Croatia and England were not considered outsiders to even win this World Cup yet one of them are on the brink of reaching the finals and there is a real chance that the winner of this semifinal might be the winner of the competition. Croatia beat Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland in their group game to set up a round of 16 game against Denmark. They needed penalties to beat the Danes and Ivan Rakitic scored the final spot kick that helped them qualify for the quarterfinals. They met Russia in the quarterfinals and needed penalties to knock the hosts out after they had played a dramatic 2-2 draw by the end of extra time. Ivan Rakitic stepped up to score the winning penalty again to set up this match, it would be interesting to see if they would need penalties to reach the finals again. England have played some of the best football in this competition and they are the highest scorers from set pieces as they head into this game. The Three Lions won their first two group games against Tunisia and Panama before losing to Belgium in their final group game. They beat Colombia on penalties in the round of 16, but did not need extra time in their quarterfinal game against Sweden. They beat the Swedes 2-0 to set up this clash and they have raised up hopes in the hearts of every Briton that this could be their year, they can win this.

France is perhaps the only remaining big team in this World Cup after Brazil was eliminated by Belgium in the quarterfinals and Les Blues would be eager to avoid an upset and also reach the final at the expense of Belgium here. This French side is blessed with attacking talents and their defence has also been impressive in this competition. The French men started their campaign by winning two and drawing one group game before they met Argentina in their Round of 16 game. They beat the Argentines 4-3 to set up a quarterfinal match against a previously unbeaten Uruguay, and they won the game 2-0 to set up this clash. With the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Greizmann spearheading their attack, the question seems to be whether their defence can stop Belgium. Belgium have maintained a 100% in this competition till this semifinal. The Red Devils beat Panama, Tunisia, and England in the group stage, before eliminating Japan in the round of 16. They faced Brazil next and Roberto Martinez pulled off a tactical masterstroke. The Belgians used their pace and the strength of Romelu Lukaku to batter their Brazilian defence, ending the game 2-1 winners to set up this match. The Red Devils seem fearless and they can beat this French team if their defence can hold tight.

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.

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.