4. Key players
Uruguay vs. Portugal
The players to look out for in this match aren’t any different than you would expect. Luis Suarez for Uruguay vs. Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal. Ronaldo is looking to get his team out of the round of 16 for the first time since 2006, when Portugal finished in fourth place, and he’s in the Golden Boot race with four goals so far. Edinson Cavaniis a dark horse for the Uruguayan squad.
France vs. Argentina
France, with stars Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, taking on Lionel Messi and Argentina seems like the obvious choice for most intriguing, as both teams had Finals ambitions heading into the tournament. But both have struggled, leading to lackluster performances. For France, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe must play well against Lionel Messi. Messi netted his first goal of the tournament on a gorgeous touch against Nigeria, and he’s looking to build on that success. Pogba has played a few phenomenal balls into Mbappe already, and France has two players more than capable of making a difference against a player with an argument for best in the world.
Philippe Coutinho and Neymar Jr. are one of the deadliest tandems in the Cup, and they’re looking at Carlos Vela and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. Brazil, led by Neymar and Philippe Coutinho, have improved every game. With Marcelo and Danilo nursing injuries, it lacks defensive reinforcements, but Brazil has the firepower to win this tournament. Coutinho has two goals in the group stage, while Neymar has one. Chicharito hasn’t had much impact for Mexico in the offensive department so far, but he’ll have to step it up to keep up with Brazil’s potent offensive arsenal.
Subsequently, Mexico played a large role in dismissing defending champion Germany from the group stage, playing an aggressive, up-tempo style. The attacking trio of Javier Hernandez, Carlos Vela and Hirving Lozano have meshed well, but the defense remains a concern following a 3-0 loss to Sweden.
Belgium vs. Japan
Romelo Lukaku is easily Belgium’s most prolific scorer, he has four goals thus far, and he’s going up against a Japan team that has very quiet talent. Shinji Kagawa is Japan’s best player, and he hasn’t scored since the sixth minute of the first match against Colombia. So you could say he’s “due.”
Spain vs. Russia
Diego Costa and Denis Cheryshev have both made waves early in this tourney. Each has three goals, and Cheryshev is leading a Russia team that has put up video game numbers to this point.
Croatia vs. Denmark
Luka Modric is playing in one of his last World Cups at 32, but he’s making it count in the Croatian midfield. He had a pair of goals in a dominant group stage. Christian Eriksen leads the way for Denmark, and he accounted for one of Denmark’s goals in the group stage.
Andreas Granqvist has two goals for Sweden to this point, and he’s a huge part of them advancing out of the group stage amid a quiet showing from Emil Forsberg. For Switzerland, Xherdan Shaqiri made his presence felt in the opening round, constantly staying involved in the action. Sweden may not have famous striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the squad, but this chippy, well-organized unit has given opposing teams fits. Starting with a hard-fought upset over Italy in a playoff to get into the tournament, Sweden has looked tough in must-win games.
Sweden may not have famous striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the squad, but this chippy, well-organized unit has given opposing teams fits. Starting with a hard-fought upset over Italy in a playoff to get into the tournament, Sweden has looked tough in must-win games.
England vs. Colombia
Harry Kane will have to lead for England against Colombia. James Rodriguez is trying to fight off an injury, while Yerry Mina has become an integral part of Colombia’s team, scoring two goals to help Columbia advance.If James Rodriguez is unable to play after being forced from Thursday’s win over Senegal with an apparent calf injury, England will have a great chance to advance. Harry Kane would then be licking his chops at a long run on the weaker side of the bracket.