FIFA 22: The Titan Falls Before Semi Final

Croatia Brazil draw 1-1, but Beats Brazil on 4-2 penalties to Reach World Cup Semi-Finals

Croatia dumped Brazil out of the World Cup with a victory on penalties after an entertaining 1-1 draw on Friday.

Neymar scored a stunner, but Croatia went on to knock out five-time champions Brazil on penalties to reach the last four. Croatia will face Argentina in the semi-finals.

Brazil have had their last dance. This felt more like a slow waltz to the brink for almost two hours but a tense, enervating quarter-final erupted thrillingly in extra-time.

It finished with Neymar sinking to the floor in tears, the majority of a partisan crowd stunned into near-silence, and Croatia’s entire squad giddily giving chase to their man for any penalty shootout occasion. Dominik Livakovic had saved three of Japan’s spot-kicks in the previous round; as soon as he repelled Rodrygo’s effort the writing was on the wall and it was another stunning tournament victory for a team that does not understand the meaning of defeat.

Neymar looked to have won it late in extra time with a glorious solo goal before Bruno Petkovic's surprise equalizer sent the game to penalties, where Rodrygo's effort was saved and Marquinhos hit the post to seal Brazil's fate.

Both sides were threatened as we approached the end of the 90, with Brazil doing more in the final third but failing to come up with the answers needed to beat the Croatian defense, so once again, we headed to extra time. Just three minutes away from elimination they find a way back into the game as a cross from Orsic is fired home by Petkovic! Incredible scenes! 

120 minutes weren’t enough for these two. After a wild extra-time, they went to penalties! Penalty shootouts – and Croatia wins 4-2 on penalties!

A Tough Fight: Netherlands 2 (3)-(4) 2 Argentina

A riveting, pulsating, and at times downright staggering game of football at the Lusail Stadium on Friday night ultimately culminated in Argentina putting the Netherlands to the sword courtesy of a penalty shootout.

After Croatia shocked Brazil at the Education City Stadium, fellow South America giants Argentina pitted their talents against Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands.

The game’s scoring was opened late in the first-half, when a moment of genius on the part of Lionel Messi saw the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner slip in Nahuel Molina to slot into the far corner in style: from here, Messi then turned goalscorer, in rattling home a spot-kick a little over fifteen minutes from time.

With Argentina firmly on top, and the Netherlands looking completely bereft of ideas in the final third, the result, in turn, looked something of a formality.

This, however, was all changed upon substitute Wout Weghorst entering the fray.

As Louis van Gaal opted to switch up his strategy to a direct, long-ball game, on-loan Burnley hitman Weghorst first provided the Netherlands with a glimmer of hope courtesy of a fine glancing header with a little over five minutes remaining.

Then, incredibly, with a full ten minutes of injury time on the board, a brilliantly-worked set-piece routine saw that man Weghorst prove the hero once more, rolling home to send the action in Lusail to extra-time.

After Emi Martinez saved not one, but both of the Netherlands’ first two spot-kicks, the stage was subsequently set for namesake Lautaro to bury Argentina’s fifth and final penalty, guiding the Albiceleste to within a solitary game of the World Cup final.

This is all for the day about the FIFA World Cup 2022 as of now.