Chapter 508: Meeting in the finals of three consecutive major tournaments: An early World Cup final?

Chapter 508: Meeting in the finals of three consecutive major tournaments: An early World Cup final?
The match at the Atumama Stadium ended with Portugal defeating Morocco 3-0. The winning Portugal became the third team to advance to the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup.

Mixed zone.

The reporters all turned their cameras to Martin.

Portugal was able to beat Morocco throughout the game thanks entirely to Martin’s superb individual performance.

With his outstanding long-range shooting skills, he scored the first goal before the end of the first half. In the second half, he took advantage of the Moroccan players' declining physical strength to send a very threatening long diagonal pass from the right side of the frontal attack, allowing Leo, who was running at high speed, to make a wonderful pass to Ronaldo.

Gonzalo Ramos scored the third goal, also thanks to Martin's powerful header, which caused Bono, who had performed well before, to miss the ball.

Whether it is the score given by the World Cup Technical Committee or the independent scores given by major media and fans, Martin is always No. 1.

The Portuguese players who won the game hugged each other and then took the initiative to walk towards the disappointed Moroccan players to comfort them.

Judging from their overall performance, it is already very good.

To put it simply, it means winning the respect of Portugal.

Many times fouls are forced, and the only way to stop Portugal's attack is to use unconventional fouls beyond your ability. However, the Moroccan players' movements were minor and they had no intention of hurting anyone.

在阿图玛玛球场进行的第3场1/4决赛结束，第四场世界杯1/4决赛准时在海湾球场打响。

The two teams competing are the other two favorites to win the World Cup.

England VS France.

The winner of this game will also face Portugal, the biggest favorite to win the championship, in this kind of stadium.

Both teams sent out their full main players and focused on stability at the beginning.

The competition has reached the quarter-finals, and the next step is the semi-finals. If you lose, you have to pack up and go home.

For both teams, this is a game they cannot afford to lose.

In order to stay and play in the semi-finals, it is very important to compete with patience.

But sometimes luck is also very important.

The first ten minutes of peace between the two sides.

Just as they were about to enter the second ten minutes of tacit understanding, the French team scored a goal.

Griezmann, who received the ball on the right side of the attack, was closely marked, so he passed it to Chuameni in the middle.

The new international player paused for a moment and then followed up with his right foot.

The kicked football shot out from the crowd like a cannonball and went straight to the lower left corner of the goal.

Goalkeeper Pickford was out of reach and could only watch the ball go into the net.

In this way, the French team broke the deadlock with Chuameni's world wave.

The French team, which took the lead, began to play cautiously, giving the initiative to England.

Concentrate on defensive counterattack.

But England took the initiative for a long time afterwards and also did a very good job of protecting the defense when switching from offense to defense.

Harry Kane, Bellingham and Saka all showed excellent competitive form in succession, but they were still a little short of scoring, and the scoreboard showed that France was always in the lead.

Until the end of the first half, the score on the scoreboard did not change.

After a fifteen-minute halftime break, both sides returned to the field.

After the change of sides, England, trailing in the score, remained on the offensive and tried to equalize the score through continuous attacks.

The French team was under continuous threat in front of the goal, and Deschamps also adjusted his tactics, intending to create some danger for the English defense to prevent Lloris from being under continuous pressure while guarding the goal.

As the head coach, Deschamps knows that Lloris will occasionally make big mistakes with his butter hands.

Especially as age increases, the probability of this happening begins to increase.

But before Lloris could show off his butter hands, problems arose in the defense.

Arsenal winger Saka broke through on the right side of the penalty area and caused the goal scorer Chuuameni to foul. The referee on duty decisively awarded a penalty.

The subsequent VAR replay also confirmed that Chuammeni had indeed committed a foul.

England captain Harry Kane easily scored the penalty against his club teammate Lloris to equalize the score.

The atmosphere at the Bay Stadium suddenly became extremely fanatical, with waves of overwhelming cheers.

Back at their hotel, the entire Portuguese team could feel the fanatical atmosphere at the scene through the broadcast signal.

The winner of this game will be their opponent in the lower half finals.

This means that the team that wins the game will participate in the World Cup final!

If the team had a choice, they would prefer to play in England.

The French team obviously has top-level strength, but their tactical style of play is very cautious. They have to play very carefully, otherwise the goal may be penetrated at any time.

The game starts again.

The players from both sides returned to the same starting line and played in harmony, slowing down the offensive tempo. The two sides went back and forth, but seemed to be getting further and further away from scoring a goal.

For many neutral fans, the games are becoming more and more boring.

It was not until the 78th minute of the game that Griezmann made a precise cross from the left sideline.

Giroud managed to get the ball under pressure from England players Maguire, Nice and Stones, and headed the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.

Pickford, who had performed bravely before, reacted subconsciously, but was still out of reach.

The score shown on the scoreboard changed again.

There is not much time left, and England can only change its tactics by making substitutions to see if the substitution can have the effect of changing knives.

Saka and Henderson were replaced by Mount and Sterling respectively.

In the 81st minute of the game, Mount, who came on as a substitute, really played a role.

He was knocked to the ground from behind by Lucas Hernandez when he made his way to the penalty spot.

The referee Sampaio did not blow the whistle for a foul at first, but VAR intervened and gave a reminder later.

The time was past eighty minutes and the fans in the stands were very nervous, as were the players on the field.

Martin, who was watching the live broadcast of the game in the multimedia room of the hotel where he was staying, laughed and said, "Harry Kane will definitely not score this goal. I said so."

"Harry Kane is in very good form and rarely misses penalties. I think Harry Kane will definitely score."

Bruno Fernandes looked around at his teammates and asked, "What do you think?"

"I also think Harry Kane can score the penalty."

Seat B nodded in approval.

Ruben Neves, Dalot, Diogo Costa and Martin belong to the Porto youth training system and have the best relationship in private, so they naturally support Martin without a second thought.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo stood up and said, "How about we make a bet, the one who guessed wrong will treat the one who guessed right to a big meal?"

"no problem."

Martin, B Silva, B Fee and other players said in unison.

At this moment, the referee Sampaio blew his whistle.

Harry Kane retreated to a comfortable distance and started a sprint, then made his signature half-bow shot.

Compared to the precise penalty kick in the second half, the power of this penalty kick was quite strong, but the height was not controlled enough.

"Oh My God!"

Over the TV speakers came the exclamation of Sky commentator Andy Gray: "Harry Kane missed the penalty!"

The Portuguese players in the multimedia room looked at Martin one after another, and their meaning was very clear.

'How did you know Harry Kane would miss a penalty?'

Martin naturally wouldn't say that he had seen this episode. He shrugged and pointed to his forehead: "Intuition."

"..."

England captain Harry Kane missed a penalty and the game restarted.

The French team played very smartly, using patient passing to tie up the English defense and consume the game time reasonably. As time passed, England had less and less time, but strengthening the offense did not achieve the desired effect.

The French team, defending with all their might, time and again resolved England's seemingly strong but non-threatening attacks.

In the final stages of injury time, England won a direct free kick near the top of the penalty area.

The broadcast footage interestingly showed Beckham praying in the VIP seat.

What I want to express is very clear. In the past, England had top free kick experts like Beckham, who turned the tide in many games, but now England lacks a top free kick expert.

Rashford, who took the free kick in the end, missed the target by a hair's breadth. Not long after the game was restarted, referee Sampaio blew two short and one long whistle to end the game.

This means that France became the last team to advance to the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup has once again entered a short break.

Compared to the two-day break before the quarter-finals, the wait for the semi-finals is longer.

After all, teams preparing for the semi-finals will be given more time to prepare.

The two semi-finals are Argentina vs Croatia and France vs Portugal.

The clash between Argentina and Croatia is also considered an old rivalry.

In the 2018 World Cup, the two teams met in the group stage. At that time, Croatia, led by Modric, defeated Argentina, led by Messi, 3-0.

Four and a half years later, the two teams faced off again in the World Cup semi-finals, and the outcome of the match became a headache for fans around the world.

The most anticipated World Cup semi-final is France vs. Portugal.

The confrontation between the two teams is also hailed as an early performance of the World Cup final.

First of all, both teams are the biggest favorites to win the championship. Secondly, the two teams met in the final of the European Cup in France six years ago. Portugal defeated France with a decisive goal in overtime by striker Eder and won the first European Cup championship in team history.

Four years ago, in the Fighting Country World Cup, the two teams met again in the final.

Martin and Cristiano Ronaldo, who was in peak form, led the Portuguese team to have the last laugh once again.

The waiting time is boring for the fans.

I can only go to major social platforms to pass the time.

In this context, some irreconcilable contradictions are inevitable.

The remarks made by different fan groups will inevitably be bombarded and ridiculed by the opposing fans.

There was a big fight between Argentine fans and Croatian fans.

The French fans and the Portuguese fans quarreled fiercely.

Even the famous players of the four teams have joined in, which has attracted more attention to the upcoming Qatar World Cup semi-final.

Whether they are real fans or fake fans, or netizens who do not like the sport of football, they all noticed the 22nd World Cup held in Qatar.

Three days passed quickly, and it was the day of the first World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia.

France and Portugal, who will play another World Cup semi-final at 8 o'clock tomorrow night, will attend the routine pre-match press conference today as required.

France head coach Didier Deschamps and top star Griezmann, who were the first to go to the Bay Stadium to attend the regular press conference, were interviewed by the media.

When talking about tomorrow night's game, Deschamps answered very low-key, saying that Portugal is excellent as a whole and with Martin, the top player in today's football, the probability of winning will be very high.

Later, they also mentioned that they would not give up easily. As long as there was even a glimmer of hope, the whole team would try their best to create conditions for advancing to the final and winning the World Cup championship.

Griezmann mainly expressed one point in an interview with media reporters: they must win the World Cup semi-final at the Bay Stadium!

Two hours later, Portugal head coach Santos took B Fee to attend the routine pre-match press conference.

There was no need for media reporters to tell them, they knew when they were staying in the hotel that the French team really wanted to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

Very understandable.

The tournament has reached the semi-finals, there is no reason to give up when facing the powerful Portugal.

Besides, Portugal is the biggest favorite to win the championship and has a high probability of winning.

You will always encounter them on the way to further progress. If you think about giving up in advance, there is no need to participate in the competition.

The greatest charm of competitive sports lies in the uncertainty of the future.

There are many factors that affect the outcome of a game, and it does not necessarily mean that some players will win the game just because they are more capable.

Faced with those media reporters who deliberately created topics, neither Santos nor B Fee were satisfied, but talked lightly about the World Cup semi-final tomorrow night.

The meaning I want to express is clear enough.

Beat France and advance to the finals for two consecutive World Cups!

12pm on December 13th, local time in Qatar.

Lusail Stadium.

The World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia kicked off on time.

Both sides played very cautiously in the early stages, fully demonstrating their respect for the World Cup semi-finals.

Each of them must first ensure that they do a good job of defense, and then offense.

The situation where both sides were attacking and defending but there was little actual threat did not change until the 30th minute.

In the 31st minute of the game, Enzo made a wonderful lob pass near the center line, and the ball found Alvarez who had advanced into the open space. He cleverly snatched the ball away behind the penalty area, and the Croatian goalkeeper Rivakovic had no time to dodge and knocked down the opponent.

The referee on duty decisively awarded a penalty kick + yellow card.

Messi scored the penalty.

The Lusail Stadium became a sea of ​​joy for the Argentine fans, while the Croatian fans were very depressed.

The Croatians have a tenacious fighting spirit. Even though their overall strength is not as good as Argentina's and their average age is too high, they still use their kick-off advantage to launch continuous attacks on Argentina's defense.

Unfortunately, they faced tough Argentinean defense and bad luck.

What made the Croatians despair was that in the 39th minute of the game, Alvarez took advantage of Paredes who was actively participating in the counterattack to dribble the ball all the way to the top of the penalty area, and fortunately took advantage of the Croatian defenders' missteps to shoot in front of the goal.

2:0
Argentina extended its lead.

Fans who watched the game live knew that Croatia was finished.

First of all, the quarter-finals consumed too much physical energy, and secondly, I was unlucky.

Finally, the psychological pressure brought by conceding two goals in the first half was too great.

In addition, luck seems to be on Argentina's side.

At the end of the first half, the scoreboard showed that Argentina was leading 2:0.

In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again.

Trailing by two goals, Croatia had no choice but to increase the probability of narrowing the gap by strengthening its offense.

Unfortunately, there was no way to launch a threatening attack.

In the 68th minute of the game, Messi seized the opportunity to stage the classic scene of military training of Gvardiol.

Messi broke through on the right side all the way to the right side of the penalty area. His dreamy dance steps made Guevadiol dizzy. He assisted Alvarez in the corner of the small penalty area to extend the score to three goals.

This goal was also the last goal of the game.

In the end, Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 at the Lusail Stadium and reached the World Cup final again after 8 years.

Their final opponent will be the winner of the semi-finals at the Bay Stadium tomorrow night.

According to predictions from many media and fans, Argentina's opponent in the World Cup final will most likely be Portugal, the favorite to win the championship.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup will have its first semi-final, and the football atmosphere in the city of Doha is increasing instead of decreasing.

The only thing that makes fans feel regretful is that there are fewer and fewer events.

Tomorrow night's World Cup semi-final will be the third to last match of this World Cup.

At the same time, it was the third consecutive World Series that France and Portugal met.

(End of this chapter)