Can Morocco or Croatia shatter the barrier for the FIFA World Cup?

 Morocco and Croatia are the unexpected visitors in the final four of the FIFA World Cup, but as the Croatians found in 2018 and many other unlikely semifinalists before them, the final two stages to win

the tournament can be the most difficult.

There have only been eight winners and 13 teams have advanced to the final in the 21 FIFA World Cup tournaments held across 92 years and 79 nationalities. After France in 1998 and Argentina in 1978, Spain was the latest country to enter the exclusive club of champions in 2010.

Since then, a small number of "outsiders" have reached the final four, but practically all of them have been eliminated.

Poland and Belgium both lost to the eventual champions, Italy, in 1982 and 1986, respectively. England, a former champion, would prefer not to be listed among the "long shots," but it was nevertheless a surprise when they advanced to the semifinals in 1990, where they fell to West Germany.

The apple cart, however, genuinely appeared to have been upset in 1994. With 16 attempts and no victories in World Cup games, Bulgaria arrived in the United States with a record of 11 losses.

They then completely turned things around, winning both of their group matches, defeating Mexico on penalties in the round of 16, and then shocking the defending champions Germany in the quarterfinals.

Sweden arrived on the opposing side of the draw following its victory against Romania in the last-16 shootout.

However, things returned to normal in the semifinals as Brazil defeated Sweden and Italy terminated Bulgaria's incredible run.

Four years later, with the Hristo Stoichkov-inspired golden generation aging, Bulgaria exited the group stage with a single point, and they haven't made it to the finals since.

Yugoslavia advanced to the semifinals in 1930 and 1962, but with the country's dissolution, Croatia officially emerged as an independent country in 1998.

The highlight of their emotional journey to the final four was an outstanding 3-0 victory over Germany in the quarterfinals. However, they were ultimately defeated 2-1 by hosts France in the semifinals.

Another tournament in 2002 saw two complete outsiders go to the final four before being stopped in their tracks by tournament juggernauts.

Join hosts After winning their group, South Korea gained confidence. They then shocked the world by defeating Italy in the round of 16 with an extra-time golden goal and Spain on penalties to become the first Asian side to get to the semifinals.

Senegal and Turkey's quarterfinal meant that a new semi-finalist would be guaranteed, and Turkey advanced.

Then, Germany and Brazil showed their true colors by defeating Turkey and Korea, respectively, both by a score of 1-0. Turkey had only participated in the World Cup twice before, and they hadn't returned since.

In 2006, Portugal advanced to their second FIFA World Cup semifinal but lost to France. Spain and Uruguay, who have won the tournament twice each, were the historically "unexpected" semi-finalists, having never advanced before (though they did play in the second group stage in 1950).

Spain, however, had already won the European Championship before traveling to South Africa, so their victory over the Netherlands in the World Cup final was scarcely a surprise.

In 2018, Croatia advanced to the semifinals and defeated England to surpass their semifinal performance from 20 years prior. However, they fell to France in the championship match.

This time, they face Argentina, but Morocco is the actual underdog because they are the first African team to advance to the final four and did so with style by defeating European powerhouses Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.

The favorites to break the fairytale runs will be France and Argentina, who are both vying for their third championship. However, neutrals around the world will undoubtedly be rooting for one of the underdogs to win and then go all the way to become the ninth world champion.