'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Group Stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup are now done and dusted, and it was a phenomenal 2 weeks of the biggest Football event of the year. For the 3rd consecutive edition, the group stages featured the biggest upset as the defending champions failed to progress into the knock out rounds, with Germany losing to South Korea and Mexico in two of their three group matches.
The premature exit of Germany was not the only shocker from the Group matches, as underrated teams like Mexico, Russia and Japan qualified for the knockout stage at the expense of other prominent teams like Peru and Poland while Argentina managed to get past an early exit scare to make it to the knockouts.
With 8 matches scheduled over 4 days starting from Tomorrow, the World Cup now enters its 2nd stage that will end with only 8 teams having a chance to fight for the title. Here are the predictions for the winner of each of the 8 Round of 16 matches:
Trending
Uruguay vs Portugal
Along with the next match on this list, this showdown between two heavyweights is generating a lot of buzz among the football fraternity. Not only will it feature the clash between two of the best forwards in Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo, it will be the first-ever clash between these two teams.
After starting strongly by keeping Spain to a draw and then convincingly defeating Morocco, Portugal barely managed to make it to the knockouts after a late scare by Iran in their last group match. Portugal have been over-dependent on Ronaldo so far, who has scored 4 out of the 5 goals for the team.
Uruguay, on the other hand, ended the group stage by winning all the three matches and finishing at the top of the table. The team has performed well in all the departments, scoring 5 goals and not even conceding a single goal in 3 matches. Despite a strong challenge from the Portugal squad, we can surely see Uruguay end Portugal's quest for their first World Cup.
Prediction: Uruguay wins
France vs Argentina
Boy, What a Roller Coaster ride it has been for Argentina so far in this World Cup. Almost on the brink of an early elimination after poor performances in the first two matches, the Runner-Ups from the last edition somehow managed to tackle an imminent exit with the Defending champions to qualify at the expense of Iceland.
However, it won't be an easy task for the struggling squad as they have the mighty France as their adversary in the next match. Just saying that Argentina's stint has been underwhelming so far would be an understatement, as the team struggled in all the departments - Be it defending, striking and even team selection. To make the matters worse, their star player, Lionel Messi, has struggled big time and has one managed to score one goal in 3 matches.
Their opponents, France, have had a far better tournament so far. Even though they haven't scored a large number of goals, they have successfully managed to prevent other teams from scoring goals. This is the only match in this Round that features two former champions, and, considering the way the two teams have played so far, it's not that hard to predict that France have an upper hand in this showdown.
Prediction: France ends Argentina's run
Brazil vs Mexico
Continuing their two-decade-long trend of qualifying for the Round of 16, Mexico once again made their way to the Knockout stage. However, the fact that they defeated Defending Champions Germany and knocked them out of the competition has turned their World Cup quest into a fairy tale journey. However, what awaits them in the next stage could very well bring a sad end to their journey.
In the only all American match in the knockout stage, the underdogs Mexico will now face Brazil, the odds-on-favourite to clinch the title. Already a 5-Time World Champion, Brazil have been on a roll as of late, looking to bury the bad memories of their humiliating defeats in the last World Cup in 2014.
Brazil has always made it past the Round of 16 stage since 1990, and, even though Mexico have played their best game so far, it seems highly unlikely that they will fail to make it to the Quarter Final stage this time as well
Prediction: Brazil triumphs
Belgium vs Japan
It's not very frequent that you see the fans in a stadium show their resentment towards a World Cup match, but this is what happened during the final 10 minutes on the clash between Poland and Japan. Both the teams earned a lot of Backlash for taking the last 10 minutes lightly, with the Japanese teams booed altogether after they qualified at the expense of Senegal.
Aiming to reach their First ever World Cup Quarter Final, the Japanese Team will be looking to forget the happenings of their previous encounter and look to continue their form in their next match. Standing in their way is a team that was the best team of the World Cup so far - The Mighty Belgian.
Winning all the 3 group matches, the Belgian team has so much momentum with them that they are now actually being considered as one of the favourites to lift the title. It won't be easy for Japan to derail their Juggernaut, hence we can surely expect Belgium to win this fixture easily.
Prediction: Belgium wins
Spain vs Russia
In what can easily be termed as their best ever World Cup campaign, the host Russia will appear in their first ever Round of 16 match. So far they have done a good job, losing only to the Uruguay team. However, they will have to a lot, lot more if they want to turn this fairy tale into an even bigger one as their biggest challenge awaits them in the next round.
After completely burying the horror of their worst ever result in the previous edition, Spain has been on a roll in this edition. Even though two of their matches, against Spain and against Morocco, ended in a draw, the overall performance by the Spanish players has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Taking into consideration the current form of both the teams, it seems highly unlikely that Russia would improve their best ever result any further. Spain is a contender for the title, and they will walk past Russia to enter the Quarter Finals.
Prediction: Spain prevails
Croatia vs Denmark
The biggest success story of this World Cup so far has been the advent of Croatia as a dominating squad. Not only did they Top their league table with 3 wins in as many matches, they did so by defeating the likes of Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland. It would take a whole lot of effort from any side to defeat this Croatian team.
Their opponents, Denmark, have had a similar but less extravagant journey so far. The team could only manage one win against Peru, while it had to settle for well-fought draws against Australia and France. Their defence has been one of the best in this edition, as they only have one goal against them.
It seems that Denmark will have to wait for a few more years in order to make is past the Round of 16 as it is nearly impossible to stop Croatia at this moment. In fact, the way Croatians have played so far, it won't be a surprise if they manage to better their record from 1998, where they finished as the 2nd Runner-up.
Prediction: Croatia advances to the QF
Sweden vs Switzerland
From one all Dark Horse match to the other, and this one is going to be a more fierce and hard fought contest. One one side, there is the team from Switzerland, which is looking to make it to their first Quarter Final since the 1954 edition. Their performance has been nothing short of splendid, as they managed to hold the mighty Brazil and defeated Serbia to make it to this round.
On the other side, their opponents, the team from Sweden, has had a hot and cold season so far. Even though they finished at the top of their group table and won two matches, they are the only team that lost to the Germans who finished at the bottom of the table. However, Sweden are well known for performing when it matters the most, as evident from their performance in the 1994 World Cup.
This match will arguably be the closest of all the Round of 16 matches, maybe even going down to the penalty shootouts to determine a clear winner. However, Switzerland have managed to get past bigger opponents so far, and will certainly have a minor edge over Sweden.
Prediction: Switzerland prevails
Columbia vs England
This is the Best the English Football team has looked in years. After the horrendous period of 3 years between 2014 and 2017, where they failed to get past the group stage in World Cup and the Round of 16 in Euro Cup, England team is finally playing like a true champion. With skipper, Harry Kane leading the top scorer charts with 5 goals, England are on their way to their best World Cup result since 2002.
Well, almost. For that they have to go past the team from Columbia is their Round of 16 contest. Columbia had the worst possible start to their campaign, losing to the weak Japan side before they recapitulated to defeat Poland and Senegal convincingly in their next two matches to top their group's point table. A win in this match would also give Columbia their joint best ever result in World Cup.
However, the way both teams are performing, it seems like it will be England who will continue their campaign and book a slot in the Quarter Finals. As for Columbia, they will have to wait for 4 more years to better their World Cup record.
Prediction: England moves to the QF
Final Line up for Quarter Finals:
Uruguay vs France (6th July)
Brazil vs Belgium (6th July)
Spain vs Croatia (7th July)
Switzerland vs England (7th July)
