmark was a boost as they lost to them earlier this year. The 1-0 loss to Tunisia didn’t set their confidence back much, if any. After group play, it’s been nothing but wins for France as the won their Round of 16 match against Poland 3-1, their quarterfinal match against England 2-1 and their semifinal against Morocco 2-0.
The success of the French team has proven this “Curse of The World Cup Winner” is a myth. Mind you it was uncertain at first. And now they appear poised to repeat as World Cup champions. Only twice before has the reigning World Cup champion successfully defended its title: Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962. The World Cup team had a lot of notable players from 2018 like Paul Pogba and Samuel Umtiti left off and Karim Benzema benched because of injury. Nevertheless the team has delivered excellently with the striking of Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud and the goaltending of Hugo Lloris. They’ve shown they won’t give up their World Cup title easily.
My Final Verdict: A lot to think about. Argentina’s group play loss came in the opener. France’s came after they were guaranteed qualification. Argentina has scored twelve goals while France has scored thirteen. Argentina has conceded five goals and so has France. This will be an extremely tight match. I think this is a match where it would go to a 1-1 draw and Argentina winning on penalty kicks. I’m sure it will be that tight!
And there you have it. My review and predictions for the third-place match and the World Cup final. This will definitely be one World Cup we will never forget.
England: Women’s football has really grown a lot since England finished third at the last Women’s World Cup. The team they fielded looked like one that could pose the best challenge to the United States. Unfortunately it was not to be as the US beat them 2-1. To add insult to the injury, the US’s Alex Morgan appeared to do a tea-sipping gesture after scoring the winning goal. Many have taken this to be an insult to the English.
Sweden: Before the semifinal, I’m sure most of you predicted Sweden to beat the Netherlands. I mean Sweden had the clout. They’ve been to every Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991. They’ve finished in the Top 3 three times before. They’ve even beat the Netherlands way more often than they lost to them. However things did not go according to plan. Before the match, Fridolina Rolfö received a second yellow card during the match against Germany which meant she will miss the next match. The Netherlands turned out to be a more formidable opponent than they expected. Regulation play resulted in no score. Then there was the goal from Jackie Groenen in the 99th minute. Then there was the shocking injury to Kosovare Asllani where she was carried off on a stretcher.
United States: The United States is the team that is most expected to win this Women’s World Cup. They’re the defending champs from 2015. They’re ranked #1 in the World. They have some of the biggest stars in women’s football who are seen as trailblazers. However they have also earned naysayers too. It all started when they won 13-0 against Thailand and celebrated after each goal. Many thought it was disrespectful. Then Megan Rapinoe made headlines for taking a knee during the play of the Star-Spangled Banner. She followed that by saying she won’t be going to the White House to a reporter. Most recently, Alex Morgan made England fans mad when she celebrated her game-winning goal by doing a tea-sipping gesture. Despite the negative press, they’ve delivered each time. They’ve won all their games, scoring 24 goals and only conceding three.
Netherlands: Before Women’s Euro 2017, people did not expect much of the Netherlands. Why should they after they finished in the Round of 16 in Canada 2015 and failed to qualify for the Olympics? However they surprised everybody by winning all their games and would win the final by beating Denmark 4-2. This made it the first Women’s Euro since 1993 that Germany didn’t win! Here at this Women’s World Cup, expectations were good but not that big. Canada was expected to top Group E, but the Netherlands did it by winning all their games, including beating Canada 2-1. Then in the Round of 16, they were pitted against Japan whom they lost to in Canada 2015. This time the Netherlands won. They were pitted against Italy in the quarterfinals and won 2-0. Then came Sweden who was more expected to win the game. It started with nil-nil after regulation, but a goal from Jackie Groenen in the 99th changed it all. Now it’s the Netherlands in the final.
Belgium: The Red Devils should be admired. They are a collection of marvelously talented players in their own right coming together to give Belgium one of their best World Cup performances ever, if not the best. They proved to be a top challenger for the final, but the goal from France’s Unmiti in the 51st minute ended their World Cup dreams. Nevertheless the Belgian team here have the chance to give Belgium it’s best-ever World Cup finish. Belgium’s best finish ever was 4th in 1986. Here’s the chance for them to win a 3rd-place match. An excellent chance to revive the #RedTogether spirit.
France: France is a nation whose football greatness really only started to take off in the early 1980’s. It was in Mexico 1986 that France got its first-ever Top 3 finish. They would fail to qualify for the next two World Cups, but would host in 1998 and would go on to win. Some say France’s team of 1998 was the best World Cup team since Brazil in 1970.
Croatia: 
Jon The Blogcentric 