Day: July 6, 2018

Russia are the surprised team still left in this competition even though the entire competition is full of surprises. The host nation are the lowest ranked team in this competition yet they are in the quarterfinals while the likes of Spain and Portugal have already been sent home.

They started their campaign with 5-0 bashing of Saudi Arabia before winning Egypt 3-1 in their next group game. Their last group game ended in a 3-0 loss for them against Uruguay to pair them with Spain in the round of 16. They beat the Spaniards on penalty after the regular time and extra time had failed to produce a winner.

The Russians would be hoping to emulate South Korea at the 2002 World Cup by reaching the semifinals here as the host nation.

Croatia were not considered one of the favourites to win this World Cup when the draws were made, but after two group games it became apparent that they could be up to something special. They beat Nigeria 2-0 in their opening group game before beating Argentine 3-0 in their next match to confirm their qualification to the next round.

In their round of 16 game against Denmark, they went a goal down very early but responded superbly by equalizing almost immediately, but the two teams could not find a winner until penalties when Ivan Rakitic tucked in his penalty to win the game for the Croats.

They come up against not just the Russian starting eleven in this game but against the entire nation and it would interesting to see how they perform.

Sweden have ridden their luck until this quarterfinal and even though we always think they have reached the end of the road, they seem to find a way to get to the next round and that is not any different in this game.

The Swedes came into this competition with a reputation of having a solid defence, however, we never thought they could also score goals. They started their campaign with a 1-0 win over South Korea before eventually losing an eventful second group match 2-1 to Germany. Their last group game ended in a 3-0 win over Mexico for them and that’s when everyone began to take notice of them.

They beat Switzerland 1-0 in their round of 16 game to set up this match and they have now conceded just twice in their last six games before this match.

England came into this competition with less hype than the generations before them, and being underhyped seems to be paying off. They started their campaign with a 2-1 win over Tunisia, before trashing Panama 6-1 in their next group game. Their last group game ended in a 1-0 loss to Belgium but the Three Lions fielded a second string team for that encounter.

They beat Colombia on penalties in their Round of 16 game to set up this match and Gareth Southgate would be looking to get England to their first World Cup semifinal in a long long time with a win here.

With all the big teams surprisingly exiting the World Cup early, these two teams have done a good job to still remain in the competition and they are both looking to get themselves into the semifinals here.

Brazil started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland, but their second game against Costa Rica was much tougher before they eventually won 2-0. They beat Serbia 2-0 in their last group game to set up a Round of 16 clash against Mexico. That game also ended 2-0 in their favour and they would be looking to get to their second consecutive semi-final with yet another win in this match.

The Brazilians have scored 7 goals and conceded just one so far and they remain unbeaten in this competition.

Belgium came to this World Cup in great spirit as Roberto Martinez had tasted defeat just once in his opening 21 games as their manager. They started their World Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over Panama, before beating Tunisia 5-2. Their last group game against England ended in a 1-0 win for them after the two teams rested most of their star men.

The Belgians survived a major scare in their Round of 16 game against Japan when they went 2-0 down on the 51st minute, but they rallied back to beat the Japanese 3-2 with their last goal coming on the 94th minute.

Belgium also remain unbeaten at this World Cup and they have won all their matches until this clash, it would be interesting to see how they perform here.