Spanish Footballers and Fans | Photo: AFP
The last two will be held today in Doha World Cup Finals round of 16, in which Morocco will face Spain and Portugal will face Switzerland.
A duel between Morocco and Spain is scheduled first at 17, followed by a match between Portugal and Switzerland at 21:00. The championships are broadcast live on channel 7 of Latvian television and on the portal “ltv.lv“.
Morocco – Spain
Morocco started the final stages of the PK with a goalless draw against Croatia before winning twice, beating Belgium 2-0 and then Canada 2-1. Morocco topped Group F with seven points.
After a successful start to the PK finals, the Spaniards defeated Costa Rica 7-0, drew against Germany (1-1), but lost 2-1 to Japanese footballers in the last group match. Spain finished second in Group E with four points, two points behind Japan.
Morocco and Spain have previously met only three times in World Cup matches, the last time was in the subgroup match of the 2018 World Cup, the duel ended in a 2:2 draw.
Portugal – Switzerland
The Portuguese, on the other hand, won the first two games of subgroup H over Ghana (3:2) and Uruguay (2:0), but were forced to concede the superiority of South Korea with 2:1 in the last game. Loss in the third game did not stop Portugal from taking first place in subgroup H with six points.
The Swiss footballers defeated Cameroon 1:0 in the first match of the PK finals, followed by a narrow defeat against Brazil (0:1) and a 3:2 victory over Serbia. The Swiss, who had scored six points, finished second in Group G behind Brazil, who had the same number of points.
The two national teams have played several times, meeting each other twice in June in UEFA Nations League matches. This year, in the first duel, the Portuguese won 4-0, and then a week later the Swiss won 1-0.
The Portuguese will not be able to be helped by midfielder Danilu Pereira, who suffered three broken ribs in an unfortunate episode in training ahead of the second sub-group match, and Nunu Mendes, who was injured in the last sub-group match. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Jan Sommers will return to the Swiss national team after missing a match.
Situation in the tournament
The Netherlands and Argentina became the first teams to reach the quarter-finals on Saturday, France and England also reached the next round on Sunday, and Croatia and Brazil secured places in the quarter-finals on Monday. Teams such as Germany, Belgium and Denmark were excluded from the knockout tournament at this tournament, with Japan, Morocco and Australia respectively denying them a place in the groups.
The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four national teams each. The two best teams in each group have reached the round of 16 and will continue to battle for football’s most prestigious trophy. Qatar is the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup. So far, one championship has been held in Asia and was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002.
This is also the first tournament to be held in late autumn instead of the usual summer months due to the extreme heat in Qatar. This is the last tournament involving 32 teams, as from the next World Cup in 2026, 48 national teams will start the competition. In the final stage of the 2018 World Cup, which took place in Russia, France became champions, beating Croatia 4:2 in the decisive match.
Round of 16 PK
Netherlands – United States 3:1
Argentina-Australia 2:1
France – Poland 3:1
England – Senegal 3:00
Japan – Croatia 1:1 (1:3 in penalty shootout)
Brazil – South Korea 4:1
Morocco – Spain (December 6)
Portugal – Switzerland (December 6)
