FIFA World Cup 2022: France face England at World Cup after Brazil crash out

Reigning champions France take on England in a World Cup knockout match for the first time on Saturday after favourites Brazil were dumped out in the quarterfinals to blow the tournament wide open Morocco will bid to become the first African or Arab nation to ever reach the semifinals but face a Portugal side who put six goals past Switzerland in the last 16 after dropping Cristiano Ronaldo France have overcome a series of injuries to key players to reach the last eight in their title defence inspired by Kylian Mbappe the tournaments leading scorer with five goalsKylian will always be Kylian with the ability to be decisive at any moment said coach Didier Deschamps who is bidding to become the first coach to win backtoback World Cups since World War IIEngland are the jointhighest scorers in the tournament with 12 goals after cruising past African champions Senegal 30 in the previous round They are still waiting for a first major title since the 1966 World Cup after losing to Croatia in the semifinals four years ago before a penalty shootout loss to Italy in the European Championship final at Wembley last yearThose big matches are important reference points for the team said England coach Gareth SouthgateThere have been some defeats that hurt that prepare you for nights like tomorrow where you have to be the very best version of yourself We are ready to fight France for that place in the semifinalsAhead of the match French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted and wrote Dear Rishi Sunak looking forward to the game tonight If Les Bleus win they will yoursquoll wish us luck in the semifinalhellip rightDear RishiSunak looking forward to the game tonight If Les Bleus win they will yoursquoll wish us luck in the semifinalhellip rightmdash Emmanuel Macron EmmanuelMacron December 10 2022The winners of the FranceEngland clash at Al Bayt Stadium will play either Morocco or Portugal in the last four Morocco have already gone further than ever after stunning European heavyweights Spain and Belgium They are now one match from breaking new ground for African football and will enjoy the backing of the vast majority of the supporters at Al Thumama StadiumWe have a whole people behind us a continent behind us and the Arab world behind us said coach Walid RegraguiWe can do it we can make history again It the support can push us help us actually to play with this pressure not to make any mistakes Portugal will likely line up without Ronaldo again after his replacement in the starting XI Goncalo Ramos scored a hattrick against Switzerland Its high time we stop with this conversation stop the controversies about Ronaldo said coach Fernando SantosAlso Read Grant Wahlrsquos love for football and reporting will be missed Gianni Infantino Brazil sent packing On Friday fivetime champions Brazil crashed out in dramatic fashion losing to Croatia on penalties after a 11 draw while Lionel Messis Argentina survived a fightback from the Netherlands to win in a shootout Neymar appeared to have fired Brazil into the semifinals when he broke the deadlock in extra time to equal Peles alltime scoring record for the Selecao But Bruno Petkovic levelled late on with Croatias first shot on target before the 2018 runnersup won the shootout 42 to set up a meeting with ArgentinaAn emotional Neymar hinted he might quit international football saying he could not 100 percent guarantee he would play for the national team again Croatia will face Argentina for a place in a second straight World Cup final after their 42 defeat by France in Russia When you eliminate a team like Brazil from the World Cup who was certainly the biggest favourite then you must be happy and proud Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said on SaturdayIm tired but happily tired He said attention would immediately turn to Argentina whom Croatia beat 30 in the group stage four years ago with a focus on stopping Messi The South American side appeared to be coasting towards a 20 win against the Netherlands in a badtempered encounter but the match was turned on its head with two late goals from substitute Wout Weghorst However goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved two spotkicks to keep alive Messis dream of emulating Diego Maradona by winning the World Cup We are in the semifinal because we have passion and heart We are excited just like the peopleMartinez said The first thing that comes to mind is emotion I do this for 45 million people Away from the World Cup Germany captain Manuel Neuer whose team exited at the group stage announced he would be out for the rest of the season after breaking his leg skiingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever