beginning of the journey in the quarters, the indecency of the boss of the World Cup, Gilbert Montagné adores Kylian Mbappé… The news of this December 9 – Liberation

Find the main information of the day on the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on the 20th day of the competition.

If our eyes are riveted on the poster – unpublished – of tomorrow against our best English enemies, the quarter-finals start this Friday with Croatia – Brazil at 4 p.m., then an enticing Netherlands – Argentina at 8 p.m.

Matches of the day

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Brazilians and Argentines against the Croats and Dutch…

In South America and far beyond, many have marked December 13 on their agenda, with the prospect of a Brazil-Argentina semi-final. We are almost there, but there is one last step to take for both teams. It is high for Argentines, picked cold by Saudi Arabia (2-1 defeat) as an appetizer before reassuring somewhat. Because the Netherlands have gradually increased in power during this tournament and appear as one of the most consistent teams in these quarter-finals.

The match between Croats and Brazilians seems a priori more unbalanced. But “never underestimate a croat”warned the coach of the Vatreni (the Flamboyants) Zlatko Dalic after the qualification of his team on penalties against Japan, testimony of an impressive mental strength.

headline of the day

The cover of the Dutch daily AD Sports World this Friday, December 9, before the quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands. under the cuff “Last tango in Doha”, we see Argentine star Lionel Messi dancing with Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. From tightly glued to marking on the panties, there is only one step.

“Death is part of life”: the boss of the Mondial shocks after the death of a worker

This Qatari edition of the World Cup is already the most controversial in history, but its leaders seem increasingly disconnected with each media intervention. Asked Thursday about the death of a Filipino worker in full competition – when he had been commissioned to repair the lighting of a parking lot of the structure hosting the Saudi national team – Nasser al-Khater, the big boss of the World Cup in Qatar, shrugged. Before the BBC, he simply felt that the “death is a natural part of life whether at work or in your sleep». «We are in the middle of a World Cup which is going wonderfully. And that’s what you want us to talk about?That and dignity, yes.

The Moroccan selection raises unemployment among its opponents

Still in the euphoria of their country’s historic qualification for the quarter-finals (against Portugal this Saturday at 4 p.m.), Moroccan fans never stop celebrating the victory against the Spanish rival… even if it means making fun, many . Some even see the Moroccan selection as a kind of Donald Trump of football, who would make his opponents lose their jobs. As proof, after the elimination of Belgium in the group stage, notably beaten by Morocco with a superb goal from Toulouse’s Zakaria Aboukhlal, the Belgian coach and captain, Roberto Martinez and Eden Hazard, have announced that they are ending their international careers. . Even harder, the Spanish coach Luis Henrique was dismissed after his elimination in the round of 16 against the Moroccans. «You’re fired !»

The video of the day

For pleasure. 1998 World Cup, quarter-final, Netherlands – Argentina. Denis Bergkamp.

anthem of the day

Who says World Cup says party, who says party says song, who says song… Says annoying and brilliant cover. The surprise comes to us from the singer Gilbert Montagné who, without warning, published a cover of his interplanetary hit The Sunlights of the Tropics to the glory of the star of the Blues, Kylian Mbappé. “Mbappé, all your goals are magnificent! In the France team, you are magic. You make us dream so much, for a long time. Mbappé, you make your team win!“Sufficient to dethrone Johnny Hallyday and Vegedream?

The – too great – confidence of the English press

Terrorized by Mbappé, the English press tries to reassure itself as best it can. Until bordering on insolence. This is The Telegraph who, in his Thursday evening edition, describes the goalkeeper of the French team Hugo Lloris as “France’s Achilles’ heel”. “In many ways, Jordan Pickford is a better goalkeeper than Lloris this season”writes the British daily, which considers that the doorman of Everton (28 years old) “took advantage” on that of Tottenham (35 years old) in recent months. To draw this conclusion, The Telegraph is based on the now famous Expected Goals (probability that a shot will turn into a goal), and more particularly on a model created by Goalkeeper-XG, a company specializing in the analysis of data specific to goalkeepers. Unfortunately for our English friends, it is not robots that play on the ground…