Sonny Side of Sports - VOA Africa

Argentina will play either Morocco or defending champion France in Sunday's FIFA World Cup football final in Qatar. Led by superstar Lionel Messi, Argentina defeated Croatia, 3-0, on Tuesday, in the first semifinal.

It's being described as perhaps the best performance of Messi's record-tying 25 appearances at the World Cup. He opened the scoring in the 34th minute on a penalty kick and also played a part in Argentina's two other goals by Julian Alvarez.

On Wednesday's Sonny Side of Sports, we'll hear reaction from Argentina fans and Sonny will also preview the Wednesday evening semifinal between France and surprise package Morocco, the first African team to reach the last four of football's premier event.

Brazilian football great Ronaldo is picking France to retain its World Cup trophy ahead of its semifinal Wednesday evening against surprise package Morocco in Qatar.

Ronaldo lifted the World Cup trophy in 1994 and 2002 and scored 15 goals at football's premier event. On Tuesday's Sonny Side of Sports show, he praises French star Kylian Mbappe and predicts Mbappe will win the Golden Ball as the World Cup's best player.

Croatia's Luka Modric won the Golden Ball at the 2018 World Cup and he plays in the first semifinal on Tuesday evening against Argentina. Modric's head coach, Zlatko Dalic, describes Argentina as a terrific team and we'll also hear his comments on the program.

Morocco's head coach, Walid Regragui, has described his team as "the Rocky Balboa of the World Cup" and the team that everyone loves at football's premier event. Morocco beat Portugal over the weekend, 1-0, in Qatar, to become the first African team to reach the semifinals of the World Cup.

We'll hear Coach Regragui's comments on Monday's Sonny Side of Sports show, as well as remarks from Morocco's star goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. And Fisayo Dairo, the chief football writer at www.aclsports.com, will also analyze Morocco's historic and surprising run to the final four in Qatar.

World Cup semifinals:

Argentina v Croatia (Tuesday)

France v Morocco (Wednesday)

Scoring a World Cup goal is a wonderful memory for any football player. Former Nigerian player Emmanuel Amuneke has two World Cup goals on his impressive football resume. He found the net against Bulgaria and Italy at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. Also in 1994, Amuneke was named the African Footballer of the Year.

Twenty-eight years later, and now a coach, Amuneke has been watching the World Cup action in Qatar. He says the five African teams gave a good account of themselves, with Morocco continuing to wave the African flag high in the quarterfinals.

We'll hear his comments on Friday's Sonny Side of Sports, and Sonny will have lots more World Cup news.

The Zimbabwean Rufaro Makambira-Chindalo and her son, Kundai, are among the 20,000 volunteers at the FIFA World Cup football tournament in Qatar. Rufaro says she traveled to Qatar to seek treatment for her sick father, and she's found solace in her World Cup volunteer experiences.

Rufaro will talk about those experiences on Thursday's Sonny Side of Sports show, and Sonny will also preview Friday's quarterfinals at the World Cup:

Croatia v Brazil

Netherlands v Argentina

Moroccan football fans are celebrating their team advancing to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time. "The Atlas Lions" of Morocco beat Spain on penalty kicks Tuesday, 3-0, in Qatar, to become the first Arabic-speaking squad and fourth African team to reach the last eight of football's premier event.

Morocco follows Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) as the African teams to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals.

On Wednesday's show, we'll hear reaction from Moroccan fans in Qatar; Morocco's head coach, Walid Regragui; and Fisayo Dairo, the chief football writer at www.aclsports.com, who attended the Morocco-Spain match in Qatar.

Bukayo Saka of England and Arsenal is a top contender for the World Cup's Best Young Player award in Qatar. The 21-year-old Saka has scored three goals at football's premier event, including England's third Sunday when the team eliminated African champion Senegal, 3-0.

Saka was born near London, the son of Nigerian parents, and he's now looking forward to a big quarterfinal match on Saturday (Dec. 10) against defending World Cup champion France. On Tuesday's Sonny Side of Sports, Sonny will profile Saka, who spoke about his Christian faith and the England team during a news conference in Qatar.

Sonny will also have lots more World Cup news, so please tune in!

While some Senegalese fans are demoralized over the team's Round of 16, World Cup loss to England, the chief football writer at www.aclsports.com, Fisayo Dairo, says fans in Senegal and across Africa can be proud of what the Lions of Teranga achieved in Qatar.

We'll hear Fisayo's comments on Monday's Sonny Side of Sports show, as well as some post-match reactions from some Senegalese fans in Qatar.

Sonny will also have lots more World Cup news, so tune in!!

On Friday’s show:

Moroccan football fans celebrate their team’s qualification to the knockout Round of 16 after defeating Canada 2-1 on Thursday and are set to play Spain on December 6.

We will also hear from Mike Mbonye who speaks to Chukwuleta Chigozie, the Vice President of the Sportswriters Association of Nigeria about the Atlas Lions performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

On Thursday’s show:

Former Ugandan referee Ali Tomusange made history at the 2022 FIFA World Cup by becoming the first and only citizen from the East African nation to officiate at this year’s edition of the global football tournament.

Sonny also provides updates on the World Cup and news on the National Basketball Association where stars Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics comment on their big scoring performances from Wednesday night.

For this and more, stay tuned to Sonny Side of Sports.