And Then There Were Eight (Quarter Final Preview)
And Then There Were Eight (Quarter Final Preview)
With the break-neck speed of the World Cup slowing down for a couple of days, it gives us a chance to take a step back and take stock of the current situation.
All of the Group winners are through to the last eight, meaning there are little surprises, as the favourites are all through. However, this does not reflect the quality of the opposition as most of the top teams were forced to scrap their way into the next round.
Five of the eight matches required extra-time and/or penalties to decide the match; which was more down to excellence in the defensive arts as opposed to lethargy and lack of attacking sharpness.
That said, most of the top teams needed their talisman players to carry them at this round; the likes of Neymar, Arjen Robben, Lionel Messi and James Rodriguez have had to shoulder much of the attacking burden with mixed results. The quarter-finals will be won by the teams who are able to move past that dependence and are able to galvanize themselves as a unit.
Here's a run down of the upcoming matches:
Brazil vs Colombia
Of the eight, probably Colombia looked the most convincing; beating Uruguay 2-0 with well worked goals by James Rodriguez. This was an Uruguay side missing the talents (good/bad) of Luis Suarez who lost his head (again) against Italy.
They will have their work cut out against Brazil though; who look lacklustre but will leverage on the home support and the individual talents of their playmakers. Neymar looks impressive thus far, but his supporting cast look inconsistent at best; with Fred the most guilty of sluggishness. Scolari will need to get more out of his attacking line to repeat the glory days of 2002 on home soil.
France vs Germany
The winner of this match up will take on the winners of the France vs Germany tie. Germany are championing the False 9 system, in the absence of Spain, with Thomas Muller furthest forward for the majority of the tournament. Certain quarters are not quite satistfied with their unbeaten run thus far, which reflects the weight of expectation placed on this Golden Generation of German players. Germany's emergence as a powerhouse in European club football in recent years has been extraordinary, though they have always been consistent performers on the World Cup stage.
They take on France who have also experienced a renaissance of sorts after the 2010 World Cup debacle in South Africa. Looking more like a unit, with new faces such as Valbuena, Matuidi and Pogba, France has been impressive in their bid to reclaim the glory days from the turn of the millenium.
Didier Deschamps was brave to leave out the likes of Samir Nasri while hamstrung by the absence of Franck Ribery. But that has had minimal impact with other players stepping up to the plate.
Netherlands vs Costa Rica
On the other side of the bracket, we have the Netherlands taking on this year's surprise packages Costa Rica. The Oranje have dazzled at this World Cup utilizing a 5-3-2 formation that switches to a 3-4-3 in attack. The hallmarks of Dutch football; passing, versatility, awareness and incision are well-represented by this crop of players, who boast a mix of rookies and veterans.
Costa Rica have done well to escape Group D, stunning Italy and Uruguay before dispatching England in the final group game. Scraping through against Greece, they find themselves up against the might of the Dutch in this David vs Goliath encounter. Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell will be feeding off scraps but the Netherlands have shown chinks in their defence that they can exploit. The onus will be on their defence to snuff out the Dutch which hasn't happened in Brazil.
Argentina vs Belgium
The final match up sees Argentina and Belgium going head to head. Lionel Messi has done well this year, showing much more maturity and willingness to shoulder the hopes and dreams of the Argentine people at this year's World Cup. The fact that he plays as a playmaker together with Higuain and Lavezzi/Aguero thus far has helped to create more space for him to operate, dropping deep to collect the ball and acting as an auxillary winger at times. This is very different from his role in Barcelona where he generally sits as a centre forward while moving wide to draw the defence. Angel Di Maria has proved an able deputy but the rest of the cast need to up their game in order for Argentina to proceed further.
Belgium came in to the tournament as dark horses, with a majority of their squad plying their trade in England's highest level. In theory, they should have enough quality to trouble the best but so far, they are not quite as convincing as the rest. Considering the lack of experience in international football this is quite understandable, but Belgium's brawn may get lucky against the shaky Argentine defence. With Lukaku and Fellaini, Belgium have a bruising duo to cause mayhem at set pieces. However, it is on the wings where Belgium need to find some consistency from the likes of Hazard and Mertens.
Thoughts
Of the four matches, the most likely upset would come from Colombia and possibly Belgium. Brazil may be too one-dimensional this year to win it outright. Past Brazilian World Cup winning teams depended on a core of 3-4 world class attacking talents. This year, they really only have 1-2 (maybe).
My pick for this round's most exciting match is Argentina vs Belgium. Both have incredible attacking talents and the Argentines have a porous defence so that should be interesting. That said, both of them have pushed into extra-time following goalless draws in regulation in the previous round, so they could be cagey to conserve energy during this tie.
The Semis should read Brazil vs Germany, Netherlands vs Argentina (possible upsets above). I admire France's unity and effort this year, but I feel they lack the experience to really move past this round.
