World Cup Quarterfinals Preview

This World Cup has already been one for ages. From the controversy to whether it should be played in Qatar to the issue of alcohol being served at the games this World Cup was already very interesting before the games even started. On the pitch, though the games were very entertaining as expected. From the possibility of a Ronaldo vs. Messi final to a potential repeat World Cup Champions, this World Cup Quarterfinal has all the potential in the World. This article provides the reasons why I am so excited for these quarterfinals and hopefully

England vs. France at 2:00 on FOX on Saturday

England’s path to the Quarterfinal: England had as minimal trouble as possible on their road to the quarterfinal. England started off their campaign with a four-goal victory over Iran where they scored a total of six goals. That game featured a two-goal performance from Bukayo Saka who redeemed himself after an underwhelming Euro 2020 performance last year. The only trouble England has seen thus far came against the United States which was a game many thoughts would be close although most did think the English would be able to come away with a victory. It was a very tightly contested match and one the US should have won but the English bounced back after that performance against fellow British counterpart Wales.

The game against Wales was one that saw England get off to a slow start in the first half, with the game being scoreless at halftime. In the second half though, striker Marcus Rashford scored two goals to add to his World Cup total and Phil Foden scored his first career World Cup goal. This game showed how strong a team England is and how they have begun the process of exercising their demons of last year. Those demons stemmed from a Euro Cup Final loss at Wembley Stadium in London that saw England lose an early lead late in the game and fall short of the championship in a penalty shootout. In England’s knockout stage match they ran all over Senegal, leaving no chance for an upset. They got goals from three different players, including Harry Kane who scored the most in goals at the 2018 World Cup, Jordan Henderson who doesn’t score many and Bukayo Saka who sealed the deal for England. France will be their toughest task yet but judging off how they have performed thus far, I believe they are ready.

France’s path to the quarterfinal: France started off their World Cup campaign right where they left off in 2018. They did face some adversity against Australia, going down in the first ten minutes but they came back and scored four goals in the rest of the game to get the win. They have suffered many injuries coming into the tournament including the loss of Ballon D’Or (MVP of the whole World) winner Karim Benzema who suffered his injury just a week before the World Cup in training. Despite the injuries, France went on to beat Denmark in their second match by a score of two goals to one. Both of their goals were scored by one of if not the best players in the World right now Kylian Mbappe who has scored five goals in the entire tournament. He scored the game-winner in the eighty-sixth minute of the game which is one of the best goals of the tournament thus far.

In the French’s game against Tunisia, their manager went with a conservative lineup given their group was already won. It is a decision that has been disputed heavily in the media but led to a defeat of France by Tunisia stemming from a goal scored in the fifty-eighth minute of the game. Despite the loss, France had the group won and moved on to the knockout round to face Poland. In the game against Poland, France’s other top striker Olivier Giroud set the record for the most goals scored in International Competition for a French player. Kylian Mbappe also added two goals to his tally from the World Cup to make his total goals scored an impressive five. France won three to one and the goal from Poland was a super late penalty that didn’t mean anything regarding the game.

How France will win this game: They do not have the depth of a team to make this game a track meet, so if they can be patient and score when they get their opportunities, they will be fine. They must avoid giving counterattack chances to England because, despite Kylian’s talent, England has speed and depth at the front so they cannot give them any extra chances. France will win this game if they can test the England defense which hasn’t seen a whole lot of true pressure since the United States game. In doing that, they need to make the absolute most of the opportunities they have because England will be looking to do the same thing to France.

How England will win this game: England will win this game if they do not let the pressure get to them. They shouldn’t and that is why I like England’s chances better than most. The pressure of this game is on the defending World Champion French team to defend their title, most predicted England would get here and lose. England must withstand the pressure of the French and be patient but ready for opportunities. If they can turn this game into a track meet it wouldn’t hurt given, they have twelve goal-scorers on their team, but I worry that their defense won’t be able to take on the duo of Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe. They must make the most of their opportunities, I said before, but if they can do this, they will win this game because in that Euro Final last year they did not take control of the game when they could have. They should look to strike early and test the French defense which has looked shaky as much as possible to see what France’s team is made of and if they can withstand the pressure.

Why you should watch this game: The better question is why you shouldn’t watch this game. We have two of the best players at the tournament squaring off in Marcus Rashford and Kylian Mbappe along with the two best offenses left. If you are into goals this is the game for you but let’s, be honest, who’s not into goals? The winner of this match will play the winner of Morocco vs. Portugal game in the World Cup semi-final. Everything is on the line, and it doesn’t take a genius to tell that these two countries who are very close in proximity are true rivals. Passion, scoring, tension, and class. That sounds like a fun Saturday to me.

Argentina vs. Netherlands at 2:00 on Fox on Friday

Argentina's path to the Quarterfinal: Argentina plays a very patient style of soccer but will strike the second they get the chance. They opened against Saudi Arabia who came back to beat them by a score of two goals to one in what could be argued as the biggest shock of the tournament thus far. After that game Argentina needed four points to get out of their group, meaning a win and a draw against Mexico and Poland. This group was thought to be good heading into the tournament, but few expected it to be this competitive. Argentina won their game against Mexico by a score of two to nothing and they gained the lead thanks to a beautiful strike from one of the greatest players of all time Lionel Messi.

After Argentina beat a Mexican team that could have really used a point, they played Poland for the group. Argentina was tied with Poland at half time but right out of the gate in the second half, not more than two minutes in Alexis Mac Allister put the Argentinians on top. They didn’t look back after that, receiving an insurance goal from Julian Alvarez to win the group. Their knockout stage match was against an Australian team that eked its way into the knockout round with one-goal victories against Tunisia and Denmark. Argentina went up later in the first half against Australia, getting another amazing goal from Lionel Messi in the thirty-fifth minute. Julian Alvarez scored another goal later to make the score two to nothing, but Australia scored a goal late in the game and made it very tense for Argentina fans. Argentina must play better down the stretch if they are going to beat the Netherlands.

The Netherlands' path to the Quarterfinal: The Netherlands four years ago did not qualify for the World Cup, and now they are in the World Cup quarterfinals. They are young but the Netherlands team is one that is patient as well which I’ll get to later to open the World Cup they beat a gritty Senegal team by a score of two goals to nothing. In their second game, they drew with a strong Ecuador team giving up a goal not too long after halftime. They took care of business in their group stage finale playing a bad Qatar team who some question why they are holding the World Cup by a score of two to nothing. With that result, they won their group and advanced to the knockout stage.

The Netherlands faced a young but solid United States side in their round of sixteen matches where they found a way to prevail. The chances were even, and the possession was in favor of the United States but because the Netherlands was clinical when they needed to be they won the game. They scored two goals in the first half and ended all American soccer fans' hopes when they scored their third goal on the day to make the score three to one. They looked poised in that game but not only that they looked like they could handle whatever pressure was thrown their way. Thanks to this victory, they will see Argentina in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Why the Netherlands will win this game: They have a strong attack, including a player in Memphis Depay that already has three goals. Their roster is deep, with only Brazil and England of the teams in the tournament having deeper rosters. The team they have is also balanced and although they aren’t known for scoring, they have the talent to score goals when they need to get them. The Netherlands wins this game if they find Messi and don’t let him or Julian Alvarez any scoring opportunities. It is easier said than done but if they can just limit the scoring opportunities and put a couple past a questionable Argentina defense, they will be back in the World Cup Semi-finals.

Why Argentina will win this game: Argentina has not the best offense in the tournament but the most dangerous. This is because their opponent can do everything right for the entire game, but you give Argentina just one chance at the goal no matter how small they can hurt you. This is what Mexico did against Argentina, but Messi got just a little bit of room to finish and buried a shot to give Argentina the boost they needed to run away with the win. They have been here before, in 2014 they went all the way to the World Cup Final, so given the experience that a lot of these players have it helps keep the moment from getting too big. For them to win this game they must score first and make the moment too big for this young Netherlands team.

Why you should watch the game: The Netherlands is a team that does not need a lot of possession to be dangerous. Argentina does not need a lot of time to be dangerous. Argentina wants to wear their opponent down and the Netherlands wants to frustrate their opponent by withstanding all sorts of pressure and striking when the iron is hot. Both teams have seen their fair share of heartbreaks recently, including World Cup Final losses and missing out on the quarterfinals in 2018. Argentina had their thirty-six-game win streak come crashing down in that Saudi Arabia game but during that streak, they won a Copa America. Now the Netherlands have looked stronger recently but both teams still have found themselves in similar positions with similar styles of play but different ways of acting out their styles. This has the potential to be a close game, with all the shots on goal being more important than they normally are. You should watch the response of the team that concedes the first goal because neither team has been behind for a long.

Croatia vs. Brazil at 10:00 A.M. on FOX on Friday

Croatia’s Path to the Quarterfinals: Croatia was the runners-up in the 2018 World Cup in Russia but opened the World Cup slowly. Croatia started off their World Cup campaign in that game against Morocco where they had a scoreless draw. They continued their campaign against a Canadian team coming off a game against the second-ranked team in the world in Belgium where they deserved to win despite the loss. In a pregame interview before the Croatia game, Canada’s coach, John Herdman said among many other things, “it’s going to be a defining moment for our team.” Croatia used the confidence Canada portrayed to beat Canada by a score of four goals to one despite giving up an early goal. Croatia looked like they were picking off right where they left off in 2018 with their win against Canada.

Following their win against Canada, they had to face the second-ranked team in the world in Belgium who needed to win this game to qualify for the knockout stage. The Belgians had looked okay in both of their group-stage games but most certainly not the team that had won third place at the 2018 World Cup. Belgium would have played Croatia had they won their Semifinal in the World Cup that year. That Belgium team was desperately yearning for a victory and didn’t put any goals past Croatia. Croatia gave up just one goal in the group stage, coming against Canada.

Croatia moved on to play Japan in the knockout round and outlasted them in a thrilling one-one draw. Croatia fell behind early but made up for the early conceded goal with Ivan Perisic scoring a beautiful header in the fifty-fifth minute to even the score. The rest of the match was back and forth but saw no goals scored. Croatia outlasted Japan in a penalty kick shootout and advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to their class in the shootout. Their next task is very tall, having to beat Brazil to advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Brazil’s Path to the Quarterfinals: Brazil ran through the first two games of the group stage with almost no problems. They beat a good Serbia team in their World Cup Opener and found themselves with a two-goal victory in a game in which they outshot Serbia nine to nothing. One of those goals included a world-class bicycle kick from Richarlison who has become the star of the show for Brazil. They continued their success against a measly Switzerland side by a score of one goal to nothing with a very late goal by popular midfielder Casemiro who does everything for his teams except score.

With those two wins, they had qualified for the group stage and now just needed to make sure they didn’t lose by more than one goal against a team that would need to win to qualify for the Round of Sixteen. (Also, a Switzerland draw or loss.) The game was a stalemate until the last minutes of the match when Cameroonian striker Vincent Abubakar scored a goal to make the score one goal to nothing. Cameroon would also need a Switzerland draw or loss to go through which they did not get. Aboubakar got a second yellow card after he scored his goal for taking his shirt off, but it was a fun moment and a lighthearted moment of a tournament that hasn’t seen many. Brazil lost this match but still won the group because Switzerland only won by one goal against Serbia.

Brazil faced South Korea in their knockout round match and the Koreans stood absolutely no chance. Brazil won by a score of four goals to one with all four goals being scored in the first half. Richarlison scored once again but Neymar also scored the first goal of the game which was a penalty. This is notable because Neymar had been hurt since the game against Serbia and finally made his return. He had a great game and performed as if he didn’t just get a bad injury. Brazil has the most depth of any team in the tournament, but they strike off the counterattack, and considering how the game went against Switzerland they have their work cut out for them.

Why you should watch this game: Brazil is by far the favorite to win the World Cup but four years ago we saw similar circumstances when they played Belgium and lost in the quarterfinals. They are a better team now than they were four years ago, but their offense has not been consistent during the tournament and neither has Croatia’s. Both teams have strong midfielders and forwards to support a solid defense which makes them quite balanced. Both teams are very good at adjusting and unlike Brazil have a very experienced team that has seen most of its players in a World Cup Final. Brazil has been to one World Cup Semi-final since 2002, going to five quarterfinals and winning just one in that time. Croatia has been to two semi-finals since their first World Cup as an independent nation (1998) and placed third in 1998 and second in 2018. They have more recent success, but all time Brazil still has six World Cups. These are two world-class teams and ones that have high-powered offenses so it should be a fast-paced chess match type of game.

Morocco vs. Portugal at 10:00 A.M. on FOX on Saturday

Morocco’s Path to the Quarterfinals: When it was revealed to all the fans of the beautiful game, what the groups of the teams that earned a spot in the World Cup, Group D was listed as the group of death. Fans of that beautiful game thought it was more than a long shot for Morocco to get into the knockout stage let alone the quarterfinals. They have looked strong in every single game they have played, thus far starting with their draw against Croatia, in which they were outplayed in terms of possession but had three more shots than the defending runners-up. This game showed that they belonged on the big stage. They took the point from that draw and beat a Belgium team that was desperately looking for a spark, knowing they had to be better than what they were in their opener against Canada. The Moroccans ended up winning that game by a score of two to nothing while the chances were a dead even ten a side. They were dominated in possession but made the most of their chances when they got them and that was the difference in this match.

Morocco went on to play Canada in their final game of the group stage and beat them in a tightly contested two goals to-one victory. In this game, again they were outdone in possession but made the most of their opportunities to clinch themselves the group. After winning the group they had to play the most threatening offense on paper in Spain which scored seven goals in their opener. The Moroccans held the Spanish to a shutout while pushing the win-or-go-home match all the way to a penalty-kick shootout. They missed one kick from the spot while their goalie saved two out of four with Spain’s best penalty takers missing the goal completely and hitting the post. Morocco scored on three out of four of their kicks from the spot to advance to the Quarterfinals.

Portugal’s Path to the Quarterfinals: This team breezed through the group stage, opening their campaign by beating a hungry Ghana side in a heated match by a score of three goals to two. Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has faced all sorts of adversity, including being pushed out by his club Manchester United mere days before the World Cup started. That was his only goal of the group stage despite the argument over whether a goal scored by Portugal against Uruguay was his or not. They ground out a hard-fought victory over Uruguay with a two-goal victory including the goal that was in question. That situation was made into more than what it was, overshadowing the fact that Bruno Fernandes scored two goals including a late penalty to seal the deal. In their group stage finale, Portugal lost by a goal to South Korea after getting out to an early lead. If they lost by one goal and nothing more, they would have the group won. They would move on to the knockout stage to face a solid Switzerland team after winning their group.

In the round of sixteen, Portugal’s coach decided to sit Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in a move that shocked many fans of soccer but ended up paying off. Portugal won that game by a score of six goals to one while Ronaldo’s replacement, Goncalo Ramos became the youngest player to a score a hat trick at the World Cup since the great Pele himself. Portugal scored four of those goals in the second half, while Ronaldo came on in the seventy-third minute. He would go on to score an off-side goal but still put in a good performance. What Portugal have shown is that they are true contenders for the World Cup title and have woken up many fans of soccer including me who were sleeping on this team.

Why you should watch this game:

Morocco is a team that is very clinical in moments where it needs to be. It is a team that will frustrate its opponent for ninety minutes and strike when they get their opportunity. They are not as dangerous as Portugal but have a strong defense, giving up just one goal through the entire tournament. Portugal does not have the best defense, giving up goals in every single game thus far but putting up the most goals out of any team thus far. They share that title with England who looks a lot like the Portuguese team. This will be a match where two very different styles of play go against each other, a Portugal side that likes to get out and run and a Morocco side that is very patient. If Morocco wins, it will be the first African nation in history to reach the World Cup Semifinals and if Portugal wins it would be the first time Cristiano Ronaldo has reached the World Cup Semifinals and would make them one step closer to a World Cup title.

Conclusion: These games should all be quite entertaining, each for their own separate reasons. I personally don’t think that there is any game this weekend that one team overpowers its opponent by a lot. That isn’t to say we won’t see any blowouts, just leaves room for the numerous possibilities that the World Cup Quarterfinals provide. I will be releasing my Semifinal preview next week so if you liked this stay tuned.