The quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup will start on Friday with at least one surprising team still in contention to win football’s biggest prize.
Morocco produced the latest upset in a tournament that has had its share of them, beating Spain in the round of 16 on Tuesday to become the first Arab nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. The Moroccans, who also became only the fourth African team to reach this stage, beat the 2010 champions in a penalty shootout.
In the group stage, Saudi Arabia caused one of the biggest upsets in tournament history by beating Argentina in their opening match. Japan beat both Germany and Spain. The Germans and 2018 semi-finalist Belgium both were eliminated before the knockout rounds.
Argentina, with Lionel Messi still looking to win a World Cup title, still made it through and then beat Australia to get into the last eight. Brazil, which had Neymar back in the lineup after an ankle injury, are there as well.
And so is defending champion France, with Kylian Mbappe seemingly unstoppable, England, Croatia, the Netherlands and, of course, Portugal — with or without Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup.
See Friday’s schedule below:
Quarter-finals
11:00 am – Croatia vs Brazil
3:00 pm – Netherlands vs Argentina
Credit: Source link
