World Cup 2022 semi-finals: teams qualified, series, fixtures, schedules and how they work

Published

2 months ago

December 11, 2022

World Cup Finals

It’s hard to believe we’re just days away from knowing the teams in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals. The semi-finals are the next stage on tap early next week.

Following FIFA World Cup

Following FIFA World Cup tradition, the two semi-finals will take place on separate days, with one semi-final on Tuesday, December 13 and the other on Wednesday, December 14.

World Cup

It does mean that one of the World Cup finalists will get an extra day of rest in the run-up to the final on Sunday 18 December.

The teams that fall short in the semi-finals will have one last chance to close the tournament on a positive note in the match for third place on the eve of the final.

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World Cup semi-finals match schedule

Eight teams battled for a spot in the semi-finals. Two of the semi-finalists were determined on Friday, December 9 and the other two on Saturday, December 10.

World Cup Quarter Finals World Cup Semi Finals

Date	Contest	Time (ET/GMT)	Stadium
Tue 13 Dec	Argentina against Croatia	2pm / 7pm	Lusail
wed 14 december	France against Morocco	2pm / 7pm	Al Bayt

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Argentina vs Croatia

Date: Tuesday Dec 13
Time: 2pm ET / 7pm GMT / 10pm local in Qatar
Stadium: Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail, Qatar)

World Cup

Croatia shocked the world by beating Brazil on penalties in the quarter-final before meeting Argentina in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.

Argentina will probably be the favorite against Croatia, but the match will be competitive. The European side knows how to keep things tight, as their five matches so far in Qatar have shown.

Croatia defeated Argentina 3-0 in the group stage of the last World Cup and the teams’ all-time record is tied with two wins and a draw each. They split their only two World Cup encounters, with Argentina claiming a narrow 1–0 win in 1998.

France against Morocco

Date: Wednesday December 14
Time: 2pm ET / 7pm GMT / 10pm local in Qatar
Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor, Qatar)

Defending World Cup

Defending World Cup champions France are back in the semi-finals and they will be the favorites against Morocco, with the Atlas Lions becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals.

Morocco had the longest shot of all eight teams to advance to the quarter-finals, but they were not a fluke. They’ve done it with expert defense and inspired play through their offensive front three.

Supported by a partisan crowd, many of whom make the journey from Morocco to Qatar, the Moroccans have what it takes to cause major problems for France and the presence of their numerous fans could make a difference.

Morocco have only won one match against France in 11 all-time matches and that was way back in 1963. Their last meeting was in 2007 (a 2-2 friendly draw).

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How the semifinals work

Like the previous knockout rounds, the semi-finals will be a single elimination and there must be a winner after each match.

So if there is a tie after 90 minutes of regulation, the teams get 30 minutes of extra time to determine a winner. The extension is not sudden death. (In other words, it’s not a next-goal-win or golden goal situation.)

How penalty kicks work

If the teams are still deadlocked after extra time, the game continues with a penalty shootout with each team taking turns trying to score from the penalty spot. The team with the most successful conversions after five attempts is declared the winner. If teams are still tied after five kicks, they tack on an extra round until the deadlock is broken.

History of the semi-finals of the World Cup

World Cup

In the eight Men’s World Cup tournaments held since 1994, the 32 quarterfinal slots available have been occupied by 17 different nations listed below, six of which have made multiple appearances at this stage.

South America

In total, 12 of those 17 countries come from Europe, three from South America, one from Africa (Morocco in 2022) and only one from Asia.

Among the quarter-finalists in 2022, Morocco is the only first-time semi-finalist after beating Portugal in a shock 1-0 victory.

MORE: Who Has Won The Most World Cups In History?

	SF moorings since 1994	years
Argentina	2	2014, 2022
Belgium	1	2018
Brazil	4	1994, 1998, 2002, 2014
Bulgaria	1	1994
Croatia	3	1998, 2018, 2022
England	1	2018
France	4	1998, 2006, 2018, 2022
Germany	4	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Italy	2	1994, 2006
Morocco	1	2022
The Netherlands	3	1998, 2010, 2014
Portugal	1	2006
South Korea	1	2002
Spain	1	2010
Sweden	1	1994
Turkey	1	2002
Uruguay	1	2010