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| Casemiro celebrates after scoring Brazil's opening goal in their World Cup group match against Brazil on 28 November in Qatar. (Andre Penner/Image) |
Fefum.com, - The FIFA World Cup will be held in the Middle East for the first time, with fall tournaments focused on the pinnacle of football.
The US Men's National Team ended its World Cup run with a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday. After playing draws with Wales and England, the US defeated Iran 1-0 on Tuesday to advance to the Round of 16 before losing to the Netherlands.
Heavy hit by injuries and problems within the federation, Mexico was ruled out of the World Cup on Wednesday despite a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in the final group-play match.
Morocco vs Spain
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| Morocco's Romain Saiss will clear the ball in front of Canada's Tajon Buchanan in Thursday's group match. (Manu Fernandez/Image) |
Where: Education City Stadium
Time: Tuesday at 7am
TV: Fox, Telemundo, Peacock Premium
Buzz: Morocco and Spain occupy different continents but are only 8 miles apart. But the football history of both countries does not end there.
Morocco has qualified for the round of 16 for the second time since 1986, but former World Cup champions Spain has missed the knockout round only once this century. However, undefeated Morocco was arguably the better team in this tournament, winning a group that included second-placed Belgium and Croatia with a stifling defense that allowed only own goals in group play.
Offensively, the Moroccan was incredibly efficient, scoring 4 goals from 4 players on 21 shots. Only four teams finished group plays with fewer shots.
Alvaro Morata has only scored two goals since Spain, who lost to Japan in the group-play final and finished second, beat Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening match. Morata finished the group play tied for first place in the tournament with three goals.
Spain's performance against Costa Rica helped them make 2,384 passes, the most at the World Cup in the group stage. This marks a return to the short passing, possession-based play perfected by the team in their 2010 title win. Spain also scored nine goals to draw England in group play.
Portugal vs. Switzerland
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| Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off, and South Korea's Kim Yong-kwon battled for the ball on Friday. (Hassan Ammar/Image) Where: Lusail Stadium Time: 11:00 AM PDT TV: Fox, Telemundo, Peacock Premium Buzz: Cristiano Ronaldo has made it past the last 16 of the World Cup only once, which was in 2006, at the beginning of his illustrious career. If he wants to make a final run at the World Cup title, he needs to win here. Portugal won the group despite losing the final game by conceding an injury-time goal to South Korea. Ronaldo scored the team's first six goals in the tournament on a penalty kick but has not scored since. Adding to Portugal's concerns, Paris Saint-Germain wing-back Nuno Mendes suffered a thigh injury in group play and club-mate center-back Danilo Pereira suffered a three-rib injury during a training session, leaving him out of the tournament. missed the rest of it. Switzerland's only loss was to Brazil, one point behind Cameroon and Serbia. A win here would be historic as Switzerland has never passed the fourth game. Sixteen teams competed in the 1954 World Cup and never advanced. Goalkeeper Jan Sommer and defender Nico Elvedi, who missed the match against Serbia due to illness, are also expected to be available. |
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