Then there were four
The World Cup semi-finals are set. After a thrilling quartet of quarter-finals replete with drama, tension, tears, aggravation, penalties and more tears, only four nations remain.
If you had to pick a semi-finalist from Belgium’s group, not many would have said Croatia, and fewer still would have predicted Morocco’s sensational run. Walid Regragui’s side are the first African nation to ever reach the last four of a World Cup, and they have knocked out two of the Iberian giants in the process.
Spain may be out, but there are many LaLiga storylines still alive and kicking in the tournament. But if La Roja are still your desired fix, there is plenty of analysis on this very Substack about their elimination, Luis Enrique’s departure and the almost immediate announcement of his successor, Luis de la Fuente.
As for the semi-finalists, Argentina will take on Croatia before France duel with the Atlas Lions. In terms of player representation, LaLiga comes out on top, with more players left standing than any other league. There are 22 players from the Spanish top flight with their dreams intact, a long way clear of the Premier League (16), Serie A (14), Ligue 1 (14) and the Bundesliga (13). Granted, there may be a higher proportion of players from the other leagues who are playing more decisive roles in their respective sides, but the gulf does speak to the depth and competitiveness of LaLiga in general.
Those 22 players hail from eight separate clubs, ranging from European champions Real Madrid to newly-promoted Real Valladolid. There are five each from Atlético Madrid and Sevilla – only Bayern can boast having a greater number of semi-finalists in Qatar (6).
Many of the names will not be a surprise for followers of LaLiga. Antoine Griezmann has been superb all tournament, providing the joint-most assists (3) and creating the most chances (17) and most big chances (6). Others like Ousmane Dembélé and Aurélien Tchouaméni have also been pivotal for the French, the latter opening the scoring against England in the quarter-final.
Then there is the irrepressible Luka Modrić, defying his age to lead Croatia to back-to-back semi-finals, knocking out a few of his club-mates in the process.
Contrastingly, the high performance of others has raised a few eyebrows. If you asked Sevilla fans who would score the winning goal to send Morocco through to make history, they probably would not have said Youssef En-Nesyri. The forward has scored as many goals in five matches at this World Cup as he has all season for Sevilla (14 apps). Similarly, Bono has kept three times as many clean sheets in the tournament as he has in LaLiga so far this season.
A special mention for Osasuna cannot be ignored either. They only had two players called up for the tournament – Abde Ezzalzouli and Ante Budimir – but both have made the last four. Admittedly, neither have played hugely important roles, but nonetheless it would be quite something for clubs like Osasuna or Real Valladolid to have a World Cup finalist or even a champion among their ranks.
One final fun fact to finish. Three of the four head coaches in the semis have played in LaLiga at some stage. Didier Deschamps ended his career at Valencia, Lionel Scaloni payed for Deportivo La Coruña, Racing Santander and Mallorca, while Walid Regragui also played in the Cantabrian capital.