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.

These two Western Conference teams go head to head with hopes of getting back to winning ways after they both suffered defeats in their last MLS and US Open Cup games recently. FC Dallas come into this game as slight favourites as they sit 2nd on the league table, just three points behind leaders, Sporting KC, while home side Minnesota United are only five points better than bottom-of-the-table San Jose Earthquakes and even if they win this game, they would still be down at the bottom end of the table. The last time these teams met, it was the host who emerged victorious with a 4-1 win. What made the victory even sweeter was the fact that they had gone a goal down before coming back to thump Dallas. By the end of 90 minutes, Dallas were a man down and they had missed a penalty. Fc Dallas have won four of their last six games, while Minnesota United have won three of their last six games. After 15 games, Minnesota United have scored just 19 goals, which is the second lowest scored by any team in the Western Conference.  

Uruguay were considered outsiders to win this competition and the South Americans who have not conceded a goal so far, they could go all the way. After they decided not to play more than one friendly game before this competition, many questioned how they would do in this World Cup, but while they have not scored so many goals, they have managed to not concede any. The Uruguayans started their campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Egpyt, before beating Saudi Arabia by the same scoreline. By the time they played in-form Russia in their final group game, they have found their rhythm and they won that game 3-0. They head into this game with five goals scored in three games and none conceded in their last six games. Portugal came into this competition as European champions and they started with a 3-3 against Spain with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring all their goals. They beat Morocco in their next match 1-0, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo again. Their final game against Iran almost ended with them getting eliminated as the Iranians missed chances to win the game, luckily it ended in a 1-1 draw to set up this clash. Portugal have been overly reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo as he has scored four of their five goals so far, facing Diego Godin and Jose Jimenez would be a tough test for him, time would tell if he would pass.  

These two teams were expected to set the World Cup ablaze when the competition started, but they have been far from being as impressive as that. The French team were considered to have the best-attacking talents in this competition, but they have scored only two goals so far and one was a penalty. Les Blues started their campaign with a 2-1 win over Australia before earning a 1-0 win over Peru. Their last group game against Denmark was expected to be a cracker, but it ended as a bore draw. They would need to get better when they get forward, else they could be eliminated by this lucky Argentinian team. Argentina started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against minors Iceland with Lionel Messi missing a penalty, their next game against Croatia ended in an embarrassing 3-0 loss. They needed to win their last game against Nigeria after the Africans had beaten Iceland 2-0. That match saw Lionel Messi score his first goal of the competition in the first half, but Nigeria equalized in the second half. The two teams began to search for the winner, and the Nigerians had countless chances to get it, but they spurned them. In the end, Marcos Rojo scored a fine volley in the 86th minute and that was enough to set up this clash.

This game would be one of the most exciting as it is one of the most anticipated matches of this competition. England and Belgium have already qualified, but we expect them to both still field a strong team as they attempt to top the group at the expense of the other team. This English team is arguably the first time an English team has not been overrated or overhyped before a major competition. Gareth Southgate has built a cohesive team and they are as exciting as they are productive on the field of play. England started their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Tunisia, however, in their second game against Panama they were so devastating it looked as if they would end the game with double figures. They were 5-0 at the break and eventually won 6-1 to top the group ahead of Belgium. Belgium are also a talent-filled attacking team. They started by beating Panam 3-0 in their first match before rolling over Tunisia 5-2 in their next game. This would be the first time they would face genuine oppositions in this competition and we expect them to put up a good fight. Romelu Lukaku has hit four goals in this competition already and he would be looking to add to that figure when this game has ended.

The Senegalese are the only remaining African team after Nigeria got eliminated at the hands of Argentina, so they are carrying the hopes of millions of Africans as they head into this match. They started their campaign on a bright note after beating group favourites Poland 2-1, they would have qualified easily with a win their second game, but they let themselves down by allowing the Japanese to come back and score them each time they went ahead to end the game 2-2. They now have their work cut out as they try to reach the next round, however, a draw is all they need to progress. Colombia were expected to still perform their heroics of Brazil 2014 in this competition, but their group stage games started on a poor note. They lost 2-1 to Japan in their opening game, thanks in part to them going a man and a goal down in the first five minutes. They battled hard and almost got a draw in that game before the Koreans took advantage of being a man up to win 2-1. They turned on the style in their next game to beat Poland 3-0, they need to win this game to stand any chance of making it to the next round where they would face England or Belgium.

Poland were considered favourites alongside Colombia as teams who should qualify from this group after they qualified for the World Cup without much stress, however, the Poles head into this game already eliminated after suffering two losses in as many games. Japan were not given much of a chance in the pre-tournament predictions, but they started on a bright note when they beat ten-man favourites Colombia 2-1 in their first game. They followed out up with a resilient 2-2 draw against Senegal after going a goal down each time. They need just one point from this game to qualify, they should get it. Poland started their campaign with a shock 2-1 loss to Senegal and that seemed to have affected their confidence as they went on to lose their very next game 3-0 against Colombia. Their biggest problem seems to be their defence that cannot seem to stop their opposing strikers from scoring. Robert Lewandoski has also not received enough support upfront making him isolated up front for most of their last two games. it would be a surprise if they are not beaten in this match again.

Nigeria are only the second team to beat Iceland in a competitive fixture when the Super Eagles defeated the Islanders 2-0 in their last game. Iceland’s qualification for the World Cup was as surprising as their run-up to the quarterfinals of  Euro 2016 where they beat England along the way. They drew 1-1 against Argentina in their very first game of Russia 2018, a match that they even saved a Lionel Messi penalty. Their 2-0 loss to Nigeria would have affected their confidence a little, but they beat Croatia on their way to the World Cup and with the Croatians looking to rest players for the next round they could win here and hope that Argentina draws against Nigeria. Croatia have qualified for the next round as Group leaders already except Nigeria beats Argentina by 4 goals and they lose to Iceland, which is very unlikely. The Croatians started their campaign with a fortunate 2-0 win over an inexperienced Nigeria side. Their game against Argentina was where they turned on the style, beating the South Americans 3-0. They can now afford to rest players ahead of the Round of 16. This game, however, would be a tough one for them as they have already lost to Iceland in the World Cup qualifiers, would they allow themselves to be beaten twice by the same team?

Nigeria started their campaign so poorly they were expected to be packing their bags home before this game even kicked off. However, credit to the Super Eagles who showed more hunger in their very next game against Iceland to record a 2-0 win. The Super Eagles had been beaten 2-0 by Croatia in their opening match. Most of their attacking players were off duty that day and they conceded an own goal as well as a penalty. But against Iceland, they put up a fight that stunned the tiny island nation, and they would look to get at least a point in this game so they can progress. Argentina have been plunged into crisis after their poor start to the World Cup. They drew 1-1 against Iceland in their first game before being thumped 3-0 by Croatia in their next match. Nigeria’s win over Iceland has given them hope of making the next round, however, they have not always found it easy to beat the Super Eagles. They have met each other in the last four consecutive World Cups, with the Argentines winning each of those matches, but Nigeria won 4-2 the last time they met in a friendly game.

Australia were expected to have exited the World Cup by now when the draws were made, but the Socceroos have surprised us all, can they make it to the next round with a win here? They lost their first game 2-1 to France thanks in part to an unfortunate own goal in the 80th minute having battled back from going a goal down. Their second game against Denmark was an improvement from the first as they came from an early goal down again to draw 1-1. Both of their goals have been penalties, but what they lack is scoring goals from the open, they more than make up for it is their character. Peru’s first World Cup in over 30 years has been an unlucky one. In their first game they outplayed Denmark, missed a penalty and had 17 attempts at goal, but could not score a single goal only to lose the game 1-0. Their very next game saw them come up against France and they still lost the game rather harshly, 1-0. They would have packed their bags by the time they step on to the field for this game, however, ending this competition with a goal and a win would be a fitting way to bow out.