The group stage of the 2018 World Cup has come to an end. The biggest surprise was defending champion Germany not only going out but finishing last in their group after a 2-0 loss to South Korea. The curse of the “Defending Champions” patch is real, as Germany became the 4th defending champion in the last 5 World Cups to fail to reach the knockout stage. In addition to Germany, Poland was the “seeded” team in Group H and also finished last while Japan and Russia (two of the lowest-ranked teams entering the tournament) both advanced. The knockout stage will begin on Saturday, June 30 with the Round of 16 Games.
Uruguay vs Portugal
Saturday, June 30
2:00pm EST on FOX
Uruguay was the only team to not allow a goal during the group stage of the tournament. Captain Diego Godin has been both the anchor of the defense and the catalyst for moving things forward on the offensive end. Uruguay has found their footing as the tournament progressed. After two 1-0 victories, Uruguay exploded for 3 goals against hosts Russia, with both Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani cashing in. They draw Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, the second-leading goal scorer in the group stage. Ronaldo’s hat trick against Spain, capped off by a brilliant free kick, got the tournament started right for Portugal. A late penalty awarded by VAR to Iran forced a draw in their last match and prevented Portugal from winning Group B.
France vs Argentina
Saturday, June 30
10:00am EST on FOX
In typical French fashion, despite winning their group and only allowing 1 goal on a penalty kick, the French media have still been hyper-critical of the team’s performance and manager Didier Deschamps. France has struggled a bit to put things together offensively, with their 2 goals against Australia coming off a penalty and an own goal. Their third game was a listless draw against Denmark. After finishing second at the 2014 World Cup, many saw this as the last gasp for Leo Messi and Argentina. They got off to a rocky start with a draw against Iceland and a loss to Croatia. But Messi’s early goal against Nigeria started the turn-around that Marcus Rojo finished in the 86th minute to send Argentina through. La Albiceleste salvaged a second place finish in Group D. Argentina still have some question marks – particularly in goal where Franco Armani took over against Nigeria after Willy Caballero started the first two matches. Overall, these are two talented teams with high expectations and one will go home in the Round of 16 and be viewed as a massive disappointment.
Brazil vs Mexico
Monday, July 2
10:00am EST on FS1
This game features the only two teams to advance past the Group Stage in each of the last 7 World Cups. Unfortunately, Mexico has not made it out of the Round of 16 in any of the prior 6 while Brazil has made it to the quarterfinals in 6 straight World Cups. The two sides met in the 2014 World Cup and played to a 0-0 draw when Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa played the match of his life and made save after save. After an opening draw with Switzerland, Brazil navigated their next two games with 2-0 wins, but neither came easily. Against Costa Rica, Brazil was held scoreless for 90 minutes but converted twice in stoppage time.
It will be interesting to see how Brazil’s talented attacking midfielders and forwards can match up against Mexico’s pressure. Mexico scored a huge opening win over Germany and looked in the driver’s seat of Group F after a convincing win over Korea. But a 3-0 defeat by Sweden in their final game cast a pall over their tournament and put their place in the knockout stage in jeopardy. It was only thanks to two stoppage time goals by Korea that Mexico advanced once again. History is on the side of Brazil here, but plenty of historical trends have gone out the window in this tournament, so could this be Mexico’s time to break through?
Belgium vs Japan
Monday, July 2
2:00pm EST on FOX
Belgium was the highest-scoring team in the group stage with 9 goals. The forward tandem of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku has lived up to its billing and Luakau is tied for the second-leading scorer in the tournament with 4 goals. Belgium is one of just 3 teams to advance out of the group stage with a perfect 3-0-0 record and look like a team poised to make a deep run in the tournament.
Japan is one of the best stories of this World Cup. Japan hired Vahid Halilhodzic (who coached Ivory Coast to the 2010 World Cup and Algeria to the 2014 tournament) to manage the team through qualification, but his roster left out some of their star players. Halilhodzic was sacked after a disastrous 4-1 defeat to rival South Korea in the 2017 East Asian Cup. Former Japanese national team player Akira Nishino was named to replace him in April of 2018, but returned the Samurai Blue to their traditional possession-based style and brought back a number of experienced players. This paid dividends as Japan was able to advance through Group H, edging Senegal on Fair Play Points. Japan did have the advantage of getting to play 87 minutes against a 10-man Colombia squad after an early red card.
Spain vs Russia
Sunday, July 1
10:00am EST on FOX
Spain won Group B in dramatic fashion. They trailed Morocco in the closing minutes of their final game, but a seeming equalizer was called offsides. VAR overturned the call while at the same time VAR was awarding a penalty kick to Iran against Portugal. Spain got the goal and Iran converted to draw even with Portugal. The two draws for the Iberian nations put Spain atop the group and matched them with host nation Russia. The 2010 World Cup champions have not been as efficient or as tight defensively as they were 8 years ago, but their tiki taka style is like playing against Virginia basketball where every chance at possession counts. Russia exploded for 8 goals in their first two matches thanks to Denis Cheryshev, one of the early stars of the tournament. Cheryshev entered the opening match in the 24th minute after an injury forced Alan Dzagoev to the sideline and has accounted for 3 goals so far. Russia was shut out against Uruguay, dropping the hosts to second in Group A.
Croatia vs Denmark
Sunday, July 1
2:00pm EST on FOX
Croatia reached the Knockout Stage for the first time since their magical third place finish in 1998. The Blazers were one of 3 sides with a perfect 3-0-0 record in group play, which included a decisive 3-0 win over Argentina and a 90th minute goal to top Iceland. Midfielder Luca Modric has been the star for Croatia, scoring twice and winning the Man of the Match in his first two games. Denmark’s tight defense carried them through Group C. A second half goal was all they needed against a talented Peru squad that couldn’t find a finishing touch despite numerous good chances at goal. The only goal the Danish Dynamite have allowed was on a penalty kick against Australia, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. In their third game, Denmark and France played to a listless 0-0 draw that sent both teams through to the Knockout stage. With just 2 goals scored, Denmark has the fewest goals of any team in the Round of 16.
Sweden vs Switzerland
Tuesday, July 3
10:00am EST on FS1
Coming into the tournament, Sweden was seen as a bit of an afterthought in a group with both Germany and Mexico, but it was the Swedes that topped Group F. They capped it off with a 3-0 total domination of Mexico, and have only tasted defeat because of a brilliant 95th minute free kick from Germany. This is an intriguing matchup between two teams that lack a true “star” but play a strong team game and have been tight defensively. Switzerland has faced some adversity in this tournament, giving up opening goals to both Brazil and Serbia. The Red Crosses battled back to tie Brazil and scored two second half goals to beat Serbia. Switzerland’s only first half goal came against Costa Rica in a game that saw two goals scored in the final minutes, with the Swiss taking a 2-1 lead in the 88th minute only to concede an own goal in stoppage time.
Colombia vs England
Tuesday, July 3
2:00pm EST on FOX
Colombia suffered the misfortune of getting a red card 3 minutes into their first match. They battled hard with only 10 men but ultimately fell 2-1 to Japan. That was their only defeat of the tournament as The Tricolors bounced back to defeat Poland and Senegal. Colombia has been deadly on set pieces in this tournament, which has made up for the fact that 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez has been battling injury. England’s Harry Kane currently leads the Golden Boot race thanks to 5 goals in 2 games. Kane netted both goals in the Three Lions’ win over Tunisia then scored a hat trick against Panama (with two goals coming on penalty kicks). England fell to Belgium in their final game where they rested Kane and other stars and didn’t seem overly interested in threatening to score. England was strong on the attack in their first two games while Colombia has not allowed a goal with all 11 players on the pitch this tournament. Both of these teams have the talent to reach the semifinals, but one will get sent home in the Round of 16.
