This was published 1 year ago
That is all we have for you today everyone. Thanks so much for joining us for this live blog.
We will be back early tomorrow morning to cover France v England, please join us then.
Croatia has shocked Brazil and Argentina has outlasted Netherlands to take their places in the semi-finals.
Tomorrow we will see who can take the other two places as Morocco faces Portugal and France takes on England.
We will see you then. Bye for now.
Doha: Olivier Giroud is now France’s all-time leading goalscorer, with his three goals so far at the World Cup in Qatar taking him to 52 for his country, and past the previous record held for 15 years by Thierry Henry.
It’s a nice little slice of history for a striker who has long been underappreciated, and was famously maligned by the fans of his former club, Arsenal, who couldn’t always see the impact he was having on games if he wasn’t scoring.
Kyle Walker and Kylian Mbappe.Credit: Illustration: Stephen Kiprillis
But deep down, he knows he needs to savour every single moment he holds it because it won’t be for long.
Certainly not another 15 years. He’ll be lucky if it’s 15 months.
Kylian Mbappe is coming. For him, for them, for everything in football.
“He is the best striker I have played with,” Giroud said.
Sao Paolo: Brazilian soccer great Pele congratulated Neymar for matching his national team scoring record on Friday, and then commiserated with the player for his World Cup exit.
Pele, who has been hospitalised while being treated for a respiratory infection, posted his message on Instagram after Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarterfinals in a penalty shootout at the tournament in Qatar.
Another Pele tribute in the stands in Doha.Credit: Getty
“I saw you grow, I cheered for you every day and I can finally congratulate you for reaching my number of goals with Brazil. We both know that this is more than a figure,” the 82-year-old Pele wrote.
“Our biggest duty as athletes is to inspire. Inspire our teammates of today, the next generations and, above all, everyone who loves our sport.
“Unfortunately, this is not the happiest day for us,” Pele added. “My record was set almost 50 years ago, and nobody had managed to get near it until now. You got there, kid. That shows how great your achievement is.”
Neymar scored Brazil’s only goal against Croatia at Education City Stadium, giving him 77 for the national team. The Croats later equalised and advanced to the semifinals by winning the shootout 4-2 after a 1-1 draw.
The 30-year-old Neymar didn’t take a penalty in the shootout. He walked off the field in tears and left it open whether he will continue playing for the national team.
“Keep inspiring us,” Pele said in the end of his message to Neymar.
“I will keep punching the air with joy for every goal you score, as I did in every match I saw you on the pitch.”
AP
Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez was the hero for his nation in its penalty shootout win over the Netherlands then has hit out at the match referee and Dutch coach Louis van Gaal post game.
Martinez told beIN Sports post game that his team controlled the game well to lead 2-0 before the game changed.
Emi Martinez and Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrate after the team’s victoryCredit: Getty Images
“It all turned upside down, the referee was giving everything for them,” Martinez told beIN Sports.
“He gave 10 minutes [injury time] for no reason. Free kicks outside the box, two or three of them, he just wanted them to score.
“That is basically it. Hopefully, we don’t have that referee anymore. He’s useless.”
Martinez also hit out at van Gaal for his comments about his side’s penalty skills. Martinez saved the first two shots from the Netherlands.
“I heard van Gaal saying we got an advantage, if we go to penalties we win. I think he needs to keep his mouth shut.”
The Netherlands’ defeat was the first for the Dutch in 20 matches going back to last year’s European Championship and brought an end to 71-year-old Louis van Gaal’s third spell as coach.
It was the second time a Van Gaal team had lost to Argentina via a shootout in the knockout stages of the World Cup after a 4-2 defeat following a 0-0 draw in 2014 semi-finals.
Louis van Gaal kept his cancer battle a secret from his players.Credit: Getty
“We practiced on penalties all year and then you screw it up,” Van Gaal said.
“That’s a pity. As a coach, I want to have everything under control. That is why I asked the players to take a penalty at their club, they all did. If you miss two, you won’t win anymore.”
Reuters
Al Rayyan, Qatar: Neymar walked off the field with teammate Dani Alves by his side, tears still rolling down the Brazil forward’s cheeks.
Other players had already tried to console Neymar as he cried while sitting near midfield, head down, hiding his face.
Brazil’s Neymar reacts after the penalty shootout besides Brazil’s goalkeeper Ederson.Credit: AP
It was his third failure at a World Cup, and his only triumphs with the national team are the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when Brazil won its first gold medal in soccer.
Neymar said it wasn’t the time to talk about his future with the national team.
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s hard to talk about it right now,” he said. “It would be too hasty to come here and say that this is it, but I can’t guarantee anything. I have to take some time to think about it. I’m not closing any doors to the Seleção, but I’m also not saying 100 per cent that I want to be back.”
Neymar scored Friday to move level with Pelé as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals, but the Seleção ended up losing to Croatia 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals after the match finished 1-1 after extra time.
Neymar never had a chance to take a penalty after Rodrygo and Marquinhos missed their spot kicks.
AP
Lusail, Qatar: Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-3 in a penalty shootout to keep Lionel Messi’s World Cup dream alive on Friday after the Dutch had snatched a 2-2 draw from the jaws of defeat in an extraordinary quarter-final.
Emiliano Martinez saved the first two Dutch penalties to give Argentina a huge advantage, and Lautaro Martinez sent Andries Noppert the wrong way to set up a date for the South Americans with Croatia in the semi-finals on Wednesday AEDT.
Lionel Messi.Credit: Getty Images
Messi celebrated with arms aloft in front of the massed ranks of Argentina fans, his hopes of securing football’s biggest prize at the fifth attempt intact for a few more days.
A third bench-clearing melee of the match took place behind him as some of the Dutch players, distraught after coming so close to one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history, clashed with their Argentine rivals.
Apparently on their way home at 2-0 down with only seven minutes of normal time remaining, the Dutch scored twice through substitute Wout Weghorst to send the match to two scoreless periods of extra time.
Reuters