Adamo Marinelli
Argentina 2 - 1 Netherlands
The Netherlands cruised through Group A, finishing with wins over Senegal and Qatar and drawing with Ecuador, claiming seven of a possible nine points. In the round of 16, they controlled the majority of the match against the United States en route to a 3-1 win. The Netherlands scored early, doubled their lead right before the half, and despite a few nervy moments after the US scored, the Netherlands scored again to seal the victory. They are a strong team, with a talented attack and midfield, but Argentina’s midfield can also control the possession and their front three can capitalize on the chances they create. Argentina lost their opening World Cup match to Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest upsets in tournament history, but then proceed to beat Mexico and Poland 2-0. In the round of 16, they got off to a quick 2-0 lead against Australia thanks to their prolific ball movement, and creativity in the final third to create shots before holding on after Australia scored a late goal. It will be a close game and will be tied 1-1 late into the second half, but Argentina will capitalize in transition after an error by the Australian midfield and a late goal from Leo Messi will break the tie.
Brazil 3 - 1 Croatia
Croatia finished second in their group, behind Morocco, after handily beating Canada despite conceding in the first 90 seconds and drawing with Belgium and Morocco. Croatia’s defense was solid, but the real reason they’ve excelled in the World Cup is the elite level of talent and creativity in their midfield and how efficient they are in turning defensive stops into attacks in transition. Croatia is beatable, however, and Japan’s high press and ability to create chances and pressure Croatia’s defense brought the game to extra time before Croatia won 3-1 on penalties, where their goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved three Japanese penalties, tying a World Cup record. Brazil, the number one ranked team in the world, has been a favourite to win the tournament from the very beginning and won their first two matches to clinch a spot in the round of 16 before they fell to Cameroon 1-0 in matchday three. Brazil dominated a strong South Korean side 4-1 in the round of 16 thanks to four first-half goals. Croatia is talented offensively and can control possession and generate several scoring chances, but Brazil is better overall. They are able to control possession, tire opposing defenses out with their ball movement and speed, and create quality scoring chances. They will attack Croatia in transition, and Croatia will not be able to get back defensively which will allow Brazil to score a few goals.
England 2 - 2 France (5-4 on penalties)
The defending World Cup champions still have a lot of talent despite missing several quality players like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante among others. France started their tournament strong with a dominant 4-1 win over Australia and a 2-1 win over Denmark in a match they controlled from start to finish. They booked their spot in the round of 16, ending the defending winner’s group stage curse before losing their final game 1-0 to Tunisia with a fairly rotated squad. In the round of 16, they beat Poland 3-1. The game was pretty even with both teams getting chances for the first 30 minutes but from then on, France controlled the rest of the way. France is talented all over the pitch, on defense in the midfield and upfront, especially with Kylian Mbappe who has already scored five goals so far and will be hard to beat. England is a team that may be able to do that. They have a lot of depth and talent everywhere on the pitch and have done well at recent international tournaments (losing to Croatia in the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and losing to Italy in the finals of EURO 2020). They topped their group, with dominant wins against Iran and Wales. They controlled both games and frequently found the back of the net, with their excellent ball movement abilities to create open spaces and shots on target, their strong transition attack, and their ability to be clinical in the box and finish chances they create. They scored nine goals, six against Iran and three against Iran, but tied the US 0-0 in an evenly matched game. In the round of 16, they controlled the game from start to finish in a 3-0 win over a good Senegal side and showed their ability to be clinical in the final third, create many scoring chances, and prevent the other team from capitalizing on their scoring chances. Both teams are proficient scorers and will find the back of the net twice (Kane and Sterling for England; Mbappe and Giroud for France). In extra time, both defenses will play lights out and force penalties, where a Mbappe miss (like in the Euros) will send England to the semis.
Morocco 1 - 2 Portugal (AET)
Morocco has been the surprise of the tournament so far, topping Group F after drawing 0-0 with Croatia in their opening match before beating Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1. Their defense was phenomenal in all three games, limiting their opponents’ creativity in the final third, limiting quality scoring chances, defending set pieces well, and turning defense into transition attacks. The only goal they conceded in the group stage was an own goal against Canada. In the round of 16, they played fantastic defense again, holding Spain to only one shot on target (on 13 shot attempts) despite only having 23 percent possession. They forced the match into penalties where they scored three and their goalie Yassine Bounou saved all three of Spain’s penalties. Portugal is a team with a lot of talent in the midfield, upfront and they know how to use that talent, speed, and creativity to create and capitalize on scoring chances. It showed in their 3-2 win against Ghana and 2-0 win against Uruguay. Despite a 2-1 loss to South Korea on matchday three, they had already qualified for a round of 16 matchup against Switzerland, where even without Ronaldo, Portugal cruised to a 6-1 win and Goncalo Ramos scored the first hattrick of this World Cup. Morocco is a good team defensively, but they will be tested against a Portugal team who can score with ease. Morocco will not allow them to score six, but a mistake late into extra time after a solid defensive game will cost Morocco.
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