There were a couple of huge upsets in the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with Brazil and Portugal both bowing out. Now, just four teams remain in the hunt to be crowned champions of world football.
The first semi-final will feature Lionel Messi and Argentina taking on Luka Modric and Croatia on Wednesday morning, while the second fixture will see Kylian Mbappe and France do battle with Achraf Hakimi and Morocco on Thursday morning.
Jake Smit previews both semi-final fixtures and brings you his analysis and best bets. Good luck to everyone following!
2022 FIFA World Cup: Semi-Finals Betting Tips
Argentina vs Croatia
Wednesday 6am AEDT
A pair of penalty shootouts decided the makeup of the first semi-final in Qatar. Argentina were first to qualify after taking care of the Dutch, before Croatia knocked out favourites Brazil in dramatic fashion. The Argentines are currently $1.88 favourites to win in normal time against the Croatians ($4.60).
Argentina’s run to the semi-finals has been anything but comfortable. They started off their campaign with the biggest upset of the tournament when they went down to Iran 2-1. They managed to steady the ship with wins over Mexico and Poland to finish on top of Group C, before edging past Australia and the Netherlands in their two knockout matches.
It’s of no surprise that Lionel Messi has been Argentina’s best player at the tournament to date. He leads La Albiceleste with four goals, while the next best is young gun Julian Alvarez with two.
Croatia’s route to the semi-finals has probably been the most unconventional in World Cup history. They’ve won only one of their five matches in normal time and have failed to score in three of their matches, including last time out against Brazil. Still, find themselves in the final four of a World Cup for the second straight time.
Considering Croatia have played their part in three 0-0 draws and have won both of their knockout matches on penalties, it’s fair to say that their most important player has been their goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic.
Croatia have been the huge overachievers at both this World Cup and in Russia four years ago, but I believe their run will finally come to an end in Qatar. They’ve relied heavily on keeping a clean sheet to get to this point, though that task is made infinitely harder when Lionel Messi is on the opposing team. I expect the GOAT to lead his team to the World Cup final.
France vs Morocco
Thursday 6am AEDT
Both France and Morocco rode their luck at times to get through their respective quarterfinal matches, but that matters little now with a spot in the World Cup final up for grabs. France are the heavy favourites to get the better of Morocco in normal time ($1.52 vs $7).
France faced their toughest test yet when they played England in the quarterfinals. Despite having less possession, shots, and shots on target, France were able to secure a 2-1 win and move one step closer to defending their title as champions of world football.
Les Bleus, despite a bit of luck last time out, have probably been the best performing team on a consistent basis in Qatar. Aside from their clash wish Tunisia where they rested their entire staring XI, they’ve scored 2+ goals in every game, led by Kylian Mbappe who’s currently leading the Golden Boot race with five.
In stark contrast, Morocco have been the massive surprise packet in Qatar. They were given little to no chance of getting out of their tough group, yet here they are in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Importantly, they’ve become the first African nation to achieve such a feat.
The Atlas Lions have had to overcome three giants in world football to get to this stage. They kicked things off by defeating the #2 ranked Belgium, before taking down Spain and Portugal in back-to-back knockout matches.
As impressive as Morocco’s run in Qatar has been, they looked out on their feet in the final 20 minutes against Portugal and one has to wonder how they’ll be able to back it up against France. I just can’t see them hanging on long enough to make the French nervous and expect the world champions to take control of this fixture and win by multiple goals.
