N/A
The 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals field is made up of seven regulars on the men’s international soccer scene and one underdog determined to make one of the biggest surprise runs in tournament history.
Portugal was the seventh favored side to win a round-of-16 match, as it thumped Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday afternoon.
Portugal scored five of its goals without Cristiano Ronaldo on the field, a move that worked out better than manager Fernando Santos could have imagined.
Morocco will be Portugal’s quarterfinal opponent. The Atlas Lions are the only team left from outside Europe and South America in Qatar.
Morocco used its fantastic defense to force a penalty shootout with Spain. La Roja missed three of their PKs, while Morocco made three of its four spot kicks to advance.
Morocco 0 (3), Spain 0 (0)
Morocco continued its remarkable run in Qatar by becoming the fourth-ever African side, and first since 2010, to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Atlas Lions benefited from two saves by Yassine Bounou in the penalty shutout and one Spanish shot off the post.
Achraf Hakimi finished off the victory with a cheeky finish past Unai Simón.
Spain, as expected, dominated the possession battle, but it was wasteful in the final third. La Furia Roja attempted 13 shots, but only one of those attempts went on target.
The arrivals of Alvaro Morata and Pablo Sarabia did not help the Spanish, as Morocco remained firm in defense.
Morocco defended well for 120 minutes, like it has all tournament long. The Atlas Lions have not allowed a goal to an opposing player. Canada forced an own goal off them in the group stage.
Before Qatar, Morocco reached the round of 16 at the World Cup once in 1986. It has not gotten past the quarterfinals at the African Cup of Nations since it was runner-up in 2004.
Morocco will once again be a hefty underdog on Saturday when it goes head-to-head with another European side within close proximity of its borders in Portugal.
Portugal 6, Switzerland 1
Portugal turned in its best performance in Qatar without Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup. Ronaldo’s replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, turned in the breakout game of his young international career.
Ramos, who plays for Benfica in the Portuguese league, produced a hat trick to power Portugal into the final eight.
Ramos scored his first World Cup goal in the 17th minute by blasting a shot over Yann Sommer. The Swiss goalkeeper looked bewildered that the shot went over him from such a close angle.
The 21-year-old striker finished off the victory with a pair of second-half goals in the 51st and 67th minutes.
Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro and Rafael Leão were the other three scorers for Portugal.
Pepe became the oldest player to score a goal in a men’s World Cup knockout-round game at the age of 39.
Switzerland managed one goal in a very brief comeback attempt. Manuel Akanji tapped in from close range in the 58th minute.
The Swiss have now been knocked out in the round of 16 in five of their last six World Cup appearances dating back to 1994.
Quarterfinal Schedule
Friday, December 9
Brazil vs. Croatia (10 am ET, Fox)
Netherlands vs. Argentina (2 pm ET, Fox)
Saturday, December 10
Morocco vs. Portugal (10 am ET, Fox)
England vs. France (2 pm ET, Fox)
Spain was knocked out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on penalties by Morocco on Tuesday in Qatar.
Spain had two of its penalties saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
The loss marked the third time in a row penalties eliminated La Roja at a major tournament.
Spain controlled the match with an overwhelming edge in possession, but it was unable to find the finishing touch in the final third.
Morocco became the fourth-ever African team to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Morocco still has not conceded a goal awarded to an opposing player. Its only concession in group play was on an own goal against Canada.
Morocco moves on as the only underdog left in the tournament. It will face the Portugal-Switzerland winner in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
One of the most prolific teams in men’s international soccer and a rising power of the last decade booked spots in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on Monday.
Brazil thumped South Korea 4-1 to reach its eighth straight quarterfinal at the World Cup.
Croatia defeated Japan in penalty kicks to make it to the final eight for its second consecutive World Cup.
The South American and European sides will square off Friday in the quarterfinals. The winner of that match will face either the Netherlands or Argentina in the semifinals.
Brazil 4, South Korea 1
Brazil wasted no time making a statement in the knockout round.
Vinicius Junior’s seventh-minute strike started a four-goal onslaught in the first half by the Seleção.
Neymar found himself on the scoresheet in the 13th minute when he converted a penalty. Richarlison earned the penalty kick by sneaking in front of a defender to win the ball in the box.
Neymar needs one more goal to equal Pelé's all-time scoring record for the Seleção and two to overtake him for first place.
Richarlison got a goal of his own in the 29th minute. The Tottenham Hotspur striker finished off a lovely move in the attacking third, which he started by juggling the ball with his head multiple times.
Lucas Paqueta finished off the first-half scoring with a nice finish off a Vinicius assist from the left wing.
Brazil slowed down the pace of the contest in the second half, but it didn’t appear to be in any danger, despite Alisson making five saves.
South Korea got on the board in the second half courtesy of a wonderful strike from distance off the boot of Seung-ho Paik.
Brazil now has to face a quarterfinal stage that has been cruel to it since it last won the World Cup in 2002. Brazil is 1-3 in the final eight since 2006.
Croatia 1 (3), Japan (1)
Croatia was forced to win from behind for the second time in Qatar.
The 2018 runner-up went down to Japan right before halftime when Daizen Maeda cleaned up a mess in front of the Croatia net.
It took Croatia 10 minutes into the second half to level the contest through Ivan Perišić.
Perišić’s 55th-minute goal made him the fourth player to score in the last three men's World Cups. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xherdan Shaqiri are the others.
Perisic also took the lead for most goals scored at major tournaments for Croatia.
Neither of the two sides was able to score in the final 35 minutes of the second half or in the 30 minutes of added extra time.
Croatia proved dominant in the penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Dominik Livaković making three saves.
Mario Pasalić confirmed Croatia’s spot in the final eight, as he converted the match-winning penalty in the fourth round.
Croatia will try to make it back to the semifinals of the World Cup for the third time in history with a win over Brazil. The Vatreni made the final in 2018 and finished third in 1998.
Tuesday Schedule
Morocco vs. Spain (10 a.m. ET, Fox)
Portugal vs. Switzerland (2 p.m. ET, Fox)
Japan's incredible run at the 2022 FIFA World Cup came to an end on Monday in a penalty-shootout loss to Croatia.
The Samurai Blue were impressive over 120 minutes, as they held the 2018 runner-up to one goal.
Unfortunately for Japan, it had three penalties saved by Dominik Livaković and was eliminated.
There was plenty of praise across the soccer world for Japan after the loss. Japan surprisingly won Group E with historic victories over Spain and Germany:
Most of the reaction to Japan's loss was positive because of the nation's overall performance in Qatar, but there were some critics of its penalty takers, who went 1-for-4 against Livaković.
Japan advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup for the third time in its last four appearances. The nation will be looking for its elusive quarterfinal berth when the 2026 World Cup rolls around.
The Asian side has plenty of young talent and could once again make a mark on the tournament in four years.
Eighteen of the players that were on the 2022 World Cup roster are under 30, and a majority of them play in some of the biggest leagues in Europe, like Daichi Kamada at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany and Takumi Minamino at Monaco in France's Ligue 1.
Four more years of development should help Japan once again get back to the World Cup knockout round.
Two of Europe’s most successful men’s soccer teams landed spots in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on Sunday.
France used a 3-1 win to eliminate Poland and continue their title defense.
England benefited from a pair of first-half goals to start the scoring against Senegal and set up a final-eight clash with Les Bleus.
The two sides have had plenty of meetings in their history, but the quarterfinal showdown between the two sides will be their first World Cup match since 1982.
France 3, Poland 1
France’s top two goal scorers carried it into the final eight.
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring in the 44th minute. Giroud surpassed Thierry Henry on the top of France’s all-time men's scoring chart with the first-half tally.
The AC Milan forward tied Kylian Mbappé for France's top scorer in Qatar for 30 minutes.
Mbappé closed the game for Les Bleus with rallies in the 74th and 91st minutes.
The 23-year-old striker holds a two-goal lead over his closest competition for the Golden Boot. Giroud and five others have three goals in Qatar.
Poland left the tournament with a goal thanks to a very late penalty call.
Robert Lewandowski missed his initial penalty, but it was ordered to be retaken after Hugo Lloris was off his line when he saved the Barcelona forward's first attempt. Lewandowski did not waste his second chance, as he deposited his second World Cup goal into the net past the French captain.
The goal might have been the last for Lewandowski at the World Cup. He will be 37 in 2026 when the tournament comes to North America.
England 3, Senegal 0.
England followed a similar pattern of play as France to get ahead of Senegal.
The Three Lions waited until the end of the first half to break into the lead, but they took it one step further than France by scoring twice before halftime.
Jordan Henderson put the Three Lions in front in the 38th minute. Jude Bellingham set up the goal with a run down the left side of the box.
Bellingham’s assist added to his already loaded resume. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is one of the most coveted young players in the world.
The 19-year-old sprung another attack that led to a goal right before halftime.
Bellingham fed Phil Foden, who then passed to Harry Kane for the striker’s first goal of the tournament.
Foden was back in the assisting role in the 57th minute, when he found Bukayo Saka for the thrid England goal.
England has scored at least three goals in three of its four games in Qatar. The Three Lions may need that attacking firepower to keep up with Mbappé and Co. on Saturday afternoon.
Senegal departed the tournament without a goal in the knockout round. The Lions of Teranga put together a fantastic effort throughout their four games even without the injured Sadio Mané.
Monday Schedule
Japan vs. Croatia (10 am ET, Fox)
Brazil vs. South Korea (2 pm ET, Fox)
