Fifa World Cup Semi Final Matches – Betting, Stats and Everything You Need to Know
First Semi Final – Wednesday 14th December, 6:00 @ Lusail Stadium, Lusail
Argentina v Croatia Preview
The sole South American side left in the World Cup, Argentina take on Croatia who are one win away from emulating their magical run to the final of the last World Cup in Russia and making consecutive finals.
These sides have met 5 times previously, with both sides winning twice, and one game finishing in a draw. These sides met in the previous World Cup where Croatia dominated 3-0 despite the match being scoreless at half time.
This time around, Argentina are firm favourites to progress through to the final which would be a dramatic turnaround from their first up defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Argentina Fifa World Cup So Far
Argentina started their campaign in disastrous fashion, going down to Saudi Arabia 2-1 in what was one of the biggest shocks in recent World Cup memory. However they still managed to top Group C after consecutive 2-0 wins over Mexico and Poland respectively, despite both games being locked 0-0 at the half.
In Lionel Messi’s 1,000th match, he broke Socceroos hearts with a clinical goal to lead off the scoring, and despite some heart flutters late they emerged as 2-1 victors to set up a massive clash against the Dutch to try to progress through to the Semi Finals.
In the semi final, Argentina looked to be cruising when they took a 2-0 lead against the Dutch side, however they got the jitters and conceded the lead. The South Americans were able to steady and comfortably handled their opponent in the shoot out to progress to the final.
Croatia Fifa World Cup So Far
Croatia just managed to sneak through the group phases with two Nil all draws against Morocco and Belgium respectively. They found form against Canada, who were impressive in the opening fixture which allowed them to book second spot in Group F to take on Japan in the Round of 16 clash.
Japan started strongly in the knockout phase, and score just before half time to take a 1-0 lead to the break. Perisic however levelled the scoreline, and changed the momentum of the match. Despite being dominate for the rest of the match and in extra time, the match game down to Penalties,
where Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved 3 penalties and proved the hero to book their ticket to the Quarter Final.
The semi final was scoreless through regulation time against the tournament favourites in Brazil. Croatia’s chance of progressing to the final looked in tatters when Brazil scored right on the whistle in the first period in extra time, but not to be counted out, Bruno Petkovic locked things up very late in the piece, which allowed the Corinthians to be clinical from the spot and progress 4-2 on penalties.
Argentina v Croatia Betting
| Argentina | $1.78 |
|---|---|
| Drawn Match | $3.35 |
| Croatia | $5.30 |
Second Semi Final – Thursday 15th December, 6:00 @ Al-Bayt Stadium, Al-Khor
France v Morocco Preview
The final semi finals sees the new competitive favourites France, take on the fairy tale of the competitive, Morocco for the last spot in the final.
This will be the 5th meeting between these two nations with the France holding a dominant record of 3 wins to Morocco’s one win and a draw, with these sides never meeting in a major tournament.
This time around, France are firming favourites to progress through to their second consecutive final after being ultra consistent over the tournament thus far.
Morocco Fifa World Cup So Far
Morocco have made a surprising run deep into the tournament to be the only African team still in contention. They navigated through the group stage unbeaten to finish top of Group F after a scoreless draw against Croatia, and a massive upset against the 2nd team in the world, Belgium. The Moroccans locked in top spot with a 2-1 victory against Canada to complete the group phase.
The Round of 16 clash proved the biggest upset of their campaign, and one of biggest of the tournament when they eliminated Spain in penalties after Bono blocked all three Spanish shots.
Morocco continued their giant killing run when they eliminated Portugal with another stout defensive performance, winning 1-0 after Youssef En Nesyri scored the only goal of the match just before half time.
France Fifa World Cup So Far
After rumours of in fighting pre the start of the tournament, the French opened their campaign in style by dominating the Socceroos 4-1, despite going down a goal early. Les Bleus then had a clinical Victoria over Denmark, only to drop their final group match against Tunisia in surprising fashion, albeit they rested a number of their stars including current Golden Ball favourite, Kylian Mbappe.
The French then put a further 3 goals past the normally defensively sound Poland, to secure their spot in the Quarter Finals and ensure they are very firm in the betting to claim the World Cup.
Les Bleus won their Quarter Final in controversial circumstances with much made of the referring performance throughout the course of the encounter. France ended up winning 2-1 with Giroud scoring the go ahead goal with only 15 minutes left in regulation, and survived a scare when the normally consistent Harry Kane missed a late penalty to lock the scores up.
France v Morocco Betting
| France | $1.51 |
|---|---|
| Drawn Match | $3.95 |
| Morocco | $7.50 |
Fifa World Cup Outright Winner Market
| France | $2.10 |
|---|---|
| Argentina | $2.60 |
| Croatia | $8.25 |
| Morocco | $11 |
