Argentina v Netherlands
The Netherlands has proved that there’s talent in the new generation, and although they don’t have two strong names that were protagonists in the Champions League final of the World Cup year like they had in 2010 with Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder and Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, they managed to get out of Group A that had two surprisingly efficient teams: Ecuador and Senegal.
Argentina started the Qatar World Cup with a huge hiccup, losing to Saudi Arabia, but the Argentines managed to do their homework in their key game against Mexico, and then they eliminated Australia.
We can expect a levelled game, with technical balance, but Messi could be the game changer for Argentina, naturally
Brazil v Croatia
The last victory of Brazil against South Korea certainly was an amazing mood booster for the Brazilians, especially after the poor performance of their alternative team against Cameroon in the third match of the Group Stage.
Croatia faced a tough game against Japan, and they were also forced to play more minutes than Brazil. They rely a lot on Modric who’s considerably old right now in spite of his amazing fitness at the club level.
The squad depth of Brazil, the fitness, as well as the obvious talent of the South Americans, makes Brazil the favourite team in the eyes of the entire football world.
As football fans across the globe try to make sense of the current match odds, fans of The Beautiful game seek for betting opportunities, and the options for Asian fans gambling in Thailand are more plentiful than ever.
England v France
Certainly, the most balanced duel of the quarter-finals and the most interesting one from a strictly technical point of view, the battle between England and France is a hard game to predict.
England is the current runners up of the Euros, and as the current champions Italy failed to qualify for this World Cup, it’s fair to say they are important contenders, especially after the solid performances of the Group Stage and the Round of 16.
France, on the other hand, proved to be able to overcome a long list of challenges including the injuries of Pogba, Kanté, Benzema and Lucas Hernandez prior to the quarter-finals.
France may have a small advantage as the team has Mbappé who’s arguably the next Ballon d’Or and whose recent performances were simply amazing.
Portugal v Morocco
Morocco was a brave team to beat Spain yesterday by focusing on the strongest points of their team. They certainly were the underdogs in the eyes of the football world, but now they’ll face an incredibly confident Portugal that has thrashed Switzerland with 6 goals without even using Ronaldo ‘for real’.
We can say this is the only quarter-finals game with a very clear favourite, a lot more than the game between Brazil and Croatia in my opinion.
Summary
I have a bit more faith than many pundits when it comes to the chances of the Netherlands reaching the semi-finals, as well as the odds of Croatia eventually knocking out Brazil. I do, however, expect a semi-final with Portugal like everyone, because although Morocco was brave against Spain, I guess what Portugal did yesterday was a historic performance that can impact the morale of a team immensely.
I see France as a balanced team, just like England, so anything could happen in this game.
