The scripts written in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar are some of the most dramatic, yet emphatic ones football has ever seen. No one could write the stories that continue to unfold in the streets of the middle-east country. Saturday was just another routinely unpredictable day in the competition as two heavyweight favourites crashed out in colossal style.
Morocco took down Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the first quarterfinal of the day thanks to a first-half winner from Youssef En-Nesyri. The Africans held onto their narrow lead for close to an hour and denied the former European champions a place in the next round, rewriting the history books in the process.
The second clash of the day saw two of the biggest teams in world football face off, France and England. Aurelien Tchouameni opened the scoring for the defending champions but Harry Kane was on point from the penalty spot to restore parity. Olivier Giroud restored France’s lead late in the game, and though England won a penalty minutes later, Kane would go on to sky it.
Les Bleus will now take on Morocco in the semifinal later this week in what will once again be a historic clash. The other side of the bracket, meanwhile, sees Lionel Messi’s Argentina pitted against Luka Modric’s Croatia.
Barca Universal brings you an overview of the performances of Barcelona players and academy stars on the night.
Jules Kounde (France vs England)
Be it for club or country, Jules Kounde just cannot get out of the right-back jinx. Though the youngster’s true strength lies at centre-back, both Xavi Hernandez and Didier Deschamps have utilised his ability to play at right-back to cover voids in their squads, and the result is unbelievable.
Courtesy of the sheer number of minutes Kounde has played on the right side of the defence, the youngster is developing a real understanding of his position. With every passing game, he just gets better and it would not be wrong to say that he was France’s best defender in the World Cup quarterfinal.
The 24-year-old started the game and played the full ninety minutes, putting up a flawless performance. He made one clearance, a clearance off the line, blocked three shots and made one interception against England in a memorable show. Further, he also won three duels and was not dribbled past in the entire game.
What made Kounde’s game more special was the conspicuous effect it had on England’s plans. The Barcelona player was initially face-to-face with England’s brightest young talent, Phil Foden. Yet, the defender completely nullified the Manchester City star’s influence on the game to the extent that one had to search for him on the field.
In the 55th minute, the French international did well to find Rabiot with a long ball and set him up in front of the goal. While the move did not result in a goal, it was a key pass in every sense of the word.
Ousmane Dembele (France vs England)
Ousmane Dembele may not have the most effective presence inside the box, but that has never been his role. As he does in Barcelona, the player is tasked with leading the counter-attack and creating chances from wide even in his national team’s setup, and that was exactly what he did on Saturday.
It was Dembele who initiated France’s first big move of the game in the 11th minute when he found Greizmann with a lovely flick. He once again turned up the heat in the 39th minute with a lovely through ball to Theo Hernandez but the final shot by Mbappe went well above the bar.
Three minutes before the hour mark, Dembele was presented with a great chance via some smart play by Olivier Giroud but could not control the ball and pull the trigger in time.
From the hour mark, Dembele switched to a higher gear. His volley in the 68th minute resulted in half a chance for France before he perfectly set up Giroud nine minutes later. Though the striker missed the chance, France maintained the tempo and scored less than sixty seconds later.
In 79 minutes on the field, the former Borussia Dortmund star created two chances and one big chance, took one shot on goal, and completed three passes into the final third. He may not be the star whose name graces the scorecard, but Dembele is still a vital component of Deschamps’ plans.
Ez Abde (Morocco vs Portugal)
Barcelona loanee Abdessamad Ezzalzouli stayed on the bench throughout Morocco’s historic win over Portugal and is now a part of the first African national team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. His exclusion from action is not for a lack of talent but an abundance of resources in the attack.