The four FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals games from Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10 were epic sports theater and have left us with four teams as we head into the final four games of this prestigious Soccer tournament.
Argentina, Croatia, France, and Morocco have all survived to get to this point with 28 other teams now at home from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. France is in a position of having a chance to be the first repeat winner since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann and France eliminated England on Saturday as Giroud (4 goals) continued to score for Les Bleus who will now face African underdogs Morocco in the Semifinals on Wednesday (FOX, 2 pm EST/1 CST/11 am PST).
The team that lost to France in the 2016 World cup in Russia, Croatia, were also victors in the Quarterfinals, with Luka Modrić and the Kockasti (the checkered ones) eliminating Neymar and tournament favorites Brazil in a dramatic Penalty Kick Shootout on Friday.
Now Croatia will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the Semifinals round on Tuesday (FOX, 2 pm ET/1 pm CT/11 am PT) to see who is the first country to punch its ticket to the 2022 World Cup Final on Sunday, December 18 (FOX, 10 am EST/9 CST/7 am PST).
Argentina ended Netherlands’ 19-match unbeaten streak on Saturday, but also needed a Penalty Kick Shootout to move on. The odds at just about every FIFA World Cup sportsbook sees Argentina and UEFA’s France as the favorites in their respective games.
The sun is beginning to set on #Qatar2022…
But there's still time for four more unforgettable games. pic.twitter.com/MHSANXBI5f
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 12, 2022
Odds to Win 2022 FIFA World Cup
| Team | Odds |
| France | +115 |
| Argentina | +165 |
| Croatia | +700 |
| Morocco | +900 |
The World Cup Semifinals Odds see France and Argentina favored in their games with Les Blues at +115 to win it all, followed by Argentina (+165), Croatia (7/1) and Morocco (9/1).
Before the tournament kicked off in November, France opened at +550 to repeat, Messi and Argentina at +850, Croatia at 47/1 and Morocco in a range from 180/1 to 300/1 depending on what online sportsbook you shopped at for your 2022 World Cup Futures.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race, Mbappé (5 goals) is the favorite to win at -200 with Messi (4 goals) at +275, France’s Olivier Giroud (4 goals) at 6/1, Argentina’s Julián Álvarez at 66/1, with Croatia’s Andrej Kramarić the big underdog at 100/1.
The losers of the Semifinals will play in the Third Place Game (Match #63) at Khalifa International Stadium (Grass) in Al Rayyan on Saturday, December 17 (FOX, 10 ET/9 CT/7 PT). Canada, Mexico, and the USA will be the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
2022 FIFA World Cup Semifinals Previews
A spot in the #FIFAWorldCup final is up for grabs in this one 🔥
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
Croatia vs. Argentina
- Date: Tuesday, December 13
- Time: (22:00) 2 EST/1 CST/12 MST/11 am PST
- Stadium: Lusail Stadium (Grass), Lusail
- Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)
- TV: FOX
- 3-Way Odds: Argentina -112, Croatia +385, Draw +238
- Total: 2o -116, 2u +100
- Argentina Team Total: 1½o +130, 1½u -150
- Croatia Team Total: ½o -130, ½u +114
- To Advance Odds: Argentina -250, Croatia +200
Croatia beat Japan and Brazil in Penalty Kick Shootouts in the Round of 16 and the Quarterfinals to get back to the Semifinals just like this hard-working UEFA team did four years ago in Russia.
This time around, Andrej Kramarić (1899 Hofffheim), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) and Croatia will face the best player on the planet, Lionel Messi, and Argentina in yet another game where the Croats are large underdogs in a game that could really go either way.
2022 World Cup Semifinals Odds see Argentina as solid -112 favorites at BetOnline with Croatia at +385 and the Draw +238 in the 3-way market where bets are graded after 90 minutes plus added Injury time. To avoid a Draw, you can bet the To Advance market.
Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) became an instant national hero for his PK SO performances against Japan and Brazil, and now he will be asked to stop the greatest playmaker in the history of the game in Messi. The way Livaković is playing, anything is possible.
Martínez (Aston Villa) won’t have to face Messi, who has been in brilliant form in Qatar and this team has to be happy Brazil has been eliminated. But Modrić (160 caps) and Croatia have been great in the last two World Cups and marvelous in this Knockout Stage.
With an upset here, Croatia can eliminate both South American heavyweights, Brazil and Argentina in back-to-back games, and that would be quite the feat with those two featuring Paris Saint-Germain stars Neymar and Messi on their World Cup rosters.
Can they shock the world this time? Morocco winning it all would be even more shocking than a Croatia World Cup championship. And stopping emerging star Álvarez will also be a big battle for Croat keeper Livaković. As will shutting down Messi in his last World Cup.
Croatia has been living on the edge, but haven’t all teams playing in this World Cup? The simplest betting angle to take here would be in the Totals market where we again see online oddsmakers hanging a 2 with the minimal juice (-116) on the Over.
Backing the Over 2 (goals) seems like the logical approach with a 1-1 or 2-0 scoreline resulting in a Push and only two scorelines able to beat you in 90 minutes of play (0-0, 1-0). Messi should score, as should Croatia and maybe Álvarez gets the game-winner?
MOROCCO VS. FRANCE IN THE WORLD CUP SEMIFINALS 🍿 pic.twitter.com/A6mNPUz0cr
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 10, 2022
Morocco vs. France
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) has quietly been a mainstay of this French national team which is seeking its second straight FIFA World Cup and now just two wins away from that destiny. With the calm Lloris and Coach Didier Deschamps, anything is possible.
Tournament darlings and longshots, Morocco, have been brilliant in getting to this point, with the Atlas Lions allowing just one goal (Canada) and holding great teams Portugal, Spain, Belgium, and Croatia scoreless and still unbeaten as we head on to the Semifinals.
Achraf Hakami (PSG), Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria) and Morocco have scored only five goals in its five matches, but the Atlas Lions defense and GK Yassine Bounou (Sevilla) have been like a brick wall.
This team really believes. And it should. But carrying the weight of the Arab world and the African continent may get to Morocco at some point. And having to score on Lloris and France will be difficult while World Cup assists leader Antoine Griezmann has been glue.
With two of the best and most confident scorers in the tournament in Kylian Mbappé (5 goals) and veteran Olivier Giroud (3 goals), France (+115 to win 2022 FIFA World Cup) should be able to break the Moroccan code and end the dream run of the Atlas Lions.
But it won’t come easy. Les Bleus will have to prepare mentally for possibly not being able to score in the opening 30 minutes of play against this emotionally charged team that has held everyone it has played in check. Allowing one goal with two games left is serious stuff.
Griezmann (2 assists, Atlético Madrid), Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) and rising star Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid) reveal the wonderful depth Deschamps has on a team with guys like Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Juventus) and others not there.
France has never lost to Morocco (4-1-0, 10 GF-4 GA) but all five of the previous meetings between the two were Friendlies and were played between 1988 and 2007, which is essentially ancient history in modern day Soccer.
The first goal will be more important in this game than in any of the other matches we have seen, and with Mbappé, Giround, Griezmann, and Lloris in such good form. Backing the favorites and expecting them to be up 1-0 at Halftime and win and advance is the Rx.
