England Dream ‘Football Homecoming’,  Go for Broke against France

Tt’s Coming Home or Allez Les Bleus will be ringing around the Al Bayt Stadium at the full-time whistle this evening, as England battle France in their World Cup 2022 quarter-final.

The Three Lions put three past Senegal without reply to advance to the last eight, while the reigning champions overcame Poland 3-1 to keep their hopes of back-to-back titles alive.

An error-strewn England team looked the most likely to concede in the early stages against Senegal, who did not allow the Three Lions a second to breathe with their effective pressing, but the tide soon turned when 19-year-old Jude Bellingham took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Bellingham set up Jordan Henderson for the opening goal before playing a huge part in Harry Kane’s goal just before the break, and Gareth Southgate’s decision to bring Bukayo Saka back into the fold was vindicated, as the Arsenal man made it three for England after 57 minutes.

Southgate was delighted to see his side display a streak of “ruthlessness” in another game where a below-par start led to a familiar sense of dread, and a semi-final with Morocco or Portugal now awaits if the Euro 2020 runners-up can send the holders packing.

However, quarter-final exits have been commonplace for England, who have been dumped out at this stage in the 1954, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002 and 2006 tournaments, and six of their last eight World Cup eliminations have come against fellow European nations.

A three-game streak without conceding a goal at the World Cup does stand England in good stead, and Southgate could now become the first Three Lions manager in history to lead the team to more than one semi-final, but the most formidable of formidable foes is standing in their way.

As Kane came up with a 52nd international goal to edge closer to the England record, Olivier Giroud’s 52nd strike was enough to see the AC Milan attacker storm to the top of the France charts, as Les Bleus displayed a clinical edge that Robert Lewandoski’s Poland had no answer to.

Mbappe turned provider for Giroud to fire home the opening goal, which saw the 36-year-old overtake Thierry Henry at the summit of the men’s goalscoring list, and the former soon came up with two thunderous finishes to put the game to bed before a retaken Lewandowski penalty gave Poland a late consolation.

Giroud still has some way to go to become France’s outright leading goalscorer -Eugenie Le Sommer has a staggering 86 to her name – but the veteran’s strength and link-up play complements the explosiveness of Mbappe perfectly, and England’s rearguard will have their work cut out for them here.

France have now reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in five of the last seven editions – including each of their last three – and  Didier Deschamps’ men have prevailed in eight of their last 10 knockout ties against fellow UEFA nations, but they are yet to silence all the critics.

Indeed, Les Bleus are still without a clean sheet at the 2022 World Cup and have actually lost both of their previous meetings with England at the tournament in 1966 and 1982, but more recent history does not favour the Three Lions, who can only boast one win from their last eight against the champions of the world.

Africa’s Last Team Standing, Morocco,Gunning for Piece of History against Portugal

Africa’s last team standing at the ongoing FIFA World Cup here in Qatar, Morocco, have a date with history this afternoon inside the 44,000-capacity Al Thumama Stadium. The Atlas Lions are on the verge of becoming the first team from the continent to reach the semi final of the World Cup. Euro’ 2016 champions, Portugal, stand between Morocco and this piece of history!

Already, the Atlas Lions are the first from the Arab world to get to the quarter final of this senior World Cup. After defeating 2010 champions Spain to achieve that feat, it is obvious the Atlas Lions want to go a notch higher in their fairytale story here in Qatar.

And the man who is at the driver’s seat, plotting the game-plan to create history here, Walid Regragui, agreed yesterday that he knows Morocco are the underdogs in this contest this afternoon. He however insisted that Portugal would find the Lions who are hungry for more successes, worthy challengers for the semi final ticket.

“We have already achieved great things but we feel it’s not enough, we want to go further,” Regragui told a news conference yesterday.

“We’ve already proven all the data analysts wrong about Belgium’s chance and Spain too. They all thought we’d lose to them,” began the 47-year-old Moroccan gaffer.

En-route this stage of the tournament, Morocco finished top of their first-round Group F after drawing with Croatia and beating Belgium and Canada, before edging Spain on penalties in the last 16 on Tuesday night interestingly inside the Education City Stadium.

That match with the La Furia Roja has however taken toll on the Moroccans with three key players now doubtful for this all-important clash with Portugal.

Skipper of the team, Romain Saiss and midfield supremo, Sofyan Amrabat are nursing injuries that may rule them out of the match. Another important link in the defence set up, Nayef Aguerd is battling hamstring and also a doubt.

“We’re not going to hide it, we’re tired,” Regragui admitted. “But when you go this far in the tournament, you have to count on everybody in the squad. So if Nayef cannot play then someone else will have to take his place. We won’t be looking for excuses, we are here on a mission.”

Regragui said several players had arrived in Qatar carrying injuries and niggles and been forced to play through them.”You haven’t seen Morocco at 100 per cent, but mentally we are strong,” he added.

The coach also felt the support at the stadium would again be key. Morocco have enjoyed passionate backing in all four of their games and today is expected to be no different.

“The energy is fantastic. People are identifying with us. It has been great to see our people happy but for us the important thing remains a chance to write history,” Regragui said.

Without mincing words, the Moroccan coach who took charge of the Atlas Lions barely three months to the World Cup, is not deluding himself that the clash with Portugal will be a piece of cake. “Portugal will be a formidable opponent,” he added.

“It’s a big challenge against one of the best teams in the world. They could field two or three high quality teams at this World Cup,” Regragui said of the depth in the Portuguese squad.

“They might be a bit fresher than our guys. I’m not sure if Cristiano Ronaldo plays but I hope he doesn’t.  He’s one of the greatest ever and I’d be delighted if he didn’t play against us,” concludes the coach.

If there is a player in the Portuguese team capable of creating havoc for Morocco, it is 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos who replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in their last 16 clash with Switzerland. The Benfica forward scored a brilliant hat-trick in their 6-1 romp over Switzerland to set up this clash with Morocco.

Known as the “Pistoleiro” for his gun-toting celebration, Ramos shot his way into world football’s consciousness, having only made his Portugal debut in a late tune-up friendly against Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Lisbon. He scored and provided an assist as a substitute as Portugal hammered Nigeria 4-0.

Even as the likelihood of Ronaldo starting this quarter final remains hazy, Ramos who came from Benfica’s impressive academy, just like former graduates Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix, remains the main danger to put at arm’s length. Not struggling Ronaldo whose career appears over with this tournament.