Former Nigerian midfielder Sunday Oliseh said there is a big impact of the mothers behind Morocco's run to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Argentina will trust their system when they face Croatia in the World Cup semifinals and believe they have worked out how to hurt the 2018 runners-up, coach Lionel Scaloni said on Monday.

Having already sent one South American side home from the World Cup, Croatia will be aiming to reach back-to-back finals when they lock horns with Argentina in Tuesday’s semifinal at the Lusail Stadium.

France are fully aware that Morocco are much more than a strictly defensive team as they prepare for their unexpected World Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday.

Argentina, led by superstar Lionel Messi, came into the World Cup as one of the favourites but they face a big roadblock in the semi-final on Tuesday with 2018 runners-up Croatia, who proved too much for the other title contenders, Brazil.

Neymar departed in tears. The Brazil No 10 cried inconsolably, only to be lifted off the pitch as the pre-tournament favourites were knocked out on penalties by Croatia in the quarterfinals at the Education City Stadium on Friday night.

Lionel Messi wasn’t available at the pre-match press conference for Argentina’s World Cup semifinal against Croatia on Monday. He wasn’t, in fact, expected to be; the PSG talisman hardly ever attends a press conference.

There is alliterative appeal in talking about Messi, Mbappe, Modric, and Morocco, and each of the four does present a strong story for the semi-finals. I do, however, want to take some time to talk about a certain Didier Deschamps. This is a man who has won both the World Cup and the Euros as captain, and the Nations League and the World Cup as manager.

New Spain coach Luis de la Fuente defended his appointment after criticism he lacked experience at the top level, during his presentation on Monday.

Croatia and Morocco are the surprise guests in the World Cup's final four but, as the Croatians discovered in 2018 and many other long-shot semi-finalists have before them, the two remaining steps to become world champions can be the steepest.

In a matter of three days, five-time champions Brazil got to see both sides of the coin as they came into their quarter-final clash against Croatia on the back of a 4-1 mauling of South Korea but then had to taste a bitter defeat against the 2018 runners-up that put an end to their mission Hexa.

There have been five red cards at the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar so far. The first sending-off came for Wales when they played Iran in their Group B clash. Wayne Hennessey was shown a red card for clobbering Mehdi Taremi in the last 10 minutes of their second game.

African teams have claimed several giant-killing results at World Cups but nothing like the unprecedented run of Morocco in Qatar that will fuel hopes of more representation at future tournaments.

Legendary German footballer and a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG), Jurgen Klinsmann, opined that Brazil made a mistake by not sending their best penalty takers in their quarterfinal defeat against Croatia. 

Real Madrid stalwart Luka Modric after yet another fine performance against Brazil in the quarter-final of FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar revealed that he sees glimpses of his club mentality in the Croatian side.

Croatia striker Bruno Petkovic says the team's mental strength that has propelled them to two penalty shoot-out wins at the World Cup has deep roots in the country's struggle for independence.

Cristiano Ronaldo running to the tunnel in tears and as desolate as the football world has ever seen him will be the lasting image for Portugal fans looking back on the World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo, a five-times Ballon D’Or winner, arrived with a mission to prove he could still make a difference.

Gareth Southgate said he would take his time before he makes a decision over his future as England coach after the bitter disappointment of their World Cup quarter-final defeat against France.

In his fourth year as Argentina coach, Lionel Scaloni has transformed his side as hot-favourites leading up to the ongoing World Cup. But those aspirations soon took a hit with a shock loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening group-stage fixture, ending Albiceleste’s 36-match unbeaten run.

As the world heads into the final week of the Qatar 2022 with only four matches left, including an irrelevant one involving the third-place decider, the focus will be on whether Kylian Mbappe can lead the French to a consecutive World Cup title or whether Lionel Messi can end Argentina’s 36-year wait for a third world title.