Five teams that had stunned at a World Cup, reaching the semi-finals as Morocco
Before Morocco, 5 teams reached the FIFA World Cup semifinals, when nobody counted on them
The Morocco's milestone in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, has already been achieved by five teams that ended up being the big surprise. We remember them.
BELGIUM (1986).
His presence in the semifinals of the previous event was not a surprise, as he was among the favorites. But his presence in the quartet in 1986 was not expected by anyone. Despite the fact that in its group against Mexico, Paraguay and Iraq it was particularly strained (passed as the third best team in the groups), in the knockouts it created two surprises, against favorites. In the round of 16, they eliminated the Soviet Union in overtime, while in the quarterfinals they overcame Spain in the penalty shootout. But he had no answer to
Maradona's two goals in the semi-final against Argentina. Thus
Belgium took 4th place, after being defeated in the short final by the French.
BULGARIA (1994).
Her journey to the USA courts began with an epic qualifier over France in Paris. In the last matchday of the qualifying phase. In the group, Bulgaria started with a loss to Nigeria. But he continued with the impressive 4-0 against Greece and another victory against Argentina. Stoitskov's team's first opponent in the knockout games was Mexico, with Bulgaria qualifying on penalties. In the quarter-finals, he created the big surprise, as with a reversal within three minutes, he won 2-1 against Germany and advanced to the semi-finals. Her course stopped there. Couldn't resist Roberto Baggio and company, losing 2-1 to Italy. Bulgaria's final ranking at the World Cup was fourth, as they were defeated by Sweden in the minor final.
CROATIA (1998).
In the previous World Cup they reached the final, while now they are in the semi-finals, eliminating Brazil. But, now everyone is counting on Messi's company, contrary to its maiden presence, in 1998, no one expected it and Croatia made the big surprise. In her group, she faced two more "rookies", Jamaica and Japan, as well as Argentina. Together with the "Albiceleste" they comfortably qualified for the "16", where they faced Romania. He won 1-0 and got the ticket for the quarter finals. There, he achieved the big surprise, against the European champions, Germany, which he defeated with an impressive 3-0. In the semi-final, Croatia proved a tough nut to crack for hosts France, who needed two goals from Lilian Thuram to pull off the upset and book their ticket to the final. The impressive journey of the "Croatian" ended with the third place and the victory in the minor final against the Netherlands with 2-1.
TURKEY (2002).
Only twice in its history has it reached the final stage of the World Cup. The first was way back in 1954, while the second and last (up to the next one) was in 2002. In Korea and Japan, 20 years ago, the Turks finished second in their group, behind Brazil, leaving excluding China and Costa Rica. In the round of 16, they eliminated host Japan, beating them 1-0. With the same score (golden goal in overtime) they beat Senegal in the quarterfinals. In the semi-finals, the Turks again faced Brazil, who they lost to for the second time in the competition. However, they said goodbye to the World Cup with their heads held high, after defeating South Korea 3-2 in the minor final and taking third place.
SOUTH KOREA (2002).
Along with this year, he has taken part in 11 World Cups. Twice it has reached the "16" (2010,2022), but the year it achieved the absolute surprise was in 2002, when it co-organized the top football tournament together with Japan. South Korea topped their group, facing the United States, Portugal and Poland, with their impressive performances beginning in the knockout games. Both in the round of 16 against Italy, and in the round of 8 against Spain, the South Koreans had a huge refereeing favor, managing to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. There, they stopped because they ran into the German obstacle. With the organizers finally losing the third place, after their defeat in the minor final against Turkey.
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