Loss to Belgium is harder than 7-1 humiliation: Paulinho

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic stated outright what he felt regarding the controversial penalty call following his side’s 4-2 defeat to France in Sunday’s World Cup final, saying : “You don't give a penalty like that in a World Cup final.”

A debatable penalty awarded with the use of FIFA's new video replay system proved a turning point in the World Cup final on Sunday as debate focused on erronous referee calls.

France and Croatia were level at 1-1 in an evenly contested match when Argentine referee Nestor Pitana was alerted to a possible handball ten minutes from half time and, after checking the off-field screen, he decided Croatia's Ivan Perisic had handled. While there is no doubt that the ball did hit the Croatian’s hand, the focus will remain on whether the handling of the ball was intentional.

Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty and France went on to win 4-2. Even after the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, it remained a highly contentious call. Many former players called the awarding of the penalty a dubious decision with former England and Liverpool defender perhaps rightly suggesting that ‘It’s the referee’s mistake, not VAR! VAR is just the replay of an incident.’

The decisions proved to be a turning point in the match as France’s influence grew following their second goal. Dalic said he thought such a decision had no place in a game of such magnitude.

“We played well but the penalty knocked the wind out of us and after that it was very difficult," Dalic said after congratulating France on their victory. "I just want to say one sentence about that penalty: You don't give a penalty like that in a World Cup final.”

The Croatia coach conceded that his team had let in two ‘soft goals’ but lamented the fact that things did not go their way when they were in a good position to fight for the match.

“We wanted to win the World Cup so much, but that's football," he said. "The French did not surprise us; we let in two soft goals coupled with an own goal and a penalty.

“What we had in terms of luck in this tournament, we lacked today. When you concede four goals, you cannot expect to win the game.”

Neverthless, Dalic went on to congratulate France and praised his team’s effort after they gave a vastly talented French side a run for their money.

“I congratulate France on their title. We played well in the first 20 minutes, we controlled the game. Then there was an own goal from a set play. We came back to life, dominated and then the penalty was given,” Dalic said.

“I have to congratulate my players, it was maybe the best game we played in this tournament; we controlled the match but we conceded. Against such a strong side as France you must not make mistakes. We are a bit sad, but we have to be proud as well for what we’ve done.”

Belgium shot Brazil out of the World Cup with a 2-1 quarterfinal win yesterday to set up a semifinal clash with France on Tuesday.

The five-time champions did everything in their power to crawl out of the 2-0 hole they had found themselves in within the first 30 minutes -- which saw Fernandinho head the ball into his own net before Kevin de Bruyne fired in a clean right-footer into Allison Becker's far post -- but could only pull back one in the 83rd minute of the game. It was a Renato Augusto header that finally beat Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who made at least half a dozen saves to take the men in red close to dreamland.

Earlier, in the first quarterfinal match, France had made light work of Uruguay in a 2-0 win, who looked lost in attack without star striker Edinson Cavani to complement Luis Suarez. Raphael Varane soared high and headed home the opening goal from a brilliant Antoine Griezmann free-kick in the 40th minute before Griezmann doubled the lead in the 61st minute courtesy of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's incredible blunder.

For Brazil it was a chastening blow after playing so well in the last three games. Interestingly, it was the very ground where young French forward Kylian Mbappe destroyed Argentina with his pace and guile a week ago. Last night it was the turn of Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku, who rattled a Brazil defence that conceded just one goal in the last four games.

Brazilian superstar Neymar (L) lies on the floor in anguish after just his second ever competitive defeat with Brazil in a World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Belgium's opening goal came off a quick counter attack. Lukaku made a darting run down the middle before releasing the ball to Marouane Fellaini, whose shot was blocked for a corner. Belgian defender Vincent Kompany's backwards header from the near post was deflected into Brazil's net by Fernandinho, who actually had a miserable game after coming into the team as a replacement for the suspended Casemiro.

Belgium silenced the five-time world champions again in the 31st minute. Although De Bruyne scored with neat right-footer past Alisson, the instigator was once again a giant Lukaku. The 25-year-old powered through the middle and drew almost all of Brazil's defensive pack towards himself before releasing a perfect through pass wide on the right-hand side from where Manchester City forward De Bruyne made no mistake in drilling a low shot.

By time Brazil captain Miranda was entrusted with the duty to defuse Lukaku, the Belgian had already done the damage. After that it was the Courtois' turn, the Chelsea goalkeeper who kept Brazil at bay time and again.

It is not that Brazil were at the receiving end in a game that was played at a frantic pace. They were not only unlucky to have one of their many attempts come off the post, but they had at least four shots saved by Courtois in the first half.

On the opposite end of the scale were the Red Devils, who revelled in their victory with a healthy mixture of disbelief and euphoria. Photo: Reuters

Brazil made two changes in the second half with Roberto Firmino coming on in place of Willian at the interval before Gabriel Jesus made way for Douglas Costa in 55th minute to bolster the attack.

They created a lot of opportunities but were only to be blamed as they wasted at least four chances with only Courtois to beat. Augusto replaced Paulinho in the 70th minute and headed a Coutinho floater into the net in the 73rd minute.

Brazil still had plenty of time to score but somehow managed to shoot the ball wide from advantageous positions.

With the game heading into the last ten minutes and a tiring Belgium resorting to time wasting, Neymar dashed down the flank before providing a neat cutback to Firmino, whose left footed shot on the turn flew over the bar.

Augusta had only Courtois to beat in the 80th minute but shot the ball miles over the bar. Brazil had a final chance to take the game into extra-time when Neymar nicely fed Coutinho with a superb cutback in the 85th minute. But the Barcelona forward, who had earlier in the tournament scored a couple of magnificent goals, somehow managed to shoot the ball over the bar from top of the box.  And when Courtios tipped Neymar's curler over the bar, a defeat was a foregone conclusion.

Brazil's departure from the tournament means that six out of the eight teams who have already won the World Cup have left the biggest stage. France, who dispatched former champions Uruguay 2-0 in the first match of the day, are one of two remaining heavyweights alongside England. 

Russia will look to continue the winning tradition of host nations at the World Cup when it takes on Croatia in a quarter-final matchup at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi today. The Russians pulled off a stunning upset of heavily favored Spain to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970. However, they face a Croatian side that has gone undefeated at the 2018 FIFA World Cup while allowing just two goals. The match is scheduled to start at 12:00 am in Bangladesh time. Here we look at some of the statistics ahead of the game.

Head-to-head

1) The two previous competitive meetings, in qualifying for Euro 2008, both ended 0-0.

2) The only other encounter was a friendly match in November 2015 which saw the Croats win 3-1 in Rostov-on-Don. The Russians led at half-time through Fedor Smolov's goal but second-half strikes from Nikola Kalinic, Marcelo Brozovic and Mario Mandzukic won it for the visitors.

Russia

1) The last five host nations to feature in a World Cup quarter-final have all progressed to the semi-final (Italy in 1990, France in 1998, South Korea in 2002, Germany in 2006 and Brazil in 2014).

2) Mexico were the last tournament hosts to bow out at this stage, losing on penalties to West Germany in 1986.

3) This is Russia's first World Cup quarter-final since reaching this stage at four consecutive tournaments between 1958 and 1970 whilst competing as the Soviet Union.

4) Excluding penalty shootouts, Russia are winless in their last five World Cup knock-out games (D1, L4), with their last victory a 2-1 win against Hungary in the quarter-finals of the 1966 tournament, which is the only previous occasion they have reached the semi-finals.

5) Again excluding shoot-outs, Russia are winless in their last seven World Cup games against European sides (D2, L5), with their last victory coming in 1986 (also against Hungary).

6) After having 10 shots on target in their first two games, Russia have managed two in their subsequent two matches (one versus Uruguay and one against Spain).

7) Russia have conceded two own goals at this World Cup - Bulgaria in 1966 are the only other side to score two at the same tournament.

Croatia

1) The Croats' only previous World Cup quarter-final was their 3-0 win against Germany at France '98.

2) That victory is also the last time they have won a knockout match at a major tournament without the aid of a penalty shoot-out.

3) Croatia have scored in their last eight World Cup games, netting 16 goals in total.

4) Of their last 12 World Cup goals, 10 have come after half-time.

5) The Croats have lost their two previous World Cup games against host nations, losing 2-1 to France in the semi-finals in 1998 and 3-1 to Brazil in the group stage in 2014.

David Beckham will be thinking of restaurants with delicious food as he won a friendly England versus Sweden bet against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the terms of the bet stating that if England beat Sweden in the quarter-final to book a place in the World Cup 2018 semi-final, Zlatan would be buying dinner for Beckham where ever he wants in the world.

England defeated Sweden 2-0 in their quarter final match of the World Cup—courtesy of goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli and booked a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.

The two former Paris Saint-Germain team mates entered into a wager ahead of the quarter-final clash between England and Sweden. Ibrahimovic was the one who initiated the bet through social media and Beckham also responded promptly.

Ibrahimovic vowed to take ex-England skipper Beckham out for a meal at any restaurant in the world if he found himself on the losing side.

That promise was countered by Beckham that Ibrahimovic could pick any item he wanted from Ikea if the Three Lions came unstuck.

As Gareth Southgate’s side continued their impressive run in the World Cup 2018 and came over Sweden after a comfortable 2-0 victory, Beckham can start readying himself for a delicious treat. However, Ibrahimovic would now have to join Beckham at an England game, wearing an England shirt and indulge in an English delicacy at the interval, as per the terms of the bet.

Ibrahimovic is yet to comment on the bet since full-time, but he did express his enormous admiration for the players who reached the quarter-finals.

“Every player should get a golden ball in Sweden,” Ibrahimovic tweeted. “What they did will be remembered forever. Thank you for the show.”

If you discount World Cup pedigree, which has actually had little or no bearing in Russia 2018 so far, there is little to choose from between France and Belgium when the two European nations lock horns in the first semifinal at the Saint Petersburg Stadium today.

The weather is very conducive -- not hot like Samara or Kazan. It was actually overcast when the French trained yesterday. And Petersburg is expected to be as cool as 17 degrees Celcius when France will look to keep their World Cup record intact against a Belgian side that has conquered five-time champions Brazil in a hard-fought quarterfinal.

France are a young side. They came into this tournament as the most talented side, which Belgium was bracketed as four years ago in Brazil. The Belgians might have failed to live up to their potential then, when they were eliminated from the quarterfinal stages, but France have showed more maturity in their youth to battle their way past Argentina in the round of 16 before dispatching two-time champions Uruguay 2-0 in the quarterfinal.

Both teams have got the firepower to surprise the other despite the fact that they play almost the same style and their players know each other very well. It will be a golden opportunity for France coach Didier Deschamps to win the title both as a player and manager for the Les Bleus after leading the side to their first-ever World Cup glory in 1998.

However, Belgium have showed the tenacity needed to overcome adversity in this World Cup so far. They came from 2-0 down to beat Japan 3-2 and then kept Brazil at bay to make it to the last four for only the second time since 1986, when they finished third. It was also the year they met France at the biggest stage and lost the position deciding game 4-2.

For Deschamps it will be a challenge to confront his Belgian counterpart Roberto Martinez, who successfully adopted a different formation against Brazil. The French coach however said that he was well aware of that and ready to counter any changes in formation in the game.

Martinez said after the victory against Brazil that it was the best thing that happened for him and his side but yesterday he said that the mission is yet to be accomplished.

“We have a tough game against France. And a win will take us to the final. We will be proud if we can do that,” Martinez told reporters.

Out in the middle, it will be a battle within a battle. It will be Kylian Mbappe's time to take his growing reputation one notch higher after his exploits against Argentina. Belgium's Romelu Lukaku will try to emulate the speed and guile of Mbappe. It will be a classic battle between Antoine Griezmann and Eden Hazard, a clash between Paul Pogba and Kevin De Bruyne, a fight between Vincent Kompany and Raphael Varane.

More importantly, it will be a clash of titanic proportions for the tournament's two most impressive goalkeepers -- Thibaut Courtois and Hugo Lloris.

Four years after the Brazil disappointment, Belgium have matured and that will probably be their biggest strength against a French side who have got more depth in attack and defence. But whoever wins, it promises to be a cracker of a semifinal, even for those who have lost their appetite for the World Cup following the departure of the two South American rivals -- Brazil and Argentina.