FIFA WORLD CUP 2018: Brief Round of 16 Preview
Plus, a recap of Groups G and H
England vs. Belgium was fun, wasn’t it? An evenly matched 1-0 thriller with each team sitting out half of their studs? How about this…England may be better off than Belgium. More on that later. Now…Group H. Is anyone as disappointed as I am that Colombia went through and Senegal didn’t? Even though Colombia won two games and Senegal only won one, I still feel like Senegal deserved it more. They’ve been more fun to watch. Now…did anyone see Group H coming down to a Fair Play Points tiebreaker? And why do we use that again? What if the team who didn’t go through was being refereed by someone who is more strict with cards? What if said team got caught up in a particularly rough match? Whenever one of those happens, the referee invariably issues more cards than he would otherwise. Alexi Lalas asked on Fox why we do this. He feels that we should award attacking play, and that the tiebreaker should involve something along the lines of which team took more corner kicks. I like his idea, but I’d like to see it based off of shots on target or shooting percentage. Reward teams for creating good-quality scoring chances.
At any rate, Belgium, England, Colombia, and Japan are through. Now our Round of 16 has been set. Here are my predictions.
Uruguay-Portugal: Uruguay looks to be in great shape right now. Portugal hasn’t looked all that impressive thus far. Yes, they have one of the best players ever to play the game, but it won’t be enough to overcome Uruguay’s scoring threats in Cavani and Suárez. Uruguay’s back line will handle Cristiano Ronaldo just fine. Prediction: Uruguay 2, Portugal 1
France-Argentina: France has had a slow start, but they will certainly be prepared for this game. Didier Deschamps is too good of a coach not to do so. Argentina finally showed signs of life against Nigeria, but France has a more complete team. Prediction: France 2, Argentina 1
Spain-Russia: Russia looked great against two of the weakest teams at the tournament, but it all came out in the wash once they faced someone good. Spain will pick up where Uruguay left off, eliminating the hosts. Prediction: Spain 2, Russia 1
Croatia-Denmark: Croatia is rolling right now. They are frighteningly good. Denmark was unlucky to end up facing this buzzsaw in the Round of 16. They’re good enough to beat several other teams in this round, but Croatia is not one of them. Prediction: Croatia 3, Denmark 0
Brazil-Mexico: Mexico is very good at making the Round of 16. They have never progressed beyond it in World Cups not being played in Mexico. This pattern will continue this year, but they will give Brazil quite a fight. Prediction: Brazil 2, Mexico 1
Belgium-Japan: By now, teams should know not to take Japan lightly. Belgium certainly knows this. Japan will play valiantly, but Belgium’s talent and scoring prowess will be too much. Prediction: Belgium 3, Japan 2 (after extra time)
Sweden-Switzerland: Sweden has been the only team that can beat Sweden. (That is not a typo.) Germany didn’t win the game against them – Sweden lost. If they can stay out of their own way, they will be fine. The Swiss are the same way. Something will give in this game. Sweden plays VERY well together as a team, and that will make the difference. Prediction: Sweden 3, Switzerland 2
Colombia-England: Colombia has not looked all that impressive to me thus far. England, on the other hand, has been playing very well. Look for England to dominate. Prediction: England 2, Colombia 0
Until next time…
Friday, June 29, 2018, 11:33 pm MST
