FIFA 2018: France Vs Belgium, Croatia Vs England set up Semi-Final tryst

The quarterfinal round of the FIFA World Cup 2018 came to an end on Saturday, July 7. France, Belgium, Croatia, and England have qualified for the Semi-Finals, starting from July 11. The European teams have dominated this WC despite the absence of strong teams such as Italy and Netherlands. The spotlight has shined on new talent from Sweden, Russia, and Croatia, who have marked this World Cup with their standout performances. These teams have already made history in their respective countries and regardless of the outcome will return from the tournament to cheers and applause. 

Russia fans were celebrating on Sunday even after their national team lost to Croatia in penalties. It wasn’t lost on football fans that one of the lowest ranked teams in this WC made it all the way to the Quarter-Finals. The bevy of young talent that was part of the tournament line-up revealed their fledgling fangs. Their claws will only grow sharper in the coming years. Russia will once again be seen as a football powerhouse in Europe. 

Another team whose aspirations for the World Cup were cut short, but will return home as heroes are Sweden. When Sweden fans trade World Cup stories they reminiscence about the 1958 WC, where they secured 2nd position. This year, the nostalgia of days gone past will be replaced with fresh hope for Sweden’s football team. England convincingly defeated Sweden by two goals that left many of players shell-shocked on the field. It will be up to fans and coach Janne Andersson to remind the players how far they’ve reached. We wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a return in the next WC much stronger. 

More than any other team perhaps, it is fans of Croatia that have most cause to celebrate as their team reaches the Semi-Finals for the second time since 1998. Only their 5th appearance in the WC, this young European team has already toppled many giants in the game. In their QF match against Russia, Andrej Kramaric scored his debut goal for Croatia, tying the result with Russia after Denis Cheryshev’s goal. Kramaric’s skillfully planted header received much praise. Now matched up against England in the Semi-Finals, we expect to see a lot more exciting performances from these young Croatians. 

Watch all the explosive action Live on SonyLIV, the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the FIFA World Cup 2018. It is the go-to destination for all football fanatics. 

Check out the Match Centre on SonyLIV, where viewers can see live scores, player positions, team data, match statistics and live commentary. For a more engaging experience, users can set reminders or view the entire schedule, while the points table gives a quick update on the standings, scores, etc. Additionally, SonyLIV has also created a fan-zone on the second screen that users can access on their mobile phones or tablets and experience features like match predictions, emotion meter, polls, and contests, even as they watch the game in real-time. 

Other features include viewing missed games with snippets and clips of key moments from every match along with highlights. To cater to the widest possible range of viewers, SonyLIV will be available in six simultaneous audio feeds - Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and English.