We are finally into the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018 and the football fans have already touted this edition as the best in the history.
With each round and each match throwing surprises, this edition has been super entertaining and completely unpredictable. The betting numbers have been changing shape and quantities with each tie and despite having favourites, one can still not predict the winners.
With the final day of the Round of 16 over, we have all our quarter-finalists ready and they are on to the preparation for the last eight.
The final day of the Round of 16 saw Sweden defeat Switzerland 1-0 while England beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties to complete the quarter-final fixtures.
#ENG WIN ON PENALTIES! #COLENG // #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/qgXko4zLmX
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) July 3, 2018
#SWE WIN!
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) July 3, 2018
Ten-man #SUI are knocked-out thanks to a deflected strike from @eforsberg10! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/BDYSnxskt9
First of all, here is the list of the teams that have made it to last eight:
France
Uruguay
Russia
Croatia
Brazil
Belgium
Sweden
England
Here's a look at all the quarter-final ties and how the teams set up the match:
Your #WorldCup quarter-final line-up is complete! #URUFRA #BRABEL#SWEENG #RUSCRO #URU #FRA #BRA #BEL #SWE #ENG #RUS #CRO pic.twitter.com/LKhUP0XNeC
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) July 3, 2018
URUGUAY vs FRANCE:
On the first day of the Round of 16, two of biggest superstars of world football bid adieu to the World Cup.
Lionel Messi's Argentina came up short against an inspired performance from the 19-year-old French superstar Kylian Mbappe and lost 3-2. Messi's dream of a first World Cup was dashed as Mbappe matched Pele's feat becoming the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since Pele scored a brace against Sweden in 1958.
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, failed to inspire his Portugal to a victory while Edinson Cavani's brace in his 100th international for Uruguay meant the South American nation cruised through.
It will now be the battle of the heavyweights as France and Uruguay take on each other in a high-profile encounter.
RUSSIA vs CROATIA:
Russia reached their first-ever quarter-final with a stunning victory over 2010 world champions Spain. While Spain looked a shadow of their superior selves, Russia showed grit and fierce will to stun Spain. Even after Spain scored first, Russia equalised with Artem Dzyuba's penalty, courtesy a handball from Gerard Pique, and thereafter, defended their hearts out to take the match to penalties. While Igor Akinfeev saved two of Spain's penalties, David de Gea failed to save any as Spain crashed out 4-3 on penalties.
On the day same, Croatia vs Denmark was also one dramatic match. Both the teams scored within the first five minutes of the match but then chose caution over attacking football as the match kept getting stretched. In the last few minutes of the extra time, Croatia got a golden opportunity through a penalty but Kasper Schmeichel made a sensational save against Luka Modric to take the tie to the penalty shootout. Even the shooutout was dramatic as both Danijel Subasic and Schmeichel made a couple of saves before Subasic saved Denmark's last while Ivan Rakitic scored past Schmeichel to send Croatia into quarters.
In the Croatia vs Russia quarter-final, the former will surely be favourites but they will be up against a crowd-backed and inspired Russian unit.
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Tag: Sports , FIFA World Cup 2018