World Cup Quarterfinals July 7 Quick Guide

      The round of 16 concluded two days ago with England breaking their world cup curse and defeating Colombia in a penalty shootout. The 2018 World Cup has been exciting to watch, the drama is unmatched and it seems as if this world cup is scripted, the writers have no idea of continuity. There are 8 teams left after the round of 16 and the matches will only become more tense and dramatic. Russia, Croatia, Sweden, England, Uruguay, France, Brazil and Belgium are among the 8 world's best international teams in the 2018 world cup edition.

July 7

     Sweden vs England

     Saturday will be an all European affair. The first quarterfinal match of the day will be between Sweden and England. Sweden with their defensive approach to the game has taken this side to the quarterfinals. I see Sweden as a poor man's Italy and I don't mean it as an insult to either nation. Sweden defends tight and compact with 11 players, but lack the quality to create anything threatening to their opponent. The counter attack and pouncing on their opponents mistakes is what Sweden does well and have been doing since the qualifying stage. 

    England has finally one a penalty shootout in a World Cup! The curse is finally broken. Now to "bring it home." As mentioned earlier post I am not really sold on the idea that the English national team is one of the best in the world even in historical contexts. They are a footballing nation that has everything to be the best from money, infrastructure, and great players. They just are not the best. However, I like this English side and think the their coach, Gareth Southgate, has done a great job managing the English national team. I want England to go through. Yet, they have a poor record against teams that defend well (Italy) and haven't necessarily dominated Sweden in recent history either. England are favorites, but I am going to use my upset call on this match. I wouldn't be surprised at all if  Sweden win sending home the English side with only their luggage in hand.

    Russia vs Croatia 

    The host are still in it. Russia will attempt to beat Croatia to reach the semifinals of the tournament. I do not see that happening as I rank Croatia as a much better team than the awful Spanish side that the Russians defeated in the round of 16 on penalties. Russia can go through, this is why the game is played, however, the only way I can confidently say Russia will go through is if they hold the Croatian side for 120 minutes and force a penalty shoot out. From their I will favor the Russian side to go through due to the Croatian sides poor display in shooting penalties against Denmark.

   Croatia are one of the better teams in this World Cup. They have a very talented midfield that can control the tempo of the match and dominate the other side. The only sides to score against Croatia in this world cup were Iceland and Denmark with a goal a piece. Croatia are clear favorites and I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be. The only way I will jump ship is if this match does to a penalty shootout.        

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group F)

Group F

Germany (1)

Mexico (15)

Sweden (23)

South Korea (61)

                Unlike the past groups, group F is one that I have a personal investment in. Mexico is the birthplace of my parents and where I get my food, traditions, and language. Most of the time I have temporary bias when I support a team or player. At times I enjoy watching Spain then get tired of them and watch Brazil and the same goes with club teams. I enjoy watching football in general. But, Mexico is different. It is a personal bias. Fans will understand when I speak of my team it is with passion and emotion. However, as I went through academia and studied sports I learned how to separate myself momentarily to critique the teams I support in a more honest manner.

                Germany are not only clear favorites to win the group, but they are perceived to be favorites to lift the world cup again. The German national side has quality all around and what makes their dominance frightening or admirable is that plenty of their younger players are already playing significant amount of minutes in big clubs around Europe. The issue German coach, Joachim Low, will have is who will have to leave out of his 23-man roster for the 2018 World Cup. That being said, Germany is beatable. Die Mannschaft lost to Brazil in a friendly 1-0. One could state that a friendly isn’t always the best method to judge a team which can be the case. Germany did lose when it mattered. They lost to France by a score of 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Euros. This isn’t to diminish the German national team in anyway. They are favorites to win the World Cup and justifiably so. I would just shed light to those that are not aware that the mighty can fall.

                Mexico is a team that if you want to make a safe bet on getting out of the group stage you will definitely earn that money back. The issue with Mexico is that after the group stage one could double their gambling earnings by betting against Mexico winning their round of 16 match. Since the 1994 World Cup Mexico has been eliminated in the round of 16. That is six, SIX times! In Mexico there are talks of superstition and a curse of the fifth game. However, even though I love the stories I do not who heartedly believe in them. Mexico is a talented national team where players have the speed and technical ability to match anyone of the favorites, yet they do lack tactical discipline to beat the favorites. Mexico will finish second in the group which means they will face the winners of group E in the round of 16. Chances are that BRAZIL will win group E. So, is it really a curse or just bad luck? Why not just finish first?

                Sweden in certain newspapers are perceived as finishing 2^nd in the group. Which is not unrealistic, the games still have to be played, but I don’t see Sweden making much of a run this summer in Russia. They did beat Italy in a play-off to earn a spot at the World Cup. But, that was an Italian side that was tactically handicap due to their coach and a national team that has not been playing up to its name for the past decade. Sweden has a chance to finish second, but to me that chance is very minimal. The Swedes play compact, pragmatic, and disciplined football. I don’t think they have the talent upfront to beat even the likes of Mexico.

                South Korea is a team I wish was a lot better than they currently are. I want to cheer for them simply because of Son Heung-min. He is the winger/forward who plays for Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premier league. I enjoy watching Son play, but his supporting cast doesn’t have the quality to make a serious run to finish second in the group.   

  

                For group F Germany are the clear favorites to finish first with Mexico in second.