Summary

  • Build-up to World Cup semi-finals as Morocco await France and Argentina meet Croatia

  • Argentina face Croatia on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT

  • More fallout from England's exit as Gareth Southgate remains 'conflicted' over his future

  • Get Involved - who are the standout players of the World Cup so far?

  • Tweet #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

  • England lost 2-1 to France on Saturday

  1. 'Messi is a special advantage'published at 12:45 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Argentina v Croatia (Tues, 19:00 GMT)

    Argentina
    2014 runners-up

    Argentina defender Nicolas Tagliafico, asked about team-mate Lionel Messi: "For us he is our captain, our leader. He is the one pushing us, motivating us.

    "He is a special advantage on the pitch, we know we have Lionel Messi and it is motivation for us. We are really happy to have Messi as our captain.

    "We are all working together to achieve our dreams and we can with Messi by our side.”

  2. 'We have new weapons'published at 12:38 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Argentina v Croatia (Tues, 19:00 GMT)

    Argentina
    2014 runners-up

    Argentina and Croatia met in the group stages at the 2018 World Cup, with Croatia winning 3-0.

    Here's Argentina defender Nicolas Tagliafico on Tuesday's semi-final: "Yesterday we analysed how Croatia plays and we know they have great players with great quality in the middle of the pitch.

    "Croatia are again in the final four. They are a good team. There are some similarities [to 2018] but it will be a completely different match from the one played four years ago.

    "We have new weapons and we have experience from that previous match."

  3. 'Leo was unstoppable'published at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Even as a young boy, Lionel Messi was already showing glimpses of his genius.

    Those who watched him tear up the pitches of Rosario, Argentina, knew they were witnessing the start of something special.

  4. Postpublished at 12:30 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Argentina v Croatia (Tues, 19:00 GMT)

    Argentina
    2014 runners-up

    We'll be hearing from the Argentina camp first up, scheduled for 12:30 GMT...

  5. 'Argentina favourites'published at 12:27 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Nedum Onuoha
    Former Manchester City defender on BBC 5 Live

    Argentina are the big favourites, you have seen the support they have over there. They have played really well. I can see them getting to the final, and I think France will.

    If Lionel Messi wins it we'll be talking about it for years to come.

  6. Argentina World Cup favouritespublished at 12:26 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Argentina are now favourites to win the World Cup, according to Nielsen's Gracenote.

    Lionel Messi and Co have a 41% of winning the tournament, with reigning champions France given a 26% chance of successfully defending their title.

    Surprise semi-finalists Morocco and Croatia have 17% and 16% chance respectively of becoming champions.

    As you'd expect, the most likely World Cup final therefore is Argentina v France, which has a 37.5% chance of happening.

    The next most likely final is Argentina v Morocco, with a 28.1% chance, followed by Croatia v France (19.8%) and then Croatia v Morocco (14.6%).

    Lionel MessiImage source, Getty Images
  7. get involved

    Get Involved - standout players of the 2022 World Cuppublished at 12:22 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Olivier Giroud may lead the way in the scoring charts, but who has caught your eye during the 2022 World Cup?

    Perhaps more importantly, who do you expect to shine now we've reached the business end of the tournament?

    Get in touch via #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply).

    Olivier Giroud and Kylian MbappeImage source, Getty Images
  8. Who will win Golden Boot?published at 12:19 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Kylian Mbappe? Lionel Messi? Or Olivier Giroud?

    Just who is going to win the Golden Boot at this World Cup.

    France striker Mbappe leads the way with five goals but team-mate Giroud and Argentina's Messi are only one behind.

    England's Harry Kane won it four years ago after scoring six times in Russia, with Mbappe among five players on four goals.

  9. Semi final subplotspublished at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    There are so many to go at here.

    Obviously the big story has been Morocco and their success, becoming the first African nation to reach this stage of a World Cup. Can they go all the way?

    Then you have Croatia's unlikely narrative. Perceived to be ageing and far from expected to repeat their run to the final from four years ago, they are on the verge of doing just that.

    Can France do what nobody has since Brazil in 1962 and defend their crown? Or Will Lionel Messi get the fairy-tale farewell to this stage with the one missing piece of his puzzle?

    The next chapters are on tomorrow and Wednesday.

    Abdelhamid Sabiri (L), Achraf Dari and Zakaria Aboukhlal of Morocco celebrateImage source, Getty Images
    Mislav Orsic, Josip Juranovic, Lovro Majer, Luka Modric, Bruno Petkovic, Dejan Lovren, Josko Gvardiol, Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic of CroatiaImage source, Getty Images
    Kylian Mbappe celebrates after the final whistle in the quarter final match between England and FranceImage source, Getty Images
    Lionel Messi  celebrates victory after the quarter final match between Netherlands and ArgentinaImage source, Getty Images
  10. And then there were four...published at 12:10 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  11. How the semis are shaping up...published at 12:07 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    .Image source, .
  12. Afternoon agendapublished at 12:03 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    It is full steam ahead World Cup semi finals from here on in! Here’s what’s coming up!

    • News conferences
    • Analysis
    • Previews
  13. Postpublished at 12:01 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Thanks for getting involved with your opinions on Gareth Southgate's future so far today.

    As the England manager considers his future, we're asking the BBC Sport audience for your input.

    Referencing "the night at Wolves" in June when a 4-0 Nations League defeat to Hungary led to the crowd booing and chants of "you don't know what you're doing", Southgate says he's "found large parts of the last 18 months difficult" and is "conflicted" about carrying on.

    So, what's your message to Southgate as he weighs up whether to stay or go?

    You can let us know using the form over on this page.

    Gareth SouthgateImage source, Getty Images
  14. 'England have a bright future' - Shearerpublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Alan Shearer says England have a bright future ahead despite their 2-1 quarter-final defeat by France in the World Cup...

    Media caption,

    England have bright future ahead - Shearer

  15. get involved

    Get Involved - do you think Southgate should stay?published at 11:57 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    Gareth Southgate is the best thing to happen to the English national team in the last 20-30 years. Everything that needs to be said about him has been said, be it how calm he makes us, or be it his minor criticisms. The question you should ask is "has there been progress under Gareth?" And the answer is clearly yes. Then we should ask "will him staying on until 2024 risk that progression? Or possibly stagnate things?". Gareth is thinking about whether he has the energy to continue, and if he is doubting this at all, it's probably time. No team deserves a half-committed manager, and he deserves better than being forced to continue. He would leave or stay with the backing of the majority of English supporters. If he stays, is this his red-flag to the FA that he might need some help?

    Matt

  16. 'Southgate has been amazing with the players'published at 11:52 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    England centre-back Harry Maguire paid special tribute to Gareth Southgate following the Three Lions' World Cup exit.

    "Gareth has been amazing with myself, amazing with every player in the team," Maguire said on Sunday.

    "I'm sure if you asked every player in the team they wouldn't be able to speak highly enough of him, his man-management, the way that this team has been built and developed over a period of time.

    "Over the last five or six years with Gareth in charge you can really see the development. I know being an England manager is so tough, they get every decision they make scrutinised, every squad they make, 'he should be in' or 'he shouldn't be in'. Every team he picks, 'he should play' or 'he shouldn't play'... that is being an England manager.

    "He knows how to handle it. He handles everything really well and tactically he gets all the big decisions right and he has proven that again this tournament."

    Harry Magurie and Gareth SouthgateImage source, Getty Images
  17. get involved

    Get Involved - do you think Southgate should stay?published at 11:49 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    I honestly don't know if Southgate should stay or not, but I do know that, for all the good work he’s done over the last 6 years, the only team of note we’ve beaten in knockout football under him is a very poor German team who couldn’t even get past Japan in this World Cup. We’ve won the games I’d expect us to win, and lost any time we’ve come up against a “big” team. For what it's worth I think the FA will try and get him to stay for the Euros, due to the current lack of a viable replacement, and sound out Potter for after that.

    Chris

  18. get involved

    Get Involved - do you think Southgate should stay?published at 11:47 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)

    Should Gareth Southgate stay? Absolutely he should. This is his squad; these are his players. This is not a team in descendency, but one that's still developing with some fabulous talents. To give that now to someone new will just stall the process.

    EOH

  19. Postpublished at 11:44 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    Here's what Gareth Southgate had to say immediately after England's defeat by France on Saturday.

  20. The one that got away?published at 11:39 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2022

    We are going to move on in 20 minutes or so, but here is one more reminder...

    If you feel ready to watch it back, here's all the drama from England's World Cup quarter-final exit to France in under two minutes.