How To Reach The Final: World Cup Quarter Final Recap

France took on Uruguay in game one of the quarter finals in Russia. France dominated Argentina in the previous round, and young star Kylian Mbappe remains on course to be the young player of the tournament. For Uruguay, it took two Edinson Cavani goals to eliminate Portugal, and the PSG man would play no part in this game through a calf injury. France looked strong in the first half, but would not score until the 40th minute when Raphael Varane would power a header past Fernando Muslera from a free kick. France would double their lead on the hour mark when Antoine Griezmann hit a powerful shot that moved in the air, catching out the goalkeeper. Uruguay pressured throughout the second half, and Luis Suarez and others had chances, with Hugo Lloris forced into numerous saves. Despite the pressure, France were victorious, and Uruguay will head home. Les Bleus continue to look strong and dangerous all over the field, and are probably the favorites to win the trophy, based on performances in Russia. Uruguay should leave Russia with their heads held high though. Perhaps the strongest midfield of anyone, Uruguay are well placed for the foreseeable future in the central area of the field with players like Rodrigo Bentancur and Nahitan Nandez both youthful, and effective in Russia. Suarez and Cavani are both still hot, and both will likely still have another World Cup in them. Uruguay are definitely one to watch for the future. 

Belgium and Brazil met in the next match, in perhaps the most eagerly anticipated game so far. Brazil made light work of Mexico in the Round of 16, and their defense looked particular strong. Led by Thiago Silva and Miranda, and with Allison in the goal, Brazil hadn’t conceded since the opening match against Switzerland. Contrastingly, Belgium looked set to leave Russia in their last game against Japan. It took a three goal comeback in the final twenty minutes to see off the Samurai Blue, and the Red Devils knew that nothing short of their very best for the entire game would lead them to victory against Brazil. Both teams took a little while to get going, but the Belgians opened the scoring through a Fernandinho own goal. Kevin De Bruyne finally announced himself in Russia, after five games, with a thunderbolt a few moments later to double the lead. Trailing for the first time in the tournament, Brazil brought on Roberto Firmino at halftime, and immediately looked more dangerous. It would be Firmino’s fellow substitute Renato Augusto who would pull a goal back with a good header following a midfield run. Despite Neymar and others threatening, Belgium held on to reach the semi final, making it an all European affair. They will take on the French for a place in the final. Brazil leave the tournament on the back of some terrific performances, and all of their players showed why Brazil is one of the best soccer nations in the world. They will likely be disappointed with not reaching the same stage as they did in 2014, and will really have been hoping to leave Russia with silverware to avenge the 7-1 demolition by Germany on their own soil back then too. Sadly, Neymar and his fellow stars just couldn’t get it done. Commiserations to the team. Belgium’s stars Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, and at last Kevin De Bruyne, all looked tremendous against Brazil, and will strike fear into any opponent. Belgium’s midfield was also successful against the South Americans, and will need to continue to work hard to offset the fantastic N’Golo Kante for France. Belgium’s downfall, should it occur, will likely stem from France’s pace on the wings. None of Belgium’s back line are blessed with speed, and this is something that France need to exploit to be successful. As said, the match will be won in the midfield, and if France can counter fast, Belgium will be on the ropes. Both goalkeepers will be troubled by the fantastic forwards that will be on display, but both have also impressed all tournament long with some great saves. France-Belgium will be an interesting game to say the very least. 

Sweden faced England in the penultimate quarter final game. Sweden are perhaps the shock team, along with the hosts, to make it to this stage. Sweden thumped Mexico in the group stage, and saw off Switzerland in their last game. England looked shaky against Colombia, needing penalty kicks to reach the quarter final. England dominated proceedings, and took the lead through a great header from Harry Maguire, another breakout star at this World Cup. They doubled their lead after halftime when Deli Alli powered his header past Robin Olsen. Sweden never really looked up for the game, and despite creating a few chances, forcing Jordan Pickford into a handful of world class saves, England looked comfortable during their 2-0 win. Sweden are eliminated in quite a dull style, and this doesn’t seem right given all that they have achieved in Russia. Andreas Granqvist was a rock at the back, and Emil Forsberg and Ola Toivonen looked good all tournament long. A sad end to a good string of games for the Scandinavians. England reach their first semi final for almost thirty years, and remain on course to “bring the World Cup home”. Harry Kane, whilst quiet today, remains a huge threat offensively, and Pickford really showed his doubters today, why Coach Southgate has trusted him with the #1 jersey for the Three Lions.  All in all, a fairly good showing by England against a team that sadly didn’t really show up.

Croatia faced hosts Russia in the last quarter final matchup. Both teams needed penalty kicks to reach this stage, and both looked a bit weary in the beginning. Russia netted first through Denis Cheryshev, who continues his fantastic run of form. The winger hit a fantastic shot from range to put one foot into the next round for the Russians. The lead would only last moments though, as Croatia tied it up with a goal from Andrej Kramaric. The game remained tied, and was marred by a lot of bogged down midfield play, and a nasty looking injury to Croatian goalkeeper Daniel Subasic, coming at a time when Croatia were out of substitutes. Battling on into extra time, Croatia would take the lead through a Domagoj Vida header, which was eventually cancelled out by one from Mário Fernandes at the other end. Penalties would ensue; perhaps the last thing Subasic was hoping for. However, the Monaco man came up big early, saving Russia’s first penalty. Croatia would take an early lead, but only until Igor Akinfeev came up with a save of his own. He almost had another, pushing Luka Modric’s spot kick onto the post, only for the ball to trickle into the goal. Fernandes put his kick wide, and Ivan Rakitic, for the second straight game, had a chance to win the match. He put his kick away, just like in the last game, and Russia’s fairytale run comes to an end. Russia should be incredibly proud of their showings, and every single player has played immensely well. Cheryshev, Fernandes, Aleksandr Golovin, and Artyom Dzyuba in particular, have shone for Russia, and all could see moves to bigger clubs over the summer. Croatia go through to face England in the second semi final. With three or four players with niggling injuries, and the whole team with more miles on their legs, Croatia will go into the match as underdogs. England will have all the pressure on them, and this is when Croatia are most comfortable. The midfield that has lit up the World Cup so far will have a chance to go toe-to-toe with more world class players for a spot in the final. England, like their Group H counterparts Belgium, are not great at defending against speed, and this is something that Croatia can utilize to their advantage. Despite not having lightning fast players like France, Croatia can move the ball well, and this could spell danger for England, with Rakitic and Modric looking to run the show. To remedy this, they must not play Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard, and Deli Alli together. They are just not effective in the positions that they are playing, with none having very good defensive work rates; something that will be necessary in the semi final match. Southgate played the exact same team against Sweden as he did against Colombia, where they were lucky to even take the game to penalties. If Sweden had been up for the game, it could’ve been a completely different story in that match. Consistency is important, but England have looked consistently bad in midfield, which is the last place that you can be weak when playing Croatia. Harry Kane should be able to find success against Dejan Lovren, who has looked shaky, but England must tighten up the midfield and defense if they want any chance of reaching the final. Croatia-England, will be another tantalizing game as this incredible tournament is slowly coming to an end.