The 10-times capped winger will now join recently-hired manager Neil Warnock at Cardiff City. Warnock was a caretaker manager at QPR during Hoilett’s time there.
“I’m really pleased to be here and I’m ready to go. The Manager puts belief in his players and this is a great group of lads. Everyone loves playing for the Gaffer. I’m here to hopefully bring some more creativity and goals. I can’t wait to get started.”
Along the way, he was loaned to FC St. Pauli and SC Paderborn before making a permanent move to Queens Park Rangers following Blackburn’s relegation to the Championship. Three of his 13 goals in four QPR seasons came in the PL.
The Netherlands gets a third chance to beat Lionel Messi in the World Cup when the Dutch meet Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals at Lusail Iconic Stadium on Friday.
Match 57 of the World Cup will be the second of the quarterfinal round and Messi can build on his three goals and assist in Qatar, though the underlying story has been how difficult it’s been to break down the Argentine defense.
How to watch Netherlands vs Argentina live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2pm ET, Friday, December 9 Stadium: Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail TV channels en Español: Telemundo Streaming en Español:Peacock (all 64 matches)
Key storylines, players to watch closely
Louis van Gaal is looking for arguably the only major trophy to escape his reach with the World Cup, and Virgil van Dijk isn’t too far behind his manager. Jurrien Timber’s joined VVD in a very good back three, Cody Gakpo had been the breakout player of the tournament in all likelihood before Goncalo Ramos captured the world’s attention with his hat trick for Portugal on Tuesday.
Enzo Fernandez has been shining along with Messi, while Nicolas Otamendi has turned back the proverbial clock at center back in a tour de force for the CONMEBOL powers.
Netherlands quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 8
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 10
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from UEFA (Won Group G)
Coach: Louis van Gaal
Key players: Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay, Frenkie de Jong
Current FIFA world ranking: 3
World Cup titles: 2 (1978, 1986)
World Cup appearances: 17
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONMEBOL (2nd place)
Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Key players: Lionel Messi, Angel de Maria, Lautaro Martinez
The World Cup 2022 schedule is locked in and this tournament in Qatar has been sensational as the knockout rounds will capture the imagination of the globe.
Japan, Australia and Morocco made the last 16 with so many huge shocks during the tournament, but the Atlas Lions are the only one of the trio to survive into the quarterfinals. Germany, Denmark, and Belgium all crashed out in the group stage.
Argentina meets the Netherlands in the quarterfinals for a familiar matchup that stands between Lionel Messi and a semifinal date with either Brazil or Japan.
Follow along with ProSoccerTalk for the latest news, scores, storylines, and updates surrounding the 2022 World Cup, and be sure to subscribe to NBC Sports on YouTube!
The favorites to win the World Cup have been dumped out at the quarterfinal stage as Croatia stunned Brazil and beat them on penalty kicks.
This World Cup loves a shock.
Neymar (who was left in tears) and Co. were stunned as the red-hot favorites will not be adding a sixth World Cup trophy to their collection, with Tite’s side creating the better chances throughout but they were made to pay for not having a clinical edge.
After a tense 90 minutes Brazil thought they had won it when Neymar scored a beauty at the end of the first half of extra time but Bruno Petkovic popped up in the 117th minute to send the game to penalty kicks.
Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was the hero again (during the game and penalty kicks) as he saved Rodrygo’s spot kick, then Marquinhos hit the post as Croatia dispatched all four of their penalties to win 4-2.
Croatia have now won their last 16 game (against Japan) and their quarterfinal against Brazil on penalty kicks and they will face the Netherlands or Argentina in the semifinal. The 2018 finalists and relative minnows are dreaming of glory, while the Selecao are heading home.
The red-hot favorites to win the World Cup are out and they can’t have too many complaints. They had several big chances in the second half but Livakovic did superbly to deny them, while Croatia’s defense held firm and their midfield kept the ball fairly easily and Brazil never controlled the tempo of this game. That hardly ever happens to them. Modric, Brozovic and Kovacic ran the show in midfield, keeping the ball to keep the pressure off their defense and Brazil’s approach to start all of Richarlison, Raphinha, Vinicius Jr and Neymar backfired. They couldn’t get the ball to that quartet early or often enough. Croatia had a threat on the counter and were in this game for large spells but when Neymar put Brazil ahead in the first half of extra time, it seemed like Tite’s side thought they had won it and had survived an almighty scare. When they look back on this tournament, aside from a few moments against South Korea and Serbia they barely got going. The red-hot favorites became luke-warm quarterfinalists as Croatia’s brilliant defending, midfield mastery and an inspired goalkeeper dumped them out of the competition. Neymar’s tears told the whole story.
Stars of the show
Dominik Livakovic: Sensational display to make several stops and was the hero during penalty kicks once again.
Luka Modric: Showed his experience and alongside Kovacic and Brozovic (who were both excellent too) they ran the show in midfield and kept Brazil guessing.
Josip Juranovic: What a display from the right back as he locked down Vinicius Jr and was a threat going forward.
Neymar: Scored a beauty and created most of Brazil’s openings. He was the fifth player up to take a penalty but he wasn’t needed as they had already lost.
How to watch Croatia vs Brazil live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET, Friday, December 9 Stadium: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan TV channels en Español: Telemundo Streaming en Español:Peacock (all 64 matches)
PENALTY KICKS! After an amazing extra time period when the game really came to life, it has gone to penalty kicks. Croatia up first and Vlasic puts it down the middle. 1-0. And Livakovic saves Rodrygo’s penalty kick. Advantage Croatia! Casemiro smashes home but Livakovic almost got there. 2-1 to Croatia after two penalty kicks each. Modric smashes home and Pedro slots home. Croatia lead 3-2. Croatia boss Dalic can’t look on the sidelines…
Orsic with an incredible penalty kick as he slots he home. Croatia lead 4-2 with one penalty left. Marquinhos must score… and his shot hits the post! INCREDIBLE. Croatia beat Brazil to reach the semifinals. Brazilian players stunned on the pitch.
The goal from Petkovic in the 117th minute, which sent the game to penalty kicks. Scenes. pic.twitter.com/R7xf63pEqQ
A couple of good chances for Brazil early in the second half but Livakovic denies both Neymar and Paqueta as the ball dropped to them in the box. Two big chances for the Selecao.
Key storylines, players to watch closely
Croatia’s Dominik was fantastic in penalties versus Japan to get here, but Luka Modric continues to do the things that get Croatia out of trouble and puts the opponents into heaps of it. Josko Gvardiola has arguably been the defender of the tournament, and the 20-year-old looks to test his mettle again against the Selecao.
Pick a Brazil player who’s failed to impress and you’ve achieved a mighty feat. Neymar’s been fantastic when healthy while Richarlison is in serious pursuit of the Golden Boot. Alisson Becker flexed his muscles once or twice versus South Korea and figures to be busier as the competition continues to heat up in Qatar. Richarlison, Vini Jr, Raphinha and Neymar all start against Croatia. Wowza.
Titulares confirmados! 💪🇧🇷
O técnico Tite definiu os atletas da Seleção Brasileira que iniciarão a partida contra a Croácia!
Daqui a pouco, às 12h (de Brasília), a bola rola para 🇧🇷 e 🇭🇷.
Current FIFA world ranking: 12
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 6
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from UEFA (1st place)
Coach: Zlatko Dalic
Key players: Luka Modric, Andrej Kramaric, Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol
Brazil quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 1
World Cup titles: 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
World Cup appearances: 22
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONMEBOL (1st place)
Coach: Tite
Key players: Neymar, Thiago Silva, Casemiro, Alisson Becker
The 2022 World Cup takes place on Sunday, November 20, and runs through Sunday, December 18 in Qatar featuring 64 matches contested by 32 nations in 8 stadiums over the course of 29 days.
This will be the very first time that a World Cup is being contested in the Middle East but that’s not all that will be new at this year’s tournament.
For the first time in history, the Men’s tournament will have female referees. There will be a total of six: 3 officials and 3 assistants. The officials are Stéphanie Frappart (France), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda), and Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan). Neuza Back (Brazil), Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico), and Kathryn Nesbitt (USA) are the assistants.
Additionally, this will be the first World Cup where teams will be allowed to make 5 substitutions and have 26-player squads. Previously, teams were only allowed to make 3 substitutions and have 23-player squads. Teams will also have the opportunity to make an additional concussion substitution if needed.
What are the overtime and penalty kick rules at the World Cup?
If a game is tied after 90 minutes of play, there will be a five minute break and then the match will go into overtime where an extra 30 minutes of time will be given. The time will be divided into two 15-minute periods.
If the score is still tied after extra time is given, the two teams will go into a penalty kick shootout to determine the winner. If there is still a tie at the end of the shootout, teams will be given additional rounds of one kick each until the tie is broken.
