Title contenders Spain and Portugal will have to watch out respectively for Morocco and Switzerland, determined on Tuesday to thwart expectations by confirming their good dynamics, in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Favorites of Group E with Germany, Spain retained their rank in contrast to the Germans, who were knocked out of the tournament in the first round. But La Roja lost first place to Japan, losing 2-1 to the “Samurai Blue” last Thursday.
Victorious in the 2010 edition, but eliminated in the first and eighth rounds. During the next two rounds, the Spanish national team will have to cross the Moroccan hurdle to see the quarter-finals (4:00 pm).
The Atlas Lions, who have qualified eighth again after a 36-year wait, are one of the sensations at the start of the World Cup. They finished top of Group F ahead of the Croats, who were finalists in 2018, thus pushing the Belgians, who were semi-finalists in Russia, into an elimination.
The two teams were in the same group in the 2018 World Cup, and the Moroccans beat the Spaniards 2-2. “They have a lot of good players, and collectively they are very strong. We expect a very difficult match,” warned Spaniard Carlos Soler, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, who will face Ashraf Hakimi, his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain. .
Portugal should beware of these creepy Swiss
Portugal faces Switzerland in the evening (8:00 pm) in an unprecedented confrontation in the World Cup. But the two teams met last June in the League of Nations. In Lisbon, the Portuguese beat Switzerland 4-0, notably a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo. Switzerland, however, won 1-0 in Geneva a week later.
Portugal was crowned European champion in 2016, and has not reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup since 2006. Switzerland, which has participated in eighth place in the World Cup for three editions, wants to cross this achievement as it did during the last Euro, by dropping the French world champion.
The first player to score at least once in five different World Cups, scoring a penalty against Ghana in the first match, Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t found his way to the goal since. His team even lost in its final group match against South Korea (2-1). The Swiss themselves beat the Serbs (3-2) after a match that witnessed ups and downs.
