Olaf Sand

Uniforms and stockings.

France beat England 2-1. I had a feeling France would win, but I hoped that at least it would be an entertaining match. And it sure was! I'm proud of England's efforts but they missed some HUGE chances with Harry Kane's second penalty and Marcus Rashford's free kick that went just over the bar at the very end of the second half.

The semi finals of the 2022 World Cup are as follows:

December 13, 2022:
Argentina vs. Croatia

December 14, 2022:
France vs. Morocco

My hope for the final is Argentina vs. Morocco.

Congratulations to Morocco! Well deserved and a big day for African football.

While Lionel Messi still has a chance to win the World Cup, his rival Cristiano Ronaldo missed what was likely his last chance. By the time the next World Cup will be held, he will be 41. It should be mentioned that CR7 had a huge chance towards the end of the second half, but was stopped by Morocco's keeper Bono who made several great saves.

Up next, Three Lions vs. Les Bleus.

When I saw the quarter final setup, I was really excited about the prospect of a Brazil vs. Argentina semi final. But I guess it was not meant to be. Maybe next time around.

I still can't believe that Brazil picked Marquinhos to take their fourth penalty... WHY NOT NEYMAR?  They were probably saving him for the fifth, but by then it was much too late. I understand that a team usually decides who takes the penalties before the shootout and don't change their plan on a whim, but Brazil really screwed up this time.

Argentina vs. Netherlands was perhaps the most dramatic match of the World Cup so far. With the referee handing out yellow cards like they were after-dinner mints, I couldn't help but be reminded of Portugal vs. Netherlands in the 2006 World Cup. I'm really surprised there were no red cards in this match.  Besides that, there were some great goals, Netherlands' free kick in particular. I'm happy for Messi that Argentina won, but I feel for the Netherlands too.

By the way, I've really grown to dislike penalty shootouts. It's a really unfair way to decide a match. I'd rather have Golden Goal back, i.e. the first goal in extra time wins.

As for today's matches:

Morocco vs. Portugal
On the one hand, it would be really fun if Morocco won and thus became the first African team to reach a World Cup semi final. On the other hand, it would be hilarious if Portugal put CR7 on the bench again and wound up winning without him for the second match in a row.

England vs. France
I'm really hoping for the Three Lions to win, but if I have to be realistic, I think France will be too strong.

New trailer for Tekken 8!

I can't wait for the weekend to begin... 

Friday, December 9:
Croatia vs. Brazil
Netherlands vs. Argentina

Saturday, December 10:
Morocco vs. Portugal
England vs. France

Portugal crushed Switzerland 6-1! By the time Cristiano Ronaldo got subbed in, his replacement Gonçalo Ramos had scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup! Forget CR7, now it's all about GR26! I've also got to mention the awesome goal by Rafael Leão at the very end of the second half.

And with the Round of 16 all done, we now have the fourth quarter final:

Morocco vs. Portugal
Ziyech vs. Cristiano Ronaldo Gonçalo Ramos

Congratulations to Morocco for beating Spain and becoming the fourth African team to reach the quarter finals in a World Cup, following in the footsteps of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana.

By the way, this was Spain's fifth penalty shootout in World Cup history (1 win and 4 losses). I still remember watching Spain destroy Costa Rica 7-0 in the group stages and thinking, "Hey, Spain could go pretty far in this World Cup!" I guess I was mistaken.

Next up, Portugal vs. Switzerland. The big news is that Cristiano Ronaldo will be starting on the bench.

Brazil pulled no punches against South Korea in the first half of today's last match, with goals by Vinícius Júnior, Neymar, Richarlison and Lucas Paquetá securing a 4-0 lead by half time. Neymar is now one goal behind Pelé on the list of Brazil's all-time top goalscorers. In the end Paik Seung-ho made sure South Korea went out with a bang by scoring an impressive consolation goal towards the end of the second half to make the final result 4-1.

And with that, we have the third quarter final:

Croatia vs. Brazil
Modrić vs. Neymar

Today's first match, Croatia vs. Japan, ended 1-1 after regular time. With no goals scored in extra time the stage was set for this World Cup's first penalty shootout, which Croatia ended up winning 3-1. Japan failed to qualify for the quarter final for the fourth time in World Cup history, but they and their fans can be proud of their efforts.

Next up, Brazil vs. South Korea. Neymar is back in Brazil's starting line-up after missing the two previous matches due to injury.

England beat Senegal 3-0 in today's second match. The Lions of Teranga did well in the first half and had some big chances, but ultimately it was the Three Lions that proved triumphant with goals from Henderson, Kane and Saka.

Now the stage is set for the second quarter final:

England vs. France
Kane vs. Mbappé

France beat Poland 3-1 in today's first match, however France were very lucky that they didn't concede any more goals because their goalie Lloris made some big blunders in the first half, as well as the moment when Poland had three HUGE chances in a row, yet somehow they didn't manage to get the ball in the net.

Having scored France's first goal in the match, Giroud is now France's all-time top goalscorer, ahead of Thierry Henry. But the star of the show was Mbappé with two amazing goals.

Next up, England vs. Senegal.

Argentina beat Australia 2-1 and Messi has now gone past Maradona on the list of the highest scoring Argentine players in World Cup history, only 1 goal behind the record holder Batistuta.

However, Australia could easily have equalized, especially since they had a huge chance right at the end of the second half. Australia did well, except for the terrible blunder their goalie made when he pretty much handed Argentina their second goal on a silver platter.

Following today's matches, the first quarter final has been determined:

Netherlands vs. Argentina
Van Dijk vs. Messi

Yeah, the U.S. did well against Netherlands. I'm sure they'll come back stronger in 2026.

As far as the 2026 World Cup goes, I personally think it's a bad idea to expand from 32 to 48 teams. To me, 32 is the perfect amount. Then again, maybe this will help my team (Norway) to finally qualify again, for the first time since 1998.

I just hope FIFA won't accept Infantino's suggestion to hold the World Cup every two years instead of the regular every four years.

Like some of you have said, there have been many surprises in this World Cup.

Positive surprises:
Australia, Japan, Morocco and the United States advancing to the Round of 16, with both Japan and Morocco winning their respective groups! I did not see that coming. And that 2-1 goal to Japan against Spain... When I saw the replays, I was 100% certain the entire ball had crossed the line and that the goal would be disallowed. It just goes to show how small the margins can be in football.

Negative surprises:
Belgium, Denmark and Germany being knocked out in the group stage. Belgium's Lukaku had so many gigantic chances, yet couldn't manage to score even once! Denmark were considered to be one of the "dark horses" in this World Cup, but they sure didn't look like it when push came to shove. And Germany... Getting knocked out in the group stage for the second time in a row! That's almost as bad as Italy failing to qualify for the second time in a row.

And now I present to you, the Round of 16:

December 3:
Netherlands vs United States
Argentina vs Australia

December 4:
France vs Poland
England vs Senegal

December 5:
Japan vs Croatia
Brazil vs South Korea

December 6:
Morocco vs Spain
Portugal vs Switzerland

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar starts tomorrow.

I'll be watching some of the matches. Anyone else?

Tekken 8 is coming!