LIVEWORLD CUP 2022 LIVE: Drama around Ben White's exit rages on the eve of England's quarter-final, as Raheem Sterling returns... while Brazil take on Croatia and Argentina face Holland
Follow Sportsmail's live blog for coverage of day 20 at the Qatar World Cup, with Croatia vs Brazil and Holland vs Argentina to come in the first two quarter-final ties.
That's all from us on the World Cup live blog today.
Thanks for joining us today. Keep up to date with extra time and potentially penalties between Croatia and Brazil via the live blog, while make sure to follow the dedicated Netherlands and Argentina blog in the build-up to the evening kick-off.
We will be back tomorrow's for all the latest news from Qatar. Thanks for following along.
What is it about Croatia and extra time at the World Cup? The 2018 runners-up have done a great job of stifling Brazil here.
At France’s press conference earlier today, captain Hugo Lloris hit back at his critics after claims that he is the Achilles heel in France's star-studded squad.
The World Cup-winning goalkeeper has come in for increasingly poor reviews as a result of his footwork in Qatar, with British outlet The Telegraph claiming that he does not even come close to English keeper Jordan Pickford.
Lloris has said he would do his talking on the pitch.
Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane will be speaking at England's press conference momentarily.
Follow the England updates here ahead of tomorrow's match with reigning champions France.
Still noting to choose from as the second half continues between Brazil and Croatia. Dominik Livakovic has been forced into some smart work on occasion, but the Croatian goalkeeper has done his work well so far.
You can follow along with the minute by minute updates on our live blog below
Positive news for England in the build-up to tomorrow's quarter-final with France.
Declan Rice appeared to be a doubt for Saturday's clash after he sat out of Wednesday's training session. Three Lions team-mate Kalvin Phillips revealed that Rice returned to training on Thursday, while new pictures today have shown Rice in good spirits just one day away from the big match.
Some interesting support given to Richarlison and Pele back home in Brazil. Richarlison for his feats on the pitch in Qatar and Pele, amid concerns over the Brazilian legend's health.
Back underway between Croatia and Brazil, with the first couple of minutes seeing a nervy moment for the Europeans when there was a penalty check against Josip Juranovic for a handball.
Nothing given.
Nothing to separate Croatia and Brazil at the break.
While its goalless after the opening half an hour between Croatia and Brazil, i'll point you in the direction of our live blog for the Netherlands quarter-final against Argentina.
The live blog is the best place for the latest updates and team news ahead of the game.
Follow along with all of the updates here
Gareth Southgate has refused to comment on claims surrounding Ben White's absence from the England squad.
The Daily Star reported that White's departure was because of a row with Steve Holland - Southgate's longstanding assistant, but the England boss has denied the claim.
Southgate has insisted the defender must be 'respected'.
You can read more on this story below
While it remains to be seen whether Brazil will be celebrating post match, their players were in a party mood as they arrived at the Education City Stadium.
Roy Keane branded Brazil as 'disrespectful' after players showed off a series of pre-planned dance routines to mark their goals in a 4-1 victory over South Korea - with even manager Tite getting involved.
Brazil's players showed that they are not concerned by Keane's comments...
Interesting duel potentially between Josko Gvardiol and Richarlison, with both having played starring roles for their nations so far.
Speaking on the BBC, Micah Richards praised the displays of Gvardiol at such a young age.
'He had some nervous moments against Japan,' Richards said. 'But he is good at breaking the lines and he is so mature for a young player. At times he gets exposed out wide, but he can cope well in those one on one situations'.
Jurgen Klinsmann focused on Richarlison as the player who sets the tone for Brazil, while highlighting his goalscoring instincts.
'There is a clear message to him, he is a street kid, he does whatever comes into his mind,' Klinsmann said. 'You know like that beautiful bicycle kick goal. He has probably done that hundreds of times. But the message he gets is if you lose the ball, you chase to get it back. He is a sign of hunger. He wants to be there to score goals and if you lose the ball chase it. He does it with such energy and excitement.'
Five minutes away from kick-off between Croatia and Brazil as the quarter-finals get underway.
Be sure to follow our dedicated live blog here
Speaking on the BBC, Jurgen Klinsmann draws the comparison between Brazil and Croatia.
'Croatia is a little bit the Brazil of Europe, they have a similar style,' he said. 'They have Modric, who is one of the last number 10s out there. They are very creative and have an incredible spirit. It is very similar to Brazil. I followed Brazil closely over the last two years and they are extremely hungry. You can see this in everything they do.'
How does one go about finding a replica version of the World Cup? I guess the best people to ask are Brazil fans as it seems their supporters have one each.
Are they right though about the destination of the World Cup? After all, i'd arguably say the most famous image of a Brazilian fan holding a World Cup came during their 7-1 defeat in the 2014 semi-final against Germany....
We will find out more soon, with their quarter-final against Croatia now just 30 minutes away.
In fairness to Fred, he's not quite gone as far as thinking about the final yet. Argentina defender Cristian Romero has joked he would hit Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane 'a lot' if they were to meet at the World Cup.
Argentina and England can only meet in the final.
An hour before the quarter-final, allow me to point you towards former Brazil striker Fred outlining his dream outcome in the semi-finals. Nothing like getting ahead of yourself.
Fred told Brazilian network TV Globo: 'I want a Brazil-Argentina semifinal. I want chaos, turmoil, a Neymar nutmeg, Messi crying'.
Safe to say he is not backing Croatia or the Netherlands in today's quarter-finals then.
The teams have been announced for the first of the quarter-finals. Croatia make two changes from their last-16 success against Japan, while Brazil are unchanged from the dominant win over South Korea.
Ronaldo has found another ally in former Real Madrid team-mate Mesut Ozil. Ozil has claimed Ronaldo's critics 'just want to get attention'.
You could say Ozil speaks from experience, with the German international's final years at Arsenal having seen numerous questions over whether he was a help or a hindrance to the team despite his undoubted abilities.
Santos has called for Ronaldo to be left alone in the build-up to the quarter-final against Morocco, but admitted the Portugal captain was ‘not happy’ when he was informed he would be left out against Switzerland.
'I had a conversation with Cristiano Ronaldo,’ Santos said. ‘We talked about the Portuguese team but the only conversation I had was before the match against Switzerland to tell him why he was going to be a substitute.
'I told him that he was not going to start in the Round of 16. He was not happy with the conversation, as is normal. But it was a normal conversation where everyone showed their point of view.
Cristiano Ronaldo's club future was the elephant in the room during Portugal's group stage in Qatar, but his status within the national team became the biggest talking point after he was left out of the starting eleven against Switzerland.
Explosive reports in Record on Thursday alleged that the 37-year-old was ready to walk out on Portugal's campaign after discovering he would not start their last-16 tie, claims the Portuguese FA and Ronaldo have denied.
Record have insisted Ronaldo did threaten to leave, with the Portuguese newspaper saying the forward mentioned it in passing to coach Fernando Santos before deciding not to follow up on the threat.
It must be close to kick-off as a series of arty kit photos have just been published.
Be sure to read Daniel Matthews' special report on Mbappe, detailing Paris' uneasy relationship with the star.
To some, the 23-year-old forward from suburb Bondy is a local boy done good. To others, he embodies football's grubbier side of greed, petulance and excess.
Kyle Walker sought to play down suggestions his duel with French star Kylian Mbappe will be decisive in tomorrow's quarter-final. However, much has been made of whether the England right back could stifle Mbappe, who has already scored five times in Qatar.
You can read an in-depth look at their expected duel here
Also spotted at England training was Raheem Sterling, after he flew back to Qatar last night.
Sterling has returned to the Three Lions camp after travelling home following his family home was burgled last week. He is likely to be on the bench, given the recent turmoil, against France in Saturday’s quarter-final.
Steve Holland has been spotted for the first time since news of his alleged bust up with defender Ben White emerged. White returned to the UK last week for what was said to be personal reasons - with the Football Association having remained tight-lipped on the exact reasoning ever since.
Reports have alleged the reason was a bust up between the White and Holland, England's assistant coach.
You can read more on the story here
The Netherlands have been the runners-up three times at the World Cup, but will emerge victorious in Qatar according to a simulator conducted by number crunchers Saxo.
The Dutch are given a 22 per cent chance of winning the World Cup, with Louis van Gaal’s side backed to beat Portugal in the final.
Portugal are given a 16 per cent chance of lifting the trophy in Qatar which would probably do little to improve Cristiano Ronaldo’s mood. Lionel Messi and Argentina are also expected to fall short in their quest for glory, with the South Americans given a 15 per cent chance of success.
Arch rivals Brazil follow on 13 per cent, the same fixture given to quarter-final opponents Croatia. Saxo give defending champions France an 8.8 per cent chance, ahead of Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions on 6.3 per cent. Morocco are ranked as the competitions outsiders on 5.5 per cent.
If you are wondering how Saxo have made this prediction… the simulator is claimed to utilise a number of factors, including previous tournament success, expectation versus chance, injuries, several economic factors and current form.
The quarter-final will be the Netherlands and Argentina's sixth meeting at World Cup finals alone.
The two nations contested the 1978 World Cup final, which Argentina won 3-1. The quarter-final clash in 1998 is remembered as one of the great World Cup matches.
You can read more about that match below
With the Netherlands facing Argentina, it would be amiss not to mention Dennis Bergkamp's famous goal at the 1998 World Cup in France.
His late goal sent the Dutch into the last four and is considered one of the World Cup's iconic moments.
With the first quarter-final between Croatia and Brazil three hours away, let me point you in the direction of our dedicated live blog for the match.
Follow the live blog here
France manager Didier Deschamps has begun mind games with England, one day before the quarter-final.
The two nations will face off in the biggest games of the tournament so far. Deschamps, who coached France to World Cup glory in 2018, put the pressure on England as he insisted they had 'no weaknesses' within their squad.
Raheem Sterling has been seen travelling back to Qatar to reunite with the England World Cup squad, taking his family with him after a burglary at his Surrey mansion.
Sterling left Doha prior to England's 3-0 win over Senegal in the last 16 of the tournament following reports of a break-in at his £6million home.
Sterling was pictured at Heathrow Airport last night starting his journey back to Qatar ahead of England's quarter final against France on Saturday.
You can read more on this story below
Croatia fans appear in good spirits in Doha. Worth pointing out Croatia have never lost a World Cup quarter-final.
Croatia reached the semi-finals on their first appearance at the World Cup as an independent nation in 1998, before reaching the final in Russia in 2018.
Van Gaal's buoyant mood throughout this tournament has been noted many, particularly as the pressure ramps up for the latter stages of the World Cup.
Dominic King has argued his press conference performance has helped set the tone ahead of the Netherlands quarter-final with Argentina this evening.
Ronaldo and Kaka are among those featuring in the Brazil part of the graphic.
Kaka has bizarrely claimed that Brazilians lack respect for two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo and just see him as a 'fat man walking down the street'.
'Of course, many Brazilians love Ronaldo, I love Ronaldo, but the way he is respected in Brazil and abroad is different, I see more respect for him outside the country than there.'
Some very good players pictured here by FIFA, as their social media team pose the question about which players could enhance their own reputations in the first Qatar 2022 quarter-final.
ITV certainly have benefited from having Roy Keane as a pundit at this World Cup with his forthright opinions consistently creating debate.
Keane was seen wildly celebrating a goal in a kick around between pundits on their day off earlier this week, almost certainty a nod to the Brazil chatter.
Having mentioned Saipan in the last post, I am entertained to see that 'Saipan incident' has its own Wikipedia page, outlining the bust-up between Keane and then Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy at the 2002 World Cup.
In further feud news. Roy Keane. It's not quite Saipan 2002, but Keane has become involved in a dispute with Brazil coach Tite over dancing.
Brazil's players delivered a series of pre-planned dance routines to mark their goals during the 4-1 win over South Korea, with Tite taking part in the celebrations for Richarlison's goal.
Keane called the dancing 'disrespectful' and compared it to 'Strictly Come Dancing' during ITV's coverage, prompting Tite to say that those who criticised the celebrations did not understand Brazilian culture and that the dancing was 'not disrespectful' towards opponents.
Wonder if Brazil have any Roy Keane inspired celebrations for today's match with Croatia.
Louis van Gaal by contrast has seemed extremely relaxed throughout the duration of this World Cup, with one golden quote after another being provided by the maverick boss, who seems to be enjoying the tournament.
Van Gaal was asked about comments from Angel Di Maria, who had claimed in 2019 that the 71-year-old was the 'worst coach of his career'.
'I'm really sorry about this and I find it sad he said this,' van Gaal said in response before quipping. 'Memphis had to deal with it too in Manchester, and now we kiss each other on the mouth.'
Memphis Depay, who was sat alongside van Gaal, could only laugh at the response.
With the stakes so high in tonight's quarter-final, it seems unlikely Di Maria and van Gaal will kiss and make up after the match.
News of De Paul's injury has particularly irked Lionel Scaloni, with the Argentina boss asking a journalist at a press conference who leaked the injury, which was reportedly sustained during a behind closed doors session.
'Training was behind closed doors so I don't know where this information is coming from,' Scaloni said. 'We are not interested in the information that comes out when there is no press.
'That is something that we have to learn and improve the entire environment of Argentina and the national team...'
You can read more on that particular story here
Louis van Gaal has a fully fit squad to choose from, with the Dutch coach potentially able to name an unchanged side for the quarter-final.
His counterpart Lionel Scaloni has a couple of issues to contend with, as there are doubts over Rodrigo De Paul and Papu Gomez' fitness.
Angel Di Maria missed the 2-1 win over Australia, but would give Argentina a major boost should he be fit enough to return.
Brazil boss Tite has a big decision to make over returning full-back Alex Sandro, who has missed the last two matches with a hip injury.
But after insisting he is not prepared to take a gamble, Danilo is expected to keep his place in the team.
Fred could be brought back into to the starting XI to add more protection in midfield, after previously losing his place to the returning Neymar. Lucas Paqueta may be the player to make way.
Croatia, meanwhile, are set to welcome back Borna Sosa after he missed the shootout win against Japan through illness.
Croatia vs Brazil is set to take place at the Education City Stadium this afternoon - which is located in Al Rayyan.
The stadium has a capacity record of 44,667, which came in the previous round when it hosted Morocco's shock last-16 win over Spain.
This will be the final game staged there before it is reduced to a 25,000-capacity stadium after the tournament.
As for Holland vs Argentina, that will be played at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which has a capacity of 88,966 (originally counted as about 80,000) and is comfortably the largest stadium being used at the Qatar World Cup.
It is situated in Lusail, some 23km north of the capital city Doha, where the majority of games are being played.
Argentina already have mixed memories of the stadium, which will also host the final next Sunday, as it was the scene of their shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia to open the tournament - but also their 2-0 win over Mexico.
The big breaking news from Qatar last night was centred around White, who left England's World Cup camp last month due to 'personal reasons'.
But according to the Daily Star, White departed earlier than planned following a bust-up with Steve Holland - Gareth Southgate's longstanding No 2.
He is also said to have been unhappy at England's Al Wakrah training base and did not gel with his teammates, claims the report.
A mutual decision was then made to allow the Arsenal defender to return home, having played no part in any of England's fixtures up to that point.
READ MORE:
Hello and welcome to Sportsmail's live coverage of day 20 at the Qatar World Cup, which promises to be one of the most dramatic yet.
We've got the first two quarter-final battles to come later on, with Croatia vs Brazil first up at 3pm and Holland vs Argentina in store four hours later.
By the end of the day the first semi-final match-up will be confirmed, but who is going to make it?
Elsewhere, shock reports claiming Ben White left England's World Cup camp following a bust-up with assistant manager Steve Holland are also likely to dominate the build-up for tomorrow's showdown with France.
You can keep up with all the latest developments from Qatar throughout the day here with us.
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