FIFA World Cup 2022 has given uncountable memories already first from the Group stages followed by the round of 16. A few shockers came in the Group stages with Japan defeating Spain and Germany, Morocco beating Belgium, Cameroon winning against Brazil and Saudi Arabia seeing off Argentina.
Then in the last 16, Morocco again shocked the world after beating Spain on penalties to go to the last 8 where they will face Portugal. A lot of spicy and exciting fixtures are on the cards starting from tomorrow. In this feature, Sportzcraazy will discuss about the chances of the 8 teams in the tournament based on their form and individual firepower.
Netherlands – The Dutch side under Louis Van Gaal are looking like a complete team in FIFA World Cup 2022 as they have all sides covered in every position. They are among the unbeaten sides in this World cup until now and have conceded only 2 goals in 4 matches, once against Ecuador in Group stages and one against USA in the Round of 16. Their defense has been looking solid and Van Gaal has adopted a 3-4-1-2 formation with Van Dijk, Nathan Ake and Jurien Timber commanding the line. Their midfield of Denzel Dumfries, De Roon, De Jong and Daley Blind have been building their attack very well with Cody Gakpo up front they have a lethal attacking line. Gakpo has counted for 3 goals in this World cup from tough angles also scoring some easy tap ins. If they are to stop Argentina from proceeding to the last 8, Louis Van Gaal will have to do something similar to what Saudi did against Argentina. Van Gaal said in a press conference yesterday that if they stop Lionel Messi from operating at his fullest, they might be able to get a result in their favor.
Argentina – After suffering a shocking loss against Saudi Arabia in their first WC game, La Albiceleste have come back strong winning their next 3 matches (Poland, Mexico and Australia). Their defense has been a matter of concern as they have leaked goals against some relatively weaker sides – Australia and Saudi Arabia. Head Coach Lionel Scaloni has been rotating his defense heavily and he will look to find a certain balance within the back four with the left back position still an issue. In the midfield too, we have seen Scaloni rotating players and tweaking their position here and there but with Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez performing well, some of their issues have lowered. In the attacking third upfront Lautaro Martinez’s form and composure in the final third looks concerning but with Julian Alvarez finding the back of the net when required the pressure has certainly lowered. Papu Gomez has also suited the team well and Scaloni might go with an unchanged side against Netherlands. Last but not the least Lionel Messi will be key in their build up and also in terms of scoring goals but Van Dijk can challenge him constantly. The main threat for the South Americans will be Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay. If they are to win against Oranje, Scaloni will hope for a better display by the defense.
Croatia – 2018 FIFA World cup Finalists Croatia’s journey to the last 8 have been a bit tough and they face Brazil up next. Although they are a far better side than the last edition but the forwards up front have heavily depleted their overall performance. The Croats were somehow able to stop Japan in the regulation time and because of Dominik Livakovic’s heroics between the post saving three shots to take them through. While their defense has been solid with Josko Gvardiol and Dejan Lovren conceding only 2 goals in the regular 90 minutes so far. However, the attackers have not complimented their defenders whatsoever. Bruno Petkovic, Andrej Kramaric, Livaja and Ivan Perisic have not got the job done for Croatia in terms of scoring. Other than scoring four against Canada, Croatia have scored only 1 goal in the overall tournament so far. This is a disappointing stat for them given the fact that they will face a side like Brazil which reignited further more after Neymar’s comeback. Croatia’s record against South american teams is not special either winning only 1 losing 4 in last 5 matches. In order to win against Brazil, the attackers will have to least convert the chances they get into goal otherwise the defenders will not be able to hold the Brazilians for long.
Brazil – The most successful team in FIFA World Cup history, Brazil are looking to enter their the Semi-finals for the 9th time as they go against Croatia in the Quarter-finals. They are one of the most balanced sides in the tournament and with Neymar coming in after the injury against Serbia, the creativity within the midfield has been restored. They had put on a show against South Korea in the last 16 match scoring 4 goals. Their free flowing game will prove to be a problem for Croatia with Richarlison and Vinicius Jr. commanding the wings and Richarlison in an emphatic form, they are expected to score more than 2 goals. Casemiro and Lucas Pacqueta are also handling the midfield really with the defensive line conceding their first shot and goal during their final fixture of the group stages against Cameroon where they lost by 1-0. But they made a solid comeback against the Koreans and will look to keep their head high in order to bring the World cup back home for the first time since 2002. Eder Militao, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Danilo have taken care of the defense extremely well and another thing that they can capitalize on is Croatia’s out of form attackers. All in all Brazil are favorites to beat Croatia if the circumstances do not push towards another World Cup upset.
Portugal – The Portuguese are one of the favorites for the World cup without a doubt. They have immense squad depth and every player looks to be in a great touch. Their defense looked a little shaky initially and still could be a little concerning but Ruben Dias, Pepe, Joao Cancelo/ Diogo Dalot and Raphael Guererro have slowed the criticism for now. One of their major advantages have been the offensive display by the full-backs with Dalot and Cancelo aiding for the attack, Guererro even scored a goal during a 6-1 win against Switzerland. With Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Carvalho, Ruben Neves, Vitinha and Matheus Nunes in the midfield, head coach Fernando Santos has plenty of options to go for. Bruno Fernandes operated as the right winger in their last match and Bernardo Silva provided the play making thrust whenever needed. They have no shortage of creativity in the midfield as well as in the attacking front. Fernando Santos decided to bench Cristiano Ronaldo in order to hand Goncalo Ramos his first World cup start and the latter responded with a hat-trick. Moreover, they also have Joao Felix, Joao Mario and Ricardo Horta for back up. So far it has worked really well for Portugal and they are expected to come out with a win against Morocco at the quarter-final.
Morocco – One of the best stories that have come out from the FIFA World Cup 2022 is the way Morocco staged such an amazing performance to reach the last 8 of the tournament. Hakim Ziyech, Yossuf En-nesyeri and Sofiane Boufal have taken care of the flanks and whenever they go for attacks it looks promising as well as pleasing on the eye. However, they have lacked goals and final touches which might be a problematic thing against a side like Portugal which scored 6 in their last match. No complaints from their defense as Right back Achraf Hakimi has made the most tackles (17) in the tournament so far. Left back Noussair Mazraoui is third in that list with 13 successful tackles and Sofyan Ambarat is the 10th best with 10 tackles. In terms of most take ons completed Soufiane Boufal has made 9 and Hakim Ziyech with 7. Even in terms of goalkeeping, Yassine Bono and Munir Mohamedi have made 5 saves combined. Their resilience against teams like Spain, Belgium and Croatia saw them come out on top each time and they will have to do something similar against Portugal as well.
England – England has had eight different scoring thus far in the contest. All three of the goals they scored in their victory over Senegal during the most recent group stage match were among their ten total goals that came from open play. They have already scored more goals than they did during last year’s run to the Euro final. The biggest tests are yet ahead, but their spectrum of attacking threat provides cause for optimism. Their assists came from eight different players. They tend not to rely on the performance of one person. Although it was boring to watch, England’s goalless draw with the United States was better than a loss. The defeats of Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, and France to inferior opponents exposed their flaws. However, England is undefeated and their confidence is rising. Their form suggests they can beat France only if they do the things the way they have been doing until now.
France – The current world champions, France, have advanced to the quarterfinals on three occasions in recent history, falling to Italy in the final in 2006 and defeating Brazil to win the tournament at home in 1998. After just two group games, France had already secured their place in the round of 16 with victories against Australia (4-1) and Denmark (2-1). As a result, Didier Deschamps made nine changes to his starting lineup for the last group game against Tunisia, which resulted in a shocking 1-0 loss. Thanks to strikes from Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, the world champions easily defeated Poland 3-1. Over the course of their four games, France has scored nine goals while conceding four.
Also Read – Croatia Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic makes history in FIFA World Cup 2022
