A cluster of talent 🌟⚽️🏟️🏆
This is the second to last day of matches during the first round of the knockout stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Morocco hoped to continue surprising fans by going even deeper into this tournament. Spain needed to outdo their performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia where they lost to the host nation Russia in the first round of 16. Ronaldo and Portugal absolutely wished to dismantle the Swiss, but could they do it? Find out everything later in this post.
If you're behind on what's been happening at the World Cup, don't worry I've got you covered. In my last article, I talked about...
Japan🇯🇵 vs Croatia🇭🇷
Brazil🇧🇷 vs South Korea🇰🇷
Here is a link to that one..
I was vying for Spain and Portugal today. I really wanted to see the two play each other in the next round. Some, but not all wishes are granted. Would the football gods bless me with my desired outcome?
Let's recap two more games from the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar...
Morocco🇲🇦 vs Spain🇪🇸
My Prediction: Spain
Morocco and Spain are a lot closer than you may think, 8 nautical miles is all that separates the two nations. Even though they are close in distance, many believe Spain to be a much stronger team, at least on average. Morocco has earned some new recognition after winning their group, while Spain placed second in their group. This match was bound to be another interesting one. The first half was a fascinating tactical battle where neither team was able to produce a goal. The second half was very similar as once again no goals were scored. Next would be 30 minutes of extra time.
This was the first time that Morocco has ever played extra time during the World Cup. Spain on the other hand is very familiar with extra time and penalty shootouts on the grandest stage. After 30 more minutes of play, still zero goals occurred. On to penalties.
Here are the results of the penalty shootout:
✅ 🇲🇦 1️⃣ 🇪🇸 ❌
✅ 🇲🇦 2️⃣ 🇪🇸 ❌
❌ 🇲🇦 3️⃣ 🇪🇸 ❌
✅ 🇲🇦 4️⃣ 🇪🇸 no shot
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Spain simply could not score. Such a sad way to go out for a great team like the Spanish. Morocco withstood the immense pressure and successfully made enough of their penalties to erase Spain from this World Cup. Morocco will play Portugal in the next round of the knockout stage.
Result: 0-0 in favor of Morocco after penalties
Portugal🇵🇹 vs Switzerland🇨🇭
My Prediction: Portugal
To the surprise of most, Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for this huge match. He had started 31 matches straight for Portugal, but head coach Fernando Santos decided he wanted to try something different. Ronaldo was replaced by 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos. The switch seemed to be a wise decision when Ramos scored a monster goal in the 17th minute. I have no idea how he managed to bag this shot from this narrow angle, bravo my dude.
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We didn't have to wait very long for another goal to occur. Portugal had a corner in the 33rd minute and it was the old man Pepe who met the ball with an unstoppable header for another great goal.
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At half Portugal still had a two-goal lead and was looking very impressive. Switzerland had to regroup and figure out a way to make up for a bad first half. Portugal had other plans and scored the third goal early on in the second half. This one again was by the youngster Gonçalo Ramos and came in the 51st minute. Don't let the media fool you, Ronaldo was super excited for the Ramos and celebrated with his team both times.
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Portugal still looked hungry and feasted upon another goal in the 55th minute. Raphaël Guerreiro was the man this time and he was assisted by Gonçalo Ramos.
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Switzerland finally decided they were ready to reply with a goal of their own in the 58th minute. Manuel Akanji scored off a long corner. The Swiss desperately needed it, but even with the goal they still had a massive mountain to climb.
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Portugal's train kept chugging and they totally ignored the Swiss goal. In the 67th minute, Gonçalo Ramos got his third goal to secure the hat-trick. This was the first hat-trick of the 2022 World Cup, what a day for Ramos. This may be the best player swap choice of all time.
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Ronaldo was finally subbed on in the 73rd minute. The crowd went wild for him and you could tell he was happy to get out there and in on some of the action. As if the team hadn't done enough already, a sixth and final goal came in the 90th minute. Rafael Leão directed an out-of-reach shot comfortably into the back of the net.
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Switzerland was embarrassed beyond belief and has been eliminated from this World Cup. Portugal marches forward and will go head-to-head with Morocco in the next round of the knockout stage.
Result: 6-1 in favor of Portugal
We are down to 8 teams
A lot has happened during this World Cup already, but it is far from over. We still have 8 teams and 8 total matches left to be played. We know which teams will play during the quarter-finals, but the rest is a mystery.
Don't forget about the @hivebuzz World Cup contest https://peakd.com/hive-102201/@hivebuzz/wc2022
There is still potential for my 4 favorite teams to all make it to the semi-finals.
Would you too like to see Argentina vs Brazil & France vs Portugal as matchups?
I know I would.
Comment below which teams you favor.
My NFTs: https://inji.com/@daltono/nfts
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It will be a strong fight for Portugal against Morocco
Although many slept on Morocco during the group stage, I think Portugal now knows they must take Morocco very seriously.
of course an Argentina vs Brazil would be fantastic and on the other side of the draw I would like to see England vs Morocco two physical teams
So sad Brazil lost today.
Both of these matches were different from what I expected. I didn't expect Spain to struggle so much against Morocco, because they seemed to be playing quite well, but I watched the extra time and Spain played terrible. You can't win a match just by passing left and right.
Portugal was also much more dominant than I expected and they destroyed Switzerland. In the quarterfinals they will play against Morocco and I think it's an easy match. I would give 50 Hive for Messi and Ronaldo to meet in the final hahaha.
I was shocked Spain was unable to score any. They showed so much promise in their previous matches. Hats off to Morocco for defending so well.
I too didn't anticipate Portugal to totally dominate, especially when benching Ronaldo.
Messi vs Ronaldo would be awesome, but I wonder if Portugal will even start Ronaldo again.
The competition is getting more tougher which is interesting to watch.
This is some of the best sports action one can find. We are lucky to be living this 2022 World Cup. It will certainly be one that is talked about for many years to come.
Ronaldo is my favorite player. Now i will support Portugal. Hopefully this match will going very interesting. Both teams are very strong. Thanks for sharing your review about wordcup.
I do love Ronaldo too. He’s the main reason I started to like Portugal many years ago.
he found some guns..
@tipu curate
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Today's definitions were captivating, the Croatia vs. Argentina semifinal was a great game and for tomorrow I think Morocco and England could be the other
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