Can Argentina and Morocco's loudest supporters help their teams defeat Croatia and France in the semi-finals of this World Cup?
Because of the incredible fan support received by both sides, Chris Sutton, a football analyst for BBC Sport, remarked that he would want to see Argentina and Morocco advance.
"Argentina supporters drive their team through games; against the Netherlands in the round of eight, it was similar to playing at home, and it will be the same against Croatia.
"Regarding Morocco, I also consider what a fantastic narrative it would be if an African team won. Morocco has changed people's perceptions of teams from outside of Europe and South America, which is something that happens far too frequently in this event.
Every game in Qatar has an outcome that Sutton has predicted.
He correctly predicted the outcome of two of the four quarterfinal matches, picking the exact score in Morocco's victory over Portugal and France's triumph over England, as well as five of the eight matches from the last-16.
After picking the winning outcome in 26 of the 48 group games, it was enough to retain his 55% tournament success percentage.
Sutton predicted the results of 12 of the 16 teams that advanced to the first round of the World Cup before it began, including France, his selection to win the competition, and England, who he predicted would reach the final eight.
| Semi-finals | Score | Sutton's prediction |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, 13 Dec | ||
| Argentina v Croatia | x-x | 1-0 |
| Wednesday, 14 Dec | ||
| France v Morocco | x-x | 2-1 |
Tuesday, 13 December
Argentina v Croatia (Lusail Iconic Stadium, 19:00 GMT)
I admit it right now that I frequently dismissed Croatia during this tournament, and I don't mind admitting that I was significantly mistaken.
They are really well-organized, and Luka Modric is still so powerful at the age of 37. They are quite durable and can maintain the ball to dominate games.
Although they occasionally lack a cutting edge, they managed to defeat Brazil in their quarterfinal and seemed content to play till the end.
No one will want to take on goalie Dominik Livakovic from the spot if this match ends in penalties, given his exploits in the last two rounds.
Argentina will thus have a very challenging opponent in this match, but I believe that their knowledge of what to anticipate from Croatia on Tuesday will assist.
Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna, Argentina's fullbacks, are both out due to suspension after receiving yellow cards in the last match against the Netherlands, which ended up being a rather chaotic one.
Argentina appeared to be through when Lionel Messi put them 2-0 up, but the Dutch came back with some brutally straight football to tie the score and possibly would have won it if they had continued to play that way in extra time.
Sutton's prediction: 1-0
Wednesday, 14 December
France v Morocco (Al Bayt Stadium, 19:00 GMT)
Although Morocco's strategy of defending deeply and attacking quickly on the break appears straightforward, it is difficult to carry it out as effectively as they have against some extremely skilled opponents.
In five games in Qatar, they have only let up one goal, an own goal against Canada in the group stage. At this World Cup, they have also encountered Croatia, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, but none of them have succeeded in getting past them.
My concern is that they'll become worn out and injured here. There have been concerns over the health of important midfielder Sofyan Amrabat and fellow defender Nayef Aguerd after Romain Saiss was taken off against Portugal.
Morocco counterattacks with tremendous speed and purpose, and I have no doubt that they will create opportunities in this game in a similar manner.
However, I don't see it having as much of an impact this time since they might be unable to hold off.
The greatest way to define France is that they always find a way, and that is what I anticipate happening here as well, with Olivier Giroud again playing a significant role in the result.
France doesn't play very exciting football, but they are entertaining to watch because they have so many players that grab the eye. However, they appear to perform better in spurts than consistently at a high level.
Source images please.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63927739