World Cup Semi Finals 2022: Teams qualified, bracket, match schedule, fixtures and how they work

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a few days since we got to know the teams in the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The finals will be next at the beginning of next week.

As per FIFA World Cup tradition, the two finals will be held on different dates with one final on Tuesday, December 13 and the other on Wednesday, December 14.

This means that one of the World Cup finalists will get another day off before the final on Sunday, December 18.

Teams that fall to the finals will have one last chance to end the tournament on a positive note in the third match that will take place on the evening of the finals.

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Schedule of matches for the World Cup

Eight teams are competing for a place in the finals. Two of the finals were decided on Friday, December 9, while the other two were scheduled for Saturday, December 10.

World Cup Competition

World Cup Tournament

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Argentina and Croatia

• Date: Tuesday, December 13
• Time: 2 pm ET / 7 pm GMT / 10 pm local time in Qatar
• Gallery: Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail, Qatar)

Croatia shocked the world when they defeated Brazil on penalties in the quarter-finals and will now face Argentina in their first World Cup final on Sunday.

Argentina are favorites against Croatia, but the match is competitive. The European side know how to keep things going as their five matches in Qatar have shown.

Croatia defeated Argentina 3-0 in the group stage of the last World Cup, and the team’s all-time record is two wins apiece and a draw. They split their only two World Cup meetings with Argentina claiming a narrow 1-0 win in 1998.

France vs Morocco

• Date: Wednesday, December 14
• Time: 2 pm ET / 7 pm GMT / 10 pm local time in Qatar
• Gallery: Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor, Qatar)

France are back in the finals of the World Cup, where they will take on Morocco as the Atlas Lions become the first African team to reach the finals.

Morocco have the longest shot of the eight teams that made it to the quarterfinals, but they’re not in doubt yet. They have finished with expert defending and exciting play from their attacking third.

Supported by thousands and many who came from Morocco to Qatar, the Moroccans have what it takes to give France a big challenge and the presence of their fans is the opposite.

Morocco have won just once against France in 11 games all-time, dating back to 1963. Their last meeting came in 2007 (a 2-2 draw).

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How the playoffs work

Like previous knockout rounds, the semifinals are single elimination and require a winner after each match.

Therefore, if there is a score after 90 minutes of regulation, the teams will get 30 minutes of extra time to decide a winner. Addiction is not an emergency. (In other words, it is not a post-win program or a ‘golden goal’.)

How to make a penalty

If the teams are still dead after extra time, the match will go to a penalty shootout where each team will take turns to score from the penalty spot. The team with the most successful conversion after five attempts is declared the winner. If the teams are still level after five kicks, they play another round until the deadlock is broken.

World Cup semi-final history

In the eight World Cups held since 1994, the 32 places available in the quarter-finals have been occupied by the 17 different nations listed below, six of which have been this section.

Twelve of those 17 countries are from Europe, three from South America, one from Africa (Morocco in 2022), and only one from Asia with the shock of South Korea in the selections four of them co-sponsored the competition.

In the quarterfinals in 2022, Morocco became the only first-placed competitor after defeating Portugal with a 1-0 win.

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