The 16th day of the 2022 World Cup held in the State of Qatar witnessed the crossing of the national teams of Croatia and Brazil to the quarter-finals at the expense of Japan and South Korea, respectively, while the statements of the coaches of Morocco and Spain attracted remarkable interest one day before the match between the two teams.

Kylian Mbappe, the star of the French national team, caught the attention of his visit to the headquarters of the Moroccan national team, at a time when the “Atlas Lions” were preparing to face Spain. Ronaldo.

Croatia and Brazil qualified for the quarter-finals

The Croatian national team ended the adventure of its Japanese counterpart in the World Cup, and beat it on penalties 3-1, after a 1-1 draw in the original and extra time.

The Croatian national team refused to become the third victim of Japan in the Qatar World Cup, after Germany and Spain, respectively.

Brazil reviewed in one half against South Korea (Reuters)

In the second match, the Brazilian national team players demonstrated their capabilities and skills against South Korea, and scored 4 goals, all of which came in the first half, against an orphan goal for South Korea.

Thus, this day became a witness to the departure of the last representatives of the continent of Asia in the World Cup, after Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Australia preceded them.

Morocco's fourth final in the Qatar World Cup

Morocco coach Walid Regragui anticipated his country's match against Spain by saying that the victory over "La Roja" in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar would be a big surprise.

"It will be a very difficult match against one of the best teams in the world," Rekragui told a news conference. "They are among the favorites to win, and if we succeed in that it will be a big surprise."

He added, "I told the players before the World Cup that we will only play final matches here. We played 3 final matches in the group stage, and now this is the fourth final."

Mbappe's visit to the Moroccan national team

French international Kylian Mbappe made a surprise visit to the headquarters of the Moroccan national team's mission, in order to provide him with support before his important match against Spain.

Kylian Mbappé is all rendre visiting Achraf Hakimi at his hotel ce Lundi, à la veille du match du Maroc contre l'Espagne en huitièmes de finale.

🇫🇷🤝🇲🇦

pic.twitter.com/eYKZi4qNqK

- Hadrien Grenier (@hadrien_grenier) December 5, 2022

A video clip documented the presence of Mbappe alongside Ashraf Hakimi, his colleague at Paris Saint-Germain, with whom he has a strong friendship.

Enrique and a thousand penalties

Spain coach Luis Enrique is preparing for the Round of 16 match against Morocco, with all possible scenarios in mind, including a penalty shootout.

Enrique said in a press conference, "For more than a year, and in many of the national team's camps, I told the players, you have a duty before the World Cup, which is the need to implement at least 1,000 penalty kicks with your clubs."

He added, "Penalty kicks are not always subject to luck. If you train a lot, the technique of executing penalty kicks will definitely improve. There is no training to deal with pressure and tension, but you can adapt to it."

Sterling returns home

Surprisingly, England coach Gareth Southgate announced the exclusion of his player, Raheem Sterling, from the list for the "Three Lions" match against Senegal, saying only that this was due to a "family" reason.

But the British newspaper “Daily Mail” revealed the real reason, namely, that Sterling’s house was subjected to a burglary, after it was stormed by thieves, who seized possessions worth more than $ 350,000, at a time when the player’s family - including his three children - was outside the house, according to Police report.

Sunak and Ronaldo praise Qatar for organizing the World Cup

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted a tweet on his official page on the social networking site Twitter, praising Qatar's efforts in organizing the 2022 World Cup.

"Hats off to Qatar for hosting an amazing World Cup so far," Sunak said. "The group stage stage will be mentioned as one of the best ever."

Hats off to Qatar for hosting an incredible World Cup so far.

The group stages will be remembered as one of the all-time greats.

Come on @England keep the dream alive 🦁🦁🦁 #FIFAWorldCup #ENGSEN

pic.twitter.com/YyLv9Y2VjZ

- Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 4, 2022

After Sunak, it was the turn of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo to praise Qatar for its exceptional organization of the World Cup.

"The World Cup experience that we are currently living in Qatar is very wonderful, and everything in it is amazing, including transportation, hospitality, stadiums, facilities and ease of movement," Cristiano said in an interview with "beIN Sport".

He added, "The stadiums are close to each other, and this provides the possibility of watching more than one match on the same day, and everyone who came here with anxiety will return to his country and he is very happy."

France's request was refused

The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) rejected the protest of the French national team, regarding the cancellation of the goal of the player Antoine Griezmann, against Tunisia, in the last round of the group stage of the Qatar World Cup 2022.

Griezmann scored a goal in the fatal time against Tunisia, but the referee canceled it after returning to the video referee technique (VAR).

FIFA said on its Twitter account, "The Disciplinary Committee of the International Federation rejects a protest from the French Football Federation, regarding the Tunisian national team meeting, in the match that was held between them on November 30 in the World Cup," without revealing the reasons for rejecting the complaint.

Mane consoles his colleagues

Sadio Mane, the star of Senegal, who missed his country's World Cup squad due to injury, sent a motivational message to his colleagues in the "Teranga Lions" after losing to England in the round of 16.

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A post shared by Sadio Mane (@sadiomaneofficiel)

Mane wrote on his Instagram account: "The Senegalese people are very proud of your participation in the championship. You won the hearts of the Senegalese by defending the flag of the homeland. We will continue to learn and develop and we will search for other titles, God willing."