The goals of Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic helped Croatia defeat Morocco at the Khalifa International Stadium and pocket their second bronze medal in the FIFA World Cup.

Croatia have appeared in six editions of the tournament since the first time there in 1998. As long as they made it out of their group, their worst record was advancing to the semifinals, not to mention that the team reached the final in 2018.

As for Morocco, their performance in Qatar was more than impressive. They made history not just for the team, but also for the whole continent of Africa.

Despite the success, some problems were exposed of Morocco in the past two games. If they want to become a regular World Cup competitor instead of a flash in the pan, they have some homework to do.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-18/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Are-Croatia-the-new-king-without-the-crown--1fQD1pKjtHW/index.html

Either Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe will be recognized by many as the "king of football" after the FIFA World Cup final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday night.

Messi is a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, a top two player in Argentine national team history and just won his first major international championship last year at Copa America. He needs a World Cup title to complete his career.

Mbappe has won the World Cup, but he is on the way to repeating Pele's legendary accomplishment of defending the championship. He still has a lot to earn at the club level, but having two World Cup trophies will set him on the best base in the race for being the world's best player.

Of course, football is a team sport. It may not come down to either to decide the game. France have Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud to go to when Mbappe is contained; Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez have proved to Argentina that they are able to share the load off Messi's shoulders.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-17/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Let-the-battle-begin-for-the-football-throne-1fPKvZnDqtW/index.html

Croatia and Morocco will play each other in the FIFA World Cup third-place game at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.

Croatia's forward Andrej Kramaric said both sides will play their best in this competition because victory will make them immortal heroes of their country.

Both teams have been known for their resilience and defense so far in the tournament. Now that they are relieved of painfully heavy pressure, will Croatia and Morocco play an open game?

What performance will Luka Modric make in probably his final World Cup competition?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-16/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Croatia-Morocco-to-fight-for-immortality--1fOnQs41jHi/index.html

Morocco's history-making journey in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar ended against France at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday night.

Theo Hernandez's early goal forced Morocco to come out of the fortress and attack. They created a series of threats against the French goal, but just couldn't seize the decisive opportunity.

France continued to move closer toward defending the World Cup championship. So far, no team is able to beat their combination of solid defense and sharp counterstrike.

Will Argentina be able to do so at Lusail Stadium on Sunday?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-15/CGTN-Sports-Talk-France-end-Morocco-s-World-Cup-miracle-1fMBtD64zm0/index.html

Argentina defeated Croatia to reach the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar after Lionel Messi scored one goal and one assist at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday night.

But the credit is not Messi's alone. Some of it goes to Julian Alvarez, who earned the penalty kick that Messi made. He added the second goal for Argentina with relentless running and then turned Messi's pass into a 3-0 lead.

The rest of the Argentina team also made valuable contributions to the victory by switching to four backs, freezing Croatia's midfield and shutting them down in the two wings.

After eight years, Messi has made the World Cup final again, standing with new teammates who grew quickly in the tournament to become trusted and counted on by Messi.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-14/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Messi-and-Argentina-finally-fit-each-other-1fKKd28fzXy/index.html

France probably have the most unstoppable offense of all teams in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, not only because they have Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, but also Antoine Griezmann.

Despite such an excellent attacking combination, manager Didier Deschamps prefers to hold back and allow the opponents to attack first before maximizing the power of Mbappe's speed in counterstrike.

This is the opponent Morocco will face in the semifinal on Wednesday, but keep in mind, they have only allowed one goal so far in the tournament, and it's an own goal.

It's not the first time for "The Atlas Lions" to be looked down upon, but that didn't keep them from knocking out Spain and Portugal on the way to the semifinals. France should not ignore the lesson.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-13/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Can-Morocco-stop-the-French-golden-triangle--1fJbzGJ9e12/index.html

Lionel Messi and Luka Modric have won a lot of honors in common – La Liga championships, UEFA Champions League titles and the Balon d'Or Award. Neither is likely to appear in the FIFA World Cup again in four years, but both need that trophy to lift their career to the new level.

Messi has aged, but he is still one of the top playmakers in the world. He has always set up more opportunities for his teammates than they actually seized to score.

Modric may not be as creative as Messi, but he has Marcelo Brozovic and others to share his burden, giving Croatia a better control of the midfield and the pace of the game.

Both teams advanced to the semifinals over penalties. Do they dare to do it again to make the final?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-12/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Who-will-exit-World-Cup-first-Messi-or-Modric--1fHpquoUNGg/index.html

Before playing Portugal, Morocco's manager Walid Regragui said they had the backing of an entire African continent. The team responded to that support by becoming the first African team to reach the FIFA World Cup semifinals.

Though Morocco will face the reigning champions France later, there is no reason to stop believing in themselves because "The Atlas Lions" proved that anything is possible in football.

If there is one connection that is so tight and tragic in football, the relationship between England and penalty shooting must be it. Harry Kane made the first penalty against France to give the "Three Lions" hope, but then wiped it by missing the second shot.

France are now only two wins away from becoming the second team in history to defend the World Cup championship after Brazil did so in 1958 and 1962.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-11/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Making-history-is-not-a-movie-but-a-TV-series-1fFNYgd1zhe/index.html

You can never exaggerate what a big heart Croatian players have. It doesn't matter if they concede a goal first in the extra time or have to go through a penalty shoot-out in two straight games. They just go to the field, defend, attack and then win.

After Brazil lost, Neymar was sitting on the ground with tears in his eyes. It was simply too much for him to exit the World Cup like this. His form was growing better and better. The game ended even before it was his turn to shoot a penalty.

Lionel Messi and Argentina almost went through the same against the Netherlands. The first 73 minutes of the game couldn't be more perfect for them, but the Dutchmen spent the following 28 minutes tying the score and telling their opponents nothing should be taken for granted.

In the end, Lautaro Martinez, who kept missing goals in previous competitions, granted himself salvation and sent Argentina to the semifinals by making the game-winning penalty.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-10/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Resilience-is-what-it-takes-to-win-at-Qatar-2022-1fEaoN3jhhC/index.html

When the UEFA Euros runners-up and the reigning FIFA World Cup champions meet each other, it's fair to call it a rehearsal of the World Cup final.

Having mashed Poland 3-1 in the Round of 16, France and Kylian Mbappe have no intention to stop at the quarterfinals. England, which also had a dominant win over Senegal in the last game, want nothing but advancing to the semifinals.

By eliminating Spain on penalties, Morocco made all the other teams think again before looking down on them. They have already made history by entering the quarterfinals. What's keeping them from achieving more?

Portugal saw how powerful their new combination of Bruno Fernandes, Goncalo Ramos and Joao Felix is. They have good reasons to continue to play the three instead of being concerned about someone's ego.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-09/CGTN-Sports-Talk-England-France-play-rehearsal-for-World-Cup-final-1fCwpVm5h9S/index.html