FIFA World Cup: Quarterfinals Matches to Start Friday
Posted on: December 9, 2022, 03:16h.
Last updated on: December 9, 2022, 02:33h.
The quarterfinals of the World Cup begin on Fridaym with a confident Brazil squad ready to take on a determined Croatia. Then, Argentina will look for victory against the Netherlands in the second game of the day.
Croatia took out Japan 3-1 in a penalty shootout on December 5 to conclude the previous round of competition. Their rival today, defending World Cup champion squad Brazil, defeated South Korea 4-1 in the Round of 16.
Setting up Friday’s latter game, Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in their Round of 16 match before drawing against the Netherlands. The Dutch team had no trouble finding victory against the US, 3-1, as they moved into the quarterfinals. Both of today’s matchups will bring back moments of history.
Croatia Knows it Must Fight
Even Croatia’s head coach knows that they probably have the worst matchup as they face Brazil. Zlatko Dalić and his team must face Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, known simply as Neymar, and his teammates in a tough battle. Dalić alluded to the Brazilian power in a press conference, freely admitting that today’s opponents are the “clear favorite.”
| Brazil | Draw | Croatia |
| -280 | +400 | +850 |
| Courtesy of DraftKings |
Since the beginning of the tournament, Croatia, finalists of the 2018 World Cup, have been lethargic. They’ve made it this far thanks to goalkeeper Livakovic, who had three saves against Japan.
History is also against the European team. Brazil won the two previous meetings between the teams in the World Cup. Still, Dalić is ready to lead his men into battle and fight until the bitter end.
To many people, black cats are a sign of something bad coming. Fortunately for Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior, the cat that appeared before him in a press conference ahead of today’s match wasn’t black, or it could have been an ominous premonition.
He pushed it out of the way in much the same way he can do with Croatian defenders. He, along with Neymar and crew, mercilessly thrashed South Korea 4-1 in a game in which they could have easily scored twice as many goals. Instead, they eased up so as not to run up the score.
Croatia isn’t South Korea and will be a tougher opponent. It doesn’t have the firepower that Brazil has, though, and will likely suffer as a result. The big question is the total number of goals, which will likely stay below four.
Messi Hopes to Go Out with a Bang
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said this week that Lionel Messi is “finished” as a professional soccer player. As he gets ready to represent his home country of Argentina against the Netherlands, this will be his last World Cup as a player.
| Argentina | Draw | The Netherlands |
| +115 | +215 | +280 |
| Courtesy of DraftKings |
The rivalry between Argentina and the Netherlands generates significant interest from fans. But Messi and Dutch soccer player Cody Gakpo will attract the most attention in today’s game. Gakpo won’t remember the rivalry first-hand, but Messi does.
Memphis Depay does as well. He was one of the members of the Netherlands team that was left at the gates of the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil after losing on penalties against Argentina. It’s now time for a rematch between these two almost a decade later.
The Netherlands has played in the World Cup final three times, the last in 2010, but has never won. The same can’t be said for Argentina, which has two World Cup championships, from 1978 and 1986.
Messi has achieved a number of records during his soccer career. He is also the Argentine footballer with the most matches in World Cups at 23.
He needs to beat the Netherlands to be the player with the most caps in the top international event. That record belongs to Germany’s Lothar Matthäus, who played 25 World Cup matches.
This match is tough to call, as the Dutch team has been playing surprisingly well. Google thinks it knows the outcome, though, with the Alphabet-owned company giving Argentina a 42% chance of winning.
The Netherlands has only a 28% chance of pulling off a victory. Google predicts the chances of the game ending in a tie and going into extra time, including a shootout, are 30%.
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