Well, the latest on the World Cup this time in the quarterfinal stages such as Croatia coming out of nowhere to down tournament favourites Brazil (Who put them in front during extra time with a goal scored by Neymar then Croatia levelled things up, forcing them to go on penalties in which the Brazilians were defeated, but Neymar's dream of becoming a Football World Cup winning player for Brazil, has ended with both Argentina's Lionel Messi & Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (Both are in their last ever Football World Cup tournament outings while 4 young different footballers such as the Spanish pair of Ansu Fati & Pedri, England's Jude Bellingham & Germany's Jamal Musiala are trying to succeed both Portugal's Ronaldo & Argentina's Messi as both of these veterans are at the twilight of their careers) are the ones remaining for a shot of Football World Cup glory) on penalties to reach another semifinal appearance for the Croatians (And that's the 4th time that they won on penalties (The 1st was against Denmark in the round of 16 in 2018 followed by the previous hosts of the tournament Russia in the quarterfinals then Japan this year in the round of 16 & now they've done it again against the Brazilians in the quarters to set up a semifinal date with Argentina) followed by Leo Messi & Argentina (Whom I am picking them to win the World Cup after Brazil lost to the Croatians because they've now taken over as the tournament favourites & they're now the top ranked side in the world not only because they're ranked higher than the rest) keep their hopes of winning the Football World Cup alive after their victory against the Netherlands (Who thought they were out of it when they trailed both goals against the Argentinians as they scored 2 unanswered goals including that one sneaky little move that they scored an equalizer by one of the Dutch players of Wout Weghorst when they managed to get past the Argentinian defence from a free kick therefore the scores were in fact level by forcing them to go into extra time & on penalties in which the Dutch lost) on spot kicks but there's been an update as Morocco (Who became the 1st ever African nation to go through to the semifinals of the Football World Cup when they made history) continue their fairytale World Cup cinderella run with an unlikely shocking upset win against the heavily favoured Portugal led by its mercurial captain for the last time of Cristiano Ronaldo (Who is set to call time on his international football career & join the likes of Neymar to miss out on winning football's most treasured prize meaning that Lionel Messi of Argentina is the only one left with a chance of achieving the boyhood dream of becoming a World Cup winner along with 25 others in the squad) then the world champions France (Who had their star talisman Kylian Mbappe declared fit for the all important clash despite complaints about his injury that he picked up prior to the tournament) stun England (Who tied things up with a penalty scored by English skipper Harry Kane before they awarded another penalty when France was in front once more but Kane missed therefore football isn't coming home as they fell agonizingly short against the current World Cup holders who progressed to take on Morocco in the semi in Al Khor (And what a disappointing end for England, what a match for our viewers right around the world), but I wonder the headlines would say: ENGLAND CRASH OUT OF THE WORLD CUP, or more like ALLEZ LES BLEUS, FRANCE PROGRESS INTO SEMIS) in the last quarterfinal game of the 2022 World Cup.
And here are the confirmed matches being played in the semifinal stage (AKA the final four) in this years Football World Cup tournament:
Argentina Vs Croatia* (Their most recent meeting at a Football World Cup between both sides was in 2018 where the Croatians produced a bit of magic where they had to win during the group stages)
& France Vs Morocco (Well, both sides have never met at a major tournament before like the World Cup but the last meeting between the two was a friendly way back in 2007 where the match had ended in a draw)
*: Key match-ups
And the latest on the semifinals on the Football World Cup such as the Lionel Messi (I mean how good was he? When he made a huge impact where he was being awarded player of the game honors for his best World Cup game that he played in years in which he scored a penalty then created a goal of Julian Alvarez who had a great game as he scored twice in the semi but Messi (Who appears in just his 2nd Football World Cup final (His 1st since 2014 in which he appeared his 1st ever World Cup final for Argentina, in which they missed out against Germany for football's ultimate prize) compared to Mbappe who is in his 2nd straight final that he is involved in along with 4 other survivors from 2018 of captain Hugo Lloris (A current Spurs player), Raphael Varane (Ex-Real Madrid player who now plys his trade at Manchester United), Antoine Griezmann (Who used to be my favourite footballer) & Olivier Giroud (A former Arsenal & Chelsea player who is now playing for an Italian club of AC Milan) is the joint top goal scorer of the tournament along with his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Kylian Mbappe of France with 5 (Both are ahead of their nearest goal scorer with 4 of Olivier Giroud (One of Mbappe's teammates in international level) led Argentina who hammer past Croatia led by Luka Modric by 3 goals to progress into their 1st final since 2014 when they infamously lost against Germany at extra time with Mario Goetze providing the heroics when he scored that goal that I remember now set up by Andre Schurrle, but they haven't won the tournament in 36 years way back in 1986 where the late Diego Maradona (Who passed away along with the famous British actor of Sean Connery 3 years ago in 2020 during a year affected by the corona virus pandemic) had lifted the trophy aloft for the Argentinians & they are now 1 win away from claiming football's most treasured prize but there's been an update as the Didier Deschamps coached France led by its star talisman Kylian Mbappe cruise into the final in a bid to defend the Football World Cup for the 1st time since 1962 in which Brazil last did it & to become the 1st defending champion to reach back to back World Cup finals since the Brazilians in 1998 in which they had an unsuccessful defence of the Football World Cup against the host nation of the time of the French after their victory against Morocco led by its star talisman & one of Kylian Mbappe's club teammates of Achraf Hakimi whose fairytale run in the tournament, has ended in another epic semi final game for the ages in which Antoine Griezmann was the standout peformer of the game (But I thought it went to Kylian Mbappe for his efforts during the semi).
So it's Argentina (Who is France's main challengers in the 2022 Football World Cup (1st it was Brazil in 1998 followed by Italy in 2006 then Croatia at the previous tournament in 2018) to play the defending champions France in the 2022 Football World Cup final (Their last meeting between the 2 sides at a Football World Cup was in 2018 in which the French won the match by the barest of margins in the Round of 16 at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia for their 1st win against the Argentinians at a Football World Cup after the Argy Bargies won both encounters in 1930 & 1978, in one of the greatest but classic Football World Cup contests of all time including that incredible goal of the tournament that I literally remember now scored by Benjamin Pavard off a volley of Theo's brother Lucas Hernandez (4 years after Colombia's James Rodriguez scored a stunning strike which was later named goal of the tournament against Uruguay (Who were without Luis Suarez as a result of a suspension for biting Giorgio Chellini in the chest during their win against Italy in the last group game) in the round of 16 in 2014) before Brazil's Richarlison took over when he scored a magnificent goal against Serbia in which was named the 2022 Football World Cup goal of the tournament) at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Sunday local time which is early Monday morning New Zealand time, a week out until Christmas (Well, both teams would want an early Christmas present which is the Football World Cup trophy but it's Lionel Messi's last game of his illustrious & decorated career in international football as he is seeking to complete his career resume after 1 Olympic gold medal with the Argentina under-23s in Beijing 2008 & a single Copa America title last year in Brazil & I once told Pops that there is going to be an Argentina-France final, but it's happening as dreams are about to become reality that there will be a dream final between both nations just like the Blues & the Crusaders fought out in the final for the right to become champions of Super Rugby Pacific this year at Eden Park in Auckland, in which the Crusaders dominated the final as the Blues missed out not only because they were disappointed & gutted about the result but it was supposed to be the Blues year & they didn't when they missed out on that occasion, & of course the Black Ferns successfully retained the Women's Rugby World Cup against England in a hard fought final in front of a sold out but packed Eden Park in Auckland) to decide who will become champion of the world (Well, who is it going to be? Whether it's the Argentinians to party like it's both 1978 & 1986 (Vamanos Argentina) or will the French who'll defend their title just like both Italy did in 1938 & Brazil in 1962 (Allez les Bleus), but will it be Argentina skipper Lionel Messi (It was Daniel Passarella who did it in 1978 against the Netherlands in the final then Messi's childhood idol, the late great Diego Maradona in 1986 against West Germany in the final) or France captain Hugo Lloris (Who is seeking to become the 1st skipper to lift the Football World Cup trophy twice just like Richie McCaw did at both the 2011 & 2015 Rugby World Cups for the All Blacks of New Zealand & Ricky Ponting at both the 2003 & 2007 Men's 50 over Cricket World Cups respectively in which he lead Australia to Cricket World Cup glory) to become the Football World Cup winning captain to lift the Football World Cup trophy?.
So that is my 479th blog of the year 2023 (MMXXIII) & my 3rd of this year, viva Ukraine.
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