Summary before the World Cup quarterfinal matches

The excitement of the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar begins tomorrow. In search of the sixth championship with the last finalist of the world cup, Croatia, in the first quarterfinals of the tournament, Brazil will meet at the Education City Stadium at 6:00 p.m.

The two teams have met twice in the group stage of the tournament thus far. “Sambacılar” won the matches played in 2006 and 2014 with scores of 1-0 and 3-1. If Brazilian star Neymar scores 2 more goals, he will overtake legendary footballer Pelé and become the national team’s top scorer with 78 goals.

In the other quarterfinal date of the day, the Netherlands and Argentina will compete at the Lusail Stadium with a capacity for 88,000 people at 10:00 p.m. In the World Cup, both teams left with 2 wins out of the 5 matches they played so far, and 1 group match ended goalless.

VAN GAAL STUDENTS FORGET DEATH

Louis van Gaal has been unbeaten in 19 games since taking charge of the Netherlands in September 2021. While the “Oranges” have won 14 times, they have come off the field in a draw 5 times. The Netherlands and Argentina met three times in the tournament, starting from the quarterfinal stage. France beat the Netherlands 2-1 in 1998 and remained in the bottom 4 teams, while Argentina defeated their opponent 4-2 on penalties in the 2014 World Cup semifinals and advanced to the final.

The Netherlands, which lost in finals 3 times in its history, experienced one of them against Argentina. By defeating “Oranges” 3-1 in the 1978 World Cup final, “Tango players” won the championship. Argentina, which reached the cup on a 36-game unbeaten run but lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in the first game, will be the second team to do so after Spain if it reaches the cup.

Losing 1-0 to Switzerland in their opening match at South Africa 2010, Spain won their first championship in their history in the final.

DEPAY OR MESSI?

In the Netherlands-Argentina match, all eyes will be on Memphis Depay and Lionel Messi, the top scorers for both teams. Barcelona striker Depay, 28, has directly contributed to 34 goals in his last 30 international matches, while Messi, 35, has directly contributed to 38 goals in his last 39 matches.

Playing against the Netherlands in the 2006 and 2014 tournaments, Messi failed to score goals. The star of the Dutch national team, Mathes Gakpo, is one of the names that can change the course of the game. The 23-year-old footballer had aired the rival nets in the three games he played in Group A.

MOROCCO PREPARES TO MAKE HISTORY AGAINST PORTUGAL

Morocco, which is the first African team to reach the quarterfinals without being defeated in 12 games in qualifying and the tournament, will face Portugal for the first semifinal berth in its history. The first match to be played on Saturday, December 10 at the Al Thumama Stadium will begin at 6:00 p.m.

Portugal and Morocco, who closed their goal against three important countries such as Croatia, Belgium and Spain, met twice in the World Cup. While Morocco won the first game in 1986 with a score of 3-1, Portugal won 1-0 in the group fight in Russia in 2018 with a goal from Ronaldo in the 4th minute.

Ronaldo started the national match for the first time in 14.5 years, in an organization at the level of the World Cup and the Euro Cup, and then entered the match against Switzerland with the enthusiasm of the stands.

THE LAST MATCH WILL BE BREATHABLE

In the last match of the quarterfinals, the last world champion, France, and the last finalist of the Eurocup, England, will share their trump card for the ticket to the semifinals on Saturday, December 10. The fight that will be played in Al Bayt, the second largest stadium of the tournament, will begin at 10:00 p.m.

The French star Mbappé, whose name is not on the transfer list and who has scored 5 goals so far, is having a very good tournament with the motivation to win the second consecutive cup championship at the age of 23. Olivier Giroud, who eased the pressure on Karim Benzema by breaking records, is another asset for the “Roosters”.

Relieved in defense by the return of Kyle Walker, England manager Gareth Southgate is pleased with the performance of young stars Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka, especially Jude Bellingham. Opening space for his team by taking responsibility at critical moments and setting up goals with his speed and intelligence, Bellingham will be one of England’s most trusted names against France.

Raheem Sterling, who went to London with his family after armed attackers broke into his home, is expected to be ready to play against France.

USA HAS THE FIRST SINCE ’94

For the first time since 1994 in the cup’s history, all the teams that reached the quarterfinals of the tournament are managed by local coaches. Among the names left in the last 8, the only name to have won the World Cup as a player and coach is Frenchman Didier Deschapms.

THE 16 BEST GOALS SINCE 1986

Qatar 2022 has hosted the tournament with the most goals scored in this round since 1986, when the round of 16 was introduced. 28 goals were scored in 8 games played in the last 16 rounds. In the top scorer race, French footballer Kylian Mbappe is at the top with 5 goals. Mbappé is followed by Lionel Messi, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Olivier Giroud, Mathes Gakpo, Richarlison and Ramos with 3 goals each.

THE KICKERS OF PSG PROVIDE A VOICE

The players who played for Paris Saint-Germain scored the most goals in the tournament so far. Mbappé 5, Messi 3 and Neymar flew the rival nets twice. Chelsea and Manchester City 6 each, Milan and Tottenham 5 goals each, and Atlético Madrid 4 goals each, Ajax, Benfica and Fenerbahce contributed to the tournament, where players playing for Barcelona scored 8 goals.

2 SUPER LEAGUE PLAYERS

The number of players playing in the Super League, which was 19 at the start of the tournament, dropped to 2 in the quarterfinals. Romain Saiss, both in Beşiktaş, will be in the quarterfinals of the Moroccan National Team, and Wout Weghorst in the Dutch National Team. Morocco team captain Saiss had 90 minutes in the 4 matches, while Weghorst had a chance of 20 minutes in total. (AA)