Peter Vandenbempt: “Crying revenge on how England was wronged by the referee” | 2022 football world cup

Thanks to Morocco, 3 continents are still represented in the semi-finals. They always do it the same way: by surviving.

Mind you, Morocco can play football quite well. You always see that especially in the first half. And as their national coach says: they are the Rocky Balboa of the World Cup. They get hit, but they always get back up.

You can’t call it a miracle, he says, because it’s hard work. And if you have only conceded 1 goal in all those matches, you can win.

As the match progresses, they creep back and show their intransigence. It is the story of the small country that makes do with much less potential on enthusiasm, character, devotion and patriotism.

With also an excellent goalkeeper and a portion of luck is this Morocco the story of this World Cup.

You also get carried away in the stadium, but with Spain and Portugal, the teams that want to play football and make the game were countered. Although it is certainly not destructive football in Morocco, they do not kick at everything that moves.

I thought like many others that they had already played their final against Spain, that they had completely squeezed their lemon. But look what they managed.

I will not say now that it will not work against the French. We thought that 4 years ago also from Croatia. So they can do it again.

But what happens if Morocco falls behind? Now it is in the comfort zone all the time. What if France scores and Morocco has to fight back?

The Croats can do that, we don’t know about Morocco. Logic says that France will push through, but I dare not say that out loud anymore.

The opponent in the semi-finals is therefore France and not England. However, the English should have won with their way of playing.

And above all: the way England was disadvantaged by the referee, I find that revengeful.

How many goals have been disallowed for a dander offside at this World Cup? The VAR comes back to that and they look at it with 3 magnifying glasses at the same time.

But an obvious foul on Saka, they won’t go back on that. That was decisive, because that resulted in the 0-1. And in the first half, England should have been awarded a penalty.

With England, the better team is simply eliminated. The French comments are also nuanced, meaning England was better.

The French have been especially happy. Again: if you look at who they all miss at this World Cup, it’s punishment. But the best team went home yesterday.

Croatia-France, the final of Russia, is still possible. Croatia surprised us again against Brazil.

They do that with the same story as Morocco, although Croatia is better on the ball. I can’t predict that they won’t do it again.

I am not impressed with Argentina either. There is Messi’s mission, but otherwise that team has not been able to charm me incredibly.

I have also lost much of my sympathy for that mission.

Almost everyone gives it to Messi after everything he has done for football, but the way Argentina behaved after the match against the Netherlands goes against any sense of sportsmanship.

I think that goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, is a hooligan. That he doesn’t get a card for his behavior… And as a winning sportsman you can’t fall any lower than walking past the Dutch after that last penalty.

In that respect, I would therefore mind less if Argentina had to bow to Croatia. When you see how great they were after their win against Brazil and went to comfort them: take that as an example.

Another piece of advice for Tuesday: don’t make any plans for after the semi-finals, as it will be a closed game with extra time and penalties.