World Cup 2022 has reached the quarter-final after the Round of 16 (Knockout Stage) and the semi-final stage in Qatar. The final is scheduled on December 18. Here are some exciting highlights of the three stages.

ROUND OF 16 (KNOCKOUT STAGE):

The Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup determined which top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage who competed in a single-elimination tournament. The matches in the knockout stage were played to a finish. The United States was knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands, Brazil dominated South Korea, Argentina pulled off a dramatic win over Australia, and France booked their place in the quarter-finals with a win over Poland. England came out victorious over Senegal, Croatia and Morocco progressing to the next round after winning a penalty shoot-out over Japan and Spain consecutively, and a hat trick by Goncalo Ramos highlighted Portugal’s win over Switzerland.

The eight teams who qualified in the Quarter Finals:

1. Netherlands

2. Brazil

3. England

4. Morocco

5. Argentina

6. Croatia

7. France

8. Portugal

QUARTER FINALS:

Morocco were huge underdogs ahead of their game against Portugal but became the first African nation to advance to the World Cup semifinals. Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was seen leaving the pitch in tears as his World Cup campaign came to an end in a dramatic fashion. France have beaten England in a fast paced game, Neymar’s dream ended prematurely after Brazil lost to Croatia in a penalty shootout and Argentina won dramatically against Netherlands, a match that was also marked by the death of the American sportswriter Grant Wahl after he collapsed near the end of the match while watching in the press box.

SEMI-FINALS: 

The Messi magic sent Argentina to the World Cup final with a 3-0 win over Croatia. And with Messi and Argentina, the shadow of Diego Maradona always comes to light. Maradona was the genius who single handedly carried Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and Messi has been expected to do the same. France beat Morocco in today’s full time match 2-0. The defending World Cup Champions (1998, 2018) will face Argentina in the Final round on December 18 at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, the national day of Qatar. The stadium can hold 90,000 fans and was purposely built to be the centerpiece of the World Cup. The Argentina squad lacks the depth of talent of its predecessors, but with Messi and the team’s incredible supporters, the dream of a third World Cup remains alive. France returns to Qatar to defend their World Cup crown and with a young team full of quality and potential, which they hope to use that as a springboard to more success.