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Four veterans have made it to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1990. Argentina, England, France and Spain took on the skills of smaller opponents to reach the last four.
For the Albiceleste, it was a smart leap from the Swiss.
For the Three Lions and La Roja, their opponents lost the rebounds.
And Les Bleus benefited from an unknown, leading, Moroccan line-up.
Here are the key takeaways from the quarterfinals:
France are the best of Morocco in a 2-0 road in Boston
What we learned: Nothing works against France, so far.
Morocco tried a unique way to confuse the French. Mohamed Ouahbi went with a no-hitter, which obviously did not threaten.
After the game, France coach Didier Deschamps said what everyone else in the room was thinking: “I was very surprised by the starting 11. I tried to understand why (Ouahbi) made these decisions, without really progressing.”
One of the reasons could have been the absence of the injured Ismael Saibari, who had a competitive streak, although the Moroccan lineup included three other players, including Soufiane Rahimi, who came on in the 60th minute. It was only after Kylian Mbappe crossed from the right to the left that he opened for Les Bleus.
Ouahbi’s intentions are still a mystery.
He must have been expecting his goal for France, which was narrowly avoided when Dayot Upamecano’s shank crashed into the top of the net. Or perhaps the way of the game was for goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to continue to hold Morocco back, as he did in the quarterfinal tie when he saved Mbappe’s penalty shot in the first half, following a two-minute replay including VAR.
Spain grabbed a late winner against Belgium 2-1 in Los Angeles
What we learned: Pau Cubarsi is not in his head.
The Barcelona teenager’s strike gave Spain a decisive win against Belgium – but no, it was no surprise to Lamine Yamal, who scored the only goal of the tournament.
With the score down, and Belgium’s best player Thibaut Courtois on the injured bench, Cubarsi stepped up and fired an unexpected shot from 30 meters out.
Reserve Senne Lammens would have been surprised – this was Cubarsi’s first try since the first half of Spain’s opening 0-0 draw with Cape Verde on June 15.
In any case, the shot tied Lammens (actually, Lammens tied himself), leaving Mikel Merino to rebound, who converted from close range for the game-winner in the 88th minute.
So, no, Cubarsi is not disappointed. But the fact that the 19-year-old is starting in Spain’s back line is important. Few successful World Cup teams have gone with young defenders, with the exception of Italy’s Giuseppe Bergomi, who was 18 when he played in 1982, in place of the injured Fulvio Collovati.
Cubarsi struggled at times against the Belgians, but they had no trouble pressuring substitute Romelo Lukaku. Belgium became the first team to score against La Roja in the tournament, but the key to Spain’s defense is to slow down a lot, but instead of Barcelona staying away, that’s where Cubarsi is most comfortable.
Meanwhile, substitute Merino is providing a near-term threat, scoring two minutes after coming on against Belgium, and five minutes against Portugal in their 1-0 last 16 win.
What we, and France, also learned is that Jeremy Doku’s two teams blocked 18-year-old Yamal, which means you can expect the same from Desire Doue in the final stages.
England beat Norway 2-1 in Miami
What we learned: First, Norway still has a lot to learn. Also, don’t believe your eyes when it comes to the “connected” World Cup football, whose “heartbeat” forced Orjan Nyland’s hit did not hit the TV camera cable.
In the first half, Norway’s coach, Stale Solbakken, let everyone know that his country was not a “stupid, fun-playing country,” as he relaxed everyone before defeating France 4-1.
The idea was to keep stars Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in the competition for the finalists. Solbakken’s strategy worked well until the quarter, when the Norwegians were exposed.
Sure, England’s Elliot Anderson went down like he took on Zinedine Zidane circa 2006. But, no, it was only a push on Haaland, which led to the Norwegian’s goal being disallowed, following a VAR review. That would not be the only moment of Norwegian Naivety.
At the end of the first half, a 2-on-1 ended with Alexander Sorloth failing to pass to Haaland, and he was unable to pass John Stones.
Then, instead of stopping in time to protect a 1-0 lead, Nyland sent a long shot that appeared to take a sudden turn and land at Anderson’s feet, prompting a TV gate charge from Solbakken to the match officials. Nothing to see here – that’s the FIFA version, anyway. Anderson quickly found Anthony Gordon, passed to Jude Bellingham, and England leveled just before the break.
It didn’t help Norway to defend on the wing when Julian Ryerson was injured. But it took until the third minute of extra time for Bukayo Saka to concede a corner against Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. Nyland cleared Harry Kane’s chip from another corner – and there was Bellingham, again, this time to convert Morgan Rogers’ shot.
Then, with Haaland on the bench, Norway had a chance to finish. At least, that’s what Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer thought, after England midfielder Jordan Pickford collided with a defender, leaving the goal open. Not so, the French referee Clement Turpin, who stopped playing, and warned Ajer for the opposition.
Thomas Tuchel said his team were “lucky”. But evidence, and experience, points to the Three Lions making their fortunes.
Defending champions Argentina eliminated Switzerland 3-1 in Kansas City
What we learned: Do not swim.
Switzerland looked to have the upper hand against Argentina when Bree Embolo went down near the halfway line just before the break.
Joao Pinheiro cautioned Leandro Paredes, then converted the call into Embolo’s yellow card for a try, following a VAR review. The call was a “misdiagnosis“For the first time VAR is calling for guidance to take action in the event of a possible ‘red card’.
Whatever the justification, the result was Embolo – he had already been warned to remove Paredes – was sent off. Embolo’s decline seems uncharacteristic – this was his first red card with the national team, the second for the seniors, and the first since the Europa League game in 2015-16 with FC Basel.
We also learned that Argentina do not want Lionel Messi to sign.
But it helps when Messi takes a corner – he pointed to Alexis Mac Allister to lead the opening goal in the 10th minute. Albiceleste supporters celebrated by praising assistant Walter Samuel, who, perhaps, thought that Mac Allister could find a place among the Swiss team whose shortest player is four centimeters (an inch and a half) taller than him.
