After a wild group stage, the R16 had chances for surprises and we only got one. Japan took Croatia to the extreme but forgot how to take PKs, something that Morocco didn’t forget. Spain did forget that 1000+ passes are meaningless without the final one. Anyway, let’s see the how the bracket looks now (via Sporting News):
And here are the blurbs for each day
Day 1: Luka’s Last Dance
Croatia v Brasil
Croatia went to the limit with a gutsy Japan, will this affect them against Brasil? In 2018 they did that 3 times in a row, but 4 years are 4 years. Anyway, will that matter? Brasil look unstoppable, 45 minutes of jogo bonito were enough to completely dismantle South Korea, they look in top shape. I’m going Brasil
Argentina v Netherlands
Argentina suffered more than expected against a fairly weak Australian side, who almost tied the game in the last play and before had a play by Behich that almost scored the goal of the tournament. Still, Messi is Messi and that seemed enough, will that be enough against Netherlands? Sure, the Dutch are not playing like their fanciful forefathers but their really efficient, hell they scored the same goal against the US twice. Their counters work like clockwork, it won’t be easy for Argentina.
Day 2: A Hundred Year’s Old War
France v England
Mbappé is playing at such a superlative level, that it feels like cheating when he’s on the field. I’ve heard some folks saying that he’s a liability as he doesn’t press and defend and that it’s absurd, have you seen him play? As for England, they didn’t have much trouble against Senegal, so not sure how they would face France, but to prove the doubters wrong, there’s a few teams harder than this. A grudge match to end all grudge matches (I mean, at least until Brasil faces Argentina). I’m sorry for England, but it looks like football is stopping at the French customs.
Morocco v Portugal
Morocco continues their quest to defeat the Iberian Peninsula, this time against Portugal. Morocco played a smart game against Spain, they defended and countered, they were helped by a Spain that died by their style: a fangless tiki-taka. Morocco could also have won the game if Cheddira had half of the talent En-Nesyri has, this does show you how shallow their pool of players is. On the other side, Portugal decided their match against Switzerland fairly quick and showed that Cristiano is a liability, without him they were incredibly free flowing, lethal and fun. Is wild to say this, but it does like like the whole Cristiano soap-opera is right now their biggest weakness. Anyway, I’m expecting Morocco to try and play the same way as against Spain, the difference here is that they’ll be way more tired and that Portugal does know what to do with the ball in the last third. This might be the end of the road for Morocco, but it’ been a good one.