World Cup 2022 is back after two days off – and back with a bang.
Croatia and Brazil played out another classic, though it didn't really get going until full-time. In the 30 minutes that followed, however, the World Cup provided yet more high drama. Equally, it took time for the Argentina vs Netherlands game to spring into life – but boy was there magic when it eventually started.
Here are the five main takeaways FourFourTwo has learned over the course of another incredible day of World Cup action.
Croatia are a lot harder to beat than perhaps any of us realised
Croatia were no one's favourites for the World Cup – well, far away enough from Adriatic coast, at least. And yet they've just made another semi-final, their third in their young history.
So much of this tournament has revolved around their lack of a replacement for Mario Mandzukic, the target man and lightning rod a-top the Croatian side four years ago. Their star this time around has been tenacious centre-back Josko Gvardiol – but they haven't looked like scoring many goals.
Still, who needs to score many goals when you can drag matches to extra time and then win on penalties?
Dominic Livakovic has been incredible in goal, the defence is compact and that metronomic midfield is able to take the sting out of a two-hour clash and prevent the older legs from tiring too much. This is a Croatian side that will wear you down and if they get just the one chance, they're probably going to take it, too.
Just 90 minutes stands between them and a second successive World Cup final. Well, 120 minutes, plus spot-kicks, of course.
Tite leaves an underwhelming legacy
It’s safe to say that we all got a bit over-excited at half-time of Brazil’s win over South Korea.
Tite’s side were spectacular in that first half, scoring four dazzling goals and showcasing the kind of samba skills that have characterised great Selecao sides of the past. But any comparisons to the five world-conquering Brazilian sides of lore look laughable now, after a blunt performance from the same players who had swaggered through only a few days earlier.
Neymar at least produced a moment of magic to finally make the breakthrough in extra time – equalling Pele’s record in the process – but Brazil’s defence dissolved for the equaliser and they couldn't handle the pressure in penalties.
Tite confirmed after the defeat that he was stepping down as coach and, despite a 2019 Copa America win and rise to No.1 in the FIFA ranking, it’s hard to see his spell as anything but a disappointment.
The most successful football nation on the planet expects better than back-to-back World Cup quarter-final exits to Belgium and Croatia. For good reason.
Argentina can keep their cool (kind of)
In the most heated game of the World Cup so far, referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz dished out yellow cards like they were early Christmas presents for every player. The final tally came to seven bookings for Holland and nine for Argentina, but remarkably nobody was sent off.
Wout Weghorst’s late one-two punch clearly left the Argentinian players stunned, and as tempers frayed their World Cup campaign looked like it was only heading one way. But they deserve credit for the mentality shown in their response. Lionel Scaloni’s men dusted themselves down and put in a strong performance in the second half of extra time, coming agonisingly close to a winner when Enzo Fernandez thumped the post.
When it came to the shoot-out, they showed the composure their South American neighbours Brazil lacked earlier in the day. Emi Martinez was in the mood, firing up the crowd as he made save after save, while Lionel Messi didn’t repeat Neymar’s mistake and decided to go first and set his side on the right track, rather than risk the shoot-out ending before he could get involved.
Coming through a test of their mentality and discipline like this may well give this team more belief than ever that they can finish the job.
Wout Weghorst's set-piece spectacular is evergreen
Weghourst 2 years ago 🤝Weghourst now pic.twitter.com/uXHOdYyaKFDecember 9, 2022
Two years ago, Wout Weghorst scored a cheeky little free-kick for Wolfsburg when he peeled away from the wall to receive a short pass and give himself a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Well, he's done it again – on the biggest stage of all. The former Burnley man and lanky frontman of the Oranje tried exactly the same technique from Teun Koopmeiners' disguised set piece – and it was perhaps the most audacious goal of the entire tournament. It just goes to show that sometimes the answer is ingenuity as much as ingenious.
Weghorst becomes the first-ever substitute to score twice in a World Cup match for the Dutch and his equaliser was the latest-ever goal since records began. What a saviour.
Not enough for the Dutch – but a lovely tournament moment nonetheless.
Lionel Messi needs plugging in
"Pep hates full-back to winger passes, but I used to do them a lot with Messi," Dani Alves once said. "I told Guardiola, if Messi doesn't touch the ball every two minutes, he disconnects and we need him connected so he can decide the game. Pep agreed."
Too often for Argentina in tournaments gone by, Messi has been disconnected. Barcelona just seemed to get how to keep him interwoved in the play but too often he's not been central enough to his country. Even in the first 20 minutes of the game against the Netherlands, he didn't have the ball enough – yet as the Albaceleste got to grips with their formation and started knocking balls into their No.10 to give him a feel for the game, Messi certainly found the 'on' switch.
When Argentina went 2-0 up, they almost turned off the little genius once more. It very nearly cost them. There's something to learn here. Messi's assist was nothing short of sublime – and it's a lesson not just at this World Cup but to any of his team-mates for the (probably) short space of time that we have him left for.
Give him the ball. As much as possible. It sounds obvious but if you don't get the ball to Messi quick enough, often enough, you're so much more beatable.
If Argentina are to progress to another World Cup final – dare we say, cap the Flea's career with the title – they're going to have to use Messi not just as the scalpel at the end of the pitch by the metronome to keep possession away from the opposition. They might have to against a Croatia side who like to orchestrate…
