Four former champions have qualified for the FIFA World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990. Argentina, England, France and Spain took advantage of the inexperience of their inferior opponents to reach the final four.
For the Albiceleste, it was an ill-advised dive by the Swiss.
At Three Lions and La Roja, the opposing goalie spilled the rebound.
And Les Bleus benefited from Morocco’s mysterious lack of forwards.
Here are the key takeaways from the quarterfinals:
France too good for Morocco in 2-0 route in Boston
What we learned: Nothing works against France right now.
Morocco tried a unique approach to destabilize the French army. Mohamed Ouabi played in a line-up without a striker, but as expected, he failed to pose a threat.
After the match, France national team coach Didier Deschamps expressed what everyone present was thinking: “I was quite surprised by the starting eleven. I was trying to understand why they made this choice (of Ouabi) instead of a real forward.”
One reason for that may have been the absence of breakout forward Ismael Saibari due to injury, but Morocco’s roster included three other forwards, including Soufian Rahimi, who played in the 60th minute. It came moments after Kylian Mbappé put Les Bleus ahead with a right-footed shot inside the far post.
Uabi’s reasoning remains a mystery.
He may have been hoping for an own goal for France, but it was narrowly avoided as Dayot Upamecano’s shank found the net. Or perhaps the match strategy was for goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to continue bailing Morocco out, as he did when he saved Mbappé’s first-half penalty in the quarter-finals, following a VAR review lasting just over two minutes.
Spain grabs a late winner to beat Belgium 2-1 in Los Angeles
What we learned: Pau Kubalsi is not indifferent.
The Barcelona teenager’s shot led to the winning goal between Belgium and Spain. But it wasn’t a phenomenal player, it was Lamine Yamal, who was limited to just one goal in the tournament.
With the score tied and the excellent Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was on the bench, injured, Kvarsi stepped forward and fired an unexpected shot from nearly 30 meters.
Reserve keeper Senne Lamence may have been caught off guard, but it was Kvarsi’s first try since the first half of the opening game, a 0-0 draw with Cape Verde on June 15.
Either way, the shot handcuffed Lamence (actually Lamence handcuffed himself) and the rebound was left by Mikel Merino. Mikel Merino scored the winning goal in the 88th minute, scoring from close range.
In other words, no, Kvarshi does not exist to cause attacks. But the fact that the 19-year-old will start on Spain’s last line is significant. Few successful World Cup teams have used youthful centre-backs, with the exception of Italy’s 18-year-old Giuseppe Bergomi, who played in 1982 as a substitute for the injured Fulvio Corovati.
Kvarsi struggled at times against the Belgian, but was untroubled by the confident display of substitute forward Romelo Lukaku. Belgium became the first team to score against La Roja in this tournament, but the key to Spain’s defense isn’t breaking down, but rather Barcelona-style keep-aways, and that’s where Kvarsi is most comfortable.
Substitute forward Merino, meanwhile, provided an almost instantaneous attack, scoring after two minutes in the 1-0 win over Belgium in the last 16, and five minutes later against Portugal.
What we, and France, learned is that Jeremy Doku’s double team easily shut out 18-year-old Yamal, which means we can expect the same from Desiree Douai in the semi-finals.
England beat Norway 2-1 in Miami
What we learned: First of all, there is still a lot to learn about Norway. Also, don’t believe your eyes when it comes to “connected” balls in the World Cup. The ‘heartthrob’ claimed that Orjan Nyland’s goal kick missed the TV camera cable.
When Norway coach Starre Solbakken rested everyone before losing 4-1 to France in the first round, he signaled to those around him that his country was not “a naive country playing for fun.”
The idea was to keep tournament stars Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in the elimination stages. Solbakken’s strategy worked well until the Norwegian was exposed in the quarterfinals.
Indeed, England’s Elliott Anderson went down as if he had headbutted Zinedine Zidane circa 2006. But no, it was just Haaland’s push and the Norwegian goal was disallowed after VAR replays. That’s not the only example of Norwegian simplicity.
Late in the first half, the 2-1 situation ended when Alexander Soros missed Haaland’s shot and was unable to get it past John Stones.
Then, instead of closing down stoppage time to protect a 1-0 lead, Nyland took a long goal kick that suddenly changed trajectory and appeared to land at Anderson’s feet, prompting Solbakken to make accusations to match officials at TV Cablegate. There’s nothing to see here – it’s the FIFA version anyway. Anderson quickly found Anthony Gordon and brought on Jude Bellingham, and England’s equalizing goal followed before half-time.
When Julian Ryerson was sent off injured, it didn’t help Norway’s defense on the wing. However, it took until three minutes of extra time before Bukayo Saka won a corner kick against Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. Nyland chipped Harry Kane for the next corner – and this time it was Bellingham who again grabbed the rebound from Morgan Rodgers’ shot.
Then, with Haaland on the bench, Norway had their last chance. At least that’s what lanky Norwegian defender Christopher Ajer thought after a collision between England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and a defender left the goal empty. French referee Clement Tulpin was not, stopping play and warning Ager for dissent.
Manager Thomas Tuchel said the team was “lucky”. But evidence and experience show that the Three Lions are in charge of their own good fortune.
Defending champion Argentina defeats Switzerland 3-1 in Kansas City
What we learned: Don’t jump in.
Switzerland looked to have momentum against Argentina when Bree Embolo collapsed near the halfway line just before the drinks break.
Manager João Pinheiro issued a warning to Leandro Paredes and after a VAR review, the decision was changed to a yellow card for Embolo due to simulation. The official verdict was “mismatch of status,” and for the first time VAR was instructed to intervene in cases where “there is a possibility of a red card.”
Whatever the valid reason, the result was Embolo, who had previously been booked for knocking down Paredes, was sent off. Embolo’s failure seemed insane. It was his first red card for the national team, his second at senior level and his first since the Europa League game against FC Basel in the 2015-16 season.
It also turns out that Argentina doesn’t need Lionel Messi to score.
But it helps Messi when taking corner kicks. He scored the opening goal in the 10th minute with an accurate header from Alexis Mac Allister. Albiceleste’s coaching staff congratulated assistant Walter Samuel, who perhaps thought Mac Allister could find space in the Swiss team, who are four centimeters (an inch and a half) shorter than him.
