World Cup hits and misses

DOHA: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have dazzled at the World Cup in Qatar, while Morocco caught the imagination of a continent on their run to the semifinals. But the host nation flopped badly, Germany made a swift exit and Cristiano Ronaldo discovered he was no longer an automatic pick for Portugal. AFP Sport looks at the hits and misses from a month-long festival of football. Overachievers Morocco became the first African side and the first Arab team to reach the semifinals of a World Cup. And it was no fluke. Walid Regragui’s men, ranked 22nd in the world, beat Belgium and drew with Croatia on the way to topping their group before dumping 2010 champions Spain and Portugal out of the tournament. Roared on by tens of thousands of fans and supported across Africa and the Arab world, they came up short in the semifinals, losing 2-0 to France, but they have broken new ground. Japan shocked Germany and Spain to top their group before losing on penalties to Croatia in the round of 16. South Korea underlined the progress Asian football is making by beating Portugal to qualify from their group but came unstuck against Brazil in the first knockout round.

Superstars shine Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, who will go head to head in Sunday’s final, have certainly lived up to their stellar billing. The forward have five goals apiece as they vie for the Golden Boot. Messi, 35, though lacking his former pace, has shown an uncanny knack to turn on the style at key moments, highlighted by his dazzling run to set up Julian Alvarez for the third goal against Croatia in the semifinals. Mbappe, 23, is ready to take on his Paris Saint-Germain teammate’s mantle as the best player in the world, looking unstoppable at times for defending