The following Real Madrid players were called up to represent their national teams at the Qatar 2022 World Cup: Carvajal and Asensio for Spain; Camavinga and Tchouameni for France; Modrić for Croatia; Courtois and Hazard for Belgium; Rüdiger for Germany; Vini Jr., Rodrygo and Militão for Brazil; and Valverde for Uruguay. Their presence has been quite important with most of them being regular starters. Previously, the group stage sent home Courtois, Hazard, Valverde and Rüdiger and the round of 16 sent home the Spaniards Carvajal and Asensio. Meanwhile the rest of them played in the quarters where very emotional and dramatic games were offered for the public.
Croatia-Brazil 1-1 (4-2 on pens)
After writing his name in the history books in the 2018 World Cup, where he led his side to a second-place finish and clinched the Player of the Tournament award, Modrić will be hoping to reach the final a second time. The Croatia captain has started in every one of his country’s games at the World Cup and was named MVP against Belgium and Morocco. After finishing second in Group F, his team knocked out both Japan and Brazil on penalties in the last 16 and quarter-finals, respectively.
Lukita‘s Croatia will be battling it out for a place in the World Cup final. The Real Madrid midfielder, who is captaining his country in the tournament in Qatar, will take on Argentina in the semi-finals. The clash will be played on Tuesday, December 13, at 8pm (CET). The Croatians became the first team from the 8 remaining to go through to the semifinals of the World Cup following their dramatic victory over Brazil on penalties. They will play the semis for the second consecutive World Cup following a match in which Neymar gave Brazil the lead in extra time (105th minute). Petkovic bagged the equalizer with just three minutes left on the clock. Then, the Balkans won 4-2 on penalties, scoring all of their penalties.
Modrić played the whole match and scored his spot kick in the shootout. He was the heart of the team and despite the age and the high level of physical strength and stamina that this World Cup is demanding, he stayed fresh and never considered leaving the pitch even when the coach suggested him to leave if he was too tired. The secret of this Croatia is of course the fighting spirit and the ability to never be demoralized despite the strength and the persistence of the opponent. Adding the experience of the senators like Modric, Perisic, Brozovic, Kramaric etc., plus the talent and commitment of some very promising youngsters has made the “Kockasti” succeed for and reach the semis for the 2nd consecutive time against the predictions.
Meanwhile, Brazil failed for the 2nd consecutive time to reach the semis. Despite having a stellar team, Tite’s men suffered very much the toughness of the Balkans throughout the game and their combinations never sent the ball into the net. Militão, who played the majority of the game (105th minute), was a starter as was Vini Jr, who went off for Rodrygo in the 64th minute. Militao made a great performance despite being deployed as a right back, keeping the ‘terrible’ duo Perisic & Sosa fairly quiet throughout the game and also anticipated the Crossfield passes coming to his side.
Vini Jr. however could not show his best skills as he was limited by a very prepared Juranovic, helped by the teammates near him. Rodrygo, who replaced him, played quite well, getting more involved and even had impact on the goal after a nice movement and a one-two with Neymar. Unfortunately, he missed the 1st one in the penalty shootout series, which went on to finish 4-2 in Croatians’ favor, with the 4th (and also final) kick being missed by Marquinhos.
England-France 1-2
In the last game of the quarters, Les Blues of Tchouameni and Camavinga managed to get a narrow win against a very strong opponent like England. The two Madridistas are through to the semifinals of the World Cup in Qatar after a tough game. Much was expected of this clash of two European titans, and the game more than lived up to its lofty billing. Neither team was able to maintain control as momentum shifted one direction, then the other, with England starting the brighter before France capitalized on a short spell of pressure.
Tchouameni started and played a key role with a 17th minute goal to put France in the lead. The midfielder picked up a pass just outside of the box and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot to beat Pickford. The English side drew level with a penalty, which Kane put away in the 54th minute. The tie was settled by France thanks to a headed goal by Giroud and after that Kane missed a golden chance from the spot to equalize. Despite the English Team’s persistence, France was able to maintain the result and close the game in their favor. As for Camavinga, the Madrid youngster was not included in this game. In the semifinals, the French team will meet Morocco on Wednesday, December 14th, at 8 pm CET.
After the game Tchouameni said for the press: "It's the World Cup, we played against a very good English team, we knew it would be difficult from start to finish. We have to do better in the two situations, the first one where I tried to anticipate a bit too much. In the end we won the match, which means that we did our job up front. We'll have to review certain things but we're confident”.
On his goal: "I had the same action against Poland, it was a good shot but this one was even sharper. I often work on that with coach (Carlo) Ancelotti in Madrid.
On facing Morocco next: "It's a World Cup semi-final, it's going to be a tough match from start to finish. We are trying to stay calm because nothing is done, we haven't won anything yet. You can't underestimate a team in the semi-final. They're a top team, they've only conceded one goal and, even then, it wasn't even the opponent who scored it. We know we're going to face a great team and we'll have to be at our best to win”.
The World Cup semi-final will be the first meeting between France and Morocco in a major tournament. They've played one another in friendlies and in minor tournaments such as the Mediterranean Games, but never on a stage nearly this big. The last time they faced off on the pitch was in November 2007: a 2-2 draw at the Stade de France in Paris.
The full view of the quarter-finals games and results is presented as follows:
Croatia 1-1 (4-2 on pens) Brazil (Croatia - Bruno Petković 117’ :: Brazil - Neymar 105+1’)
Netherlands 2-2 (3-4 on pens) Argentina (Netherlands – Wout Weghorst 83’, 90+10’; :: Argentina - Nahuel Molina 35’; Lionel Messi (p) 73')
Morocco 1-0 Portugal (Morocco - Youssef En-Nesyri 42')
France 1-2 England (France – Aurelian Tchouameni 17’, Olivier Giroud 78’ :: England - Harry Kane (p) 54’)
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