James (@PerSources_JB)
Round of 16:
Getting into the round of 16 are all of the heavy hitters, plus a few underdogs in Iceland, Senegal and South Korea. The two most intriguing round of 16 matchups feature Uruguay v Portugal and Spain v Egypt. In what could be his last World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo will fall to the hands (or teeth) of Luis Suarez and Mo Salah will fall short trying to exact his revenge on Sergio Ramos. England and Argentina will be able to keep star men Robert Lewandowski and Christian Eriksen at bay, respectively. Belgium, Brazil, France and Germany will have no problem getting through to the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals:
France’s star-studded defense duo of Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti will be the key to the French shutting down Uruguay’s attack and getting to the semifinals. Brazil attack of Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Willian and co. will overpower “darkhorse” Belgium, who will once again go out in the quarterfinals to a South American powerhouse. Spain and Argentina will feature Lionel Messi against a lot of Barcelona teammates and La Liga foes. If La Roja can make it this far given their managerial issues, they wont have enough to keep out Messi, Aguero, Di Maria and company. In the final quarterfinal, England will meet Germany and the Three Lions will play lead, concede late and lose on penalties just as history would want it to happen.
Semifinals:
Germany and Argentina meet in the semifinals as a rematch of the 2014 World Cup’s final. Germany’s physical nature doesn’t bode well for Argentina as was proven four years ago. Both sides have the quality to score goals and we will see goals in this one. Argentina will rue any missed chances, as they did in 2014 and Germany will be tough and prevent La Abilceleste from getting on the front foot. Germany will progress and look to repeat as World Champions.
France and Brazil are nearly identical sides. Both have a strong keeper and central defenders. Both have a quality holding midfielder, Ngolo Kante for France and Casemiro/Fernandinho for Brazil. Both can play with a true center forward or feature a false number nine. The pace and ability of the wingers will cause nightmare’s for the other’s attacking fullbacks. This game is made to be a chess match with supersub Olivier Giroud coming on winning it late for Les Bleus.
Final:
France v Germany. Two nations with tremendous history on the world stage. Years from now some will say this side might be better than the Zidane and Henry teams. After the misery of the 2006 World Cup Final and the humiliation suffered in South Africa, France have been working its way back to the top and by beating reigning World Champs in the final, Les Bleus will be back on top for the first time since 1998. With Kante, Paul Pogba, and Blaise Matuidi in the midfield not giving Mesut Ozil his space needed to create, France will find a way to squeak by. Not many 1-0 games are exciting, the last two finals have finished 1-0 after extra time and France will complete that trifecta with Antoine Griezmann writing his name in history on the 15th of July, 2018.
Cam (@CamB_PerSources)
Round of 16:
The round of sixteen for myself has no surprises with the teams winning the group having much more talented opposition then their opponents. However, a few games stick out as close matches that will come down to the wire. Poland vs England is my only upset as England have the depth and quality to overpower Poland in the final third. Cristiano Ronaldo will bow out with a defeat at the hand of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Belgium and Colombia could be the game of the round of 16 as both countries reached the quarterfinals in the previous World Cup but will have to go through each other to reach the next stage. France and Croatia could be interesting, but the French dominance will go forward.
Quarterfinals:
Now this is where it gets tricky. A Spain side in disarray due to coaching situation would matchup against Messi and Argentina to face some of his Barcelona teammates. Messi’s magic will progress the Argentines to the Semifinals. The “Old enemies”, Germany and England will matchup in the other side of Spain vs Argentina. The German machine will move on and not stumble on the English. The quality of German will be to much for the back three and Pickford in net for a close game. France will have edge on Uruguay to advance to semifinals and will matchup in the winner of Brazil vs Belgium. The Red Devils and record world champions will battle it out as stars glitter the field up and down the pitch. Tactics will decide this matchup and Tite’s 4-3-3 has been more consistent in producing results compared to Roberto Martinez’s 3-4-3.
Semifinals:
A rematch of the pervious final, Germany and Argentina will but heads again for a spot in the final. The German machine has set the same goal as usual, win. Argentina’s inconsistent back line will cause problems as Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller exploit the gaps. Messi and company will score past Neuer but the Germans established lead will not be effected by Argentina’s reply. To the other side, France vs Brazil. Games from the quarters on can be called as toss up’s but you have to pick strong teams to bow out. Frances pace and physicality will hold off Brazil to advance. Mbappe and Dembele interchanging on the wings will trouble Danilo and Marcelo. Kante will hold up any Brazil attacks will his great pace and superb tackling. France will appear in the World Cup final for the third time in 20 years.
Finals:
Two European giants going at for the crown of world champions. A rematch of the Euro16 semifinal in which France walked away 2-0 with two goals from Griezmann. The two teams have setup very similar in recent friendly’s opting for a 4-2-3-1. The game will be won and lost in the midfield, Paul Pogba’s creativity vs Ozil. Khedira’s defensive ability vs Kante. Lloris vs Neuer the matchups go on and on. Looking back at the pervious World Cup finals victory for each team, Germany needed a hero off the bench and France needed a person to take the game and control the match. Griezmann is my player that can replicate Zidane’s performance in this year’s final. Germany will hold defensivly but the skill of Mbappe and Dembele will open space for the deciding goal from the Atletico Madrid striker.
Who’s knows anyway? England could win the whole thing. LOL
Tincho (@MP_persources)
Round of 16:
We can potentially see some very interesting matchups in the quarterfinals. Games like a potential Colombia vs England, Portugal vs Uruguay and even Argentina vs Peru can come down to the wire. Out of all the Round of 16 matchups, I don’t have any upsets as of now but England and Portugal could easily upset. Both have talented sides that have yet to reach their best as a unit. Of course having a player like Cristiano Ronaldo on your team does give you an advantage. My sleeper pick for this round would be Peru. The south americans gave Argentina trouble in both games of the qualifiers including a 0-0 draw in a hostile “Bombonera” stadium in Argentina. In 90 minutes, anything can happen.
Quarterfinals:
At this stage in the competition, there are no more inferior teams and every team except Uruguay are capable of much more. This is where the first and second place finishes in the groups get tricky. Depending on their finishing positions in the group, a team might have a noticeably easier opponent or could be knocked out by one of the giants like Brazil. France takes care of Uruguay without many problems, Germany handles Colombia and Belgium fall just short against Brazil. The most talked about matchup would be Spain vs Argentina. If there is any team in this World Cup that can stop Lionel Messi it is Spain. The core group of players either play with or against him all season long and have studied every aspect of his game. I think in the end, Argentina narrowly beats Spain with a player like Dybala or Aguero being the difference maker.
Semifinals:
The rematches of the 1998 World Cup final and of the 1986, 1990 and 2014 final. I believe Germany takes care of Argentina for the fourth straight World Cup and moves on to yet another final. I think Germany is vastly superior as a team and exploit a relatively short Argentina side in the air. Meanwhile, I love the Brazil vs France matchup but I have to give it to Brazil. Big game players with the killer mentality that is still not there for France. Neymar ends up being the difference maker for Brazil who makes it to their first final since 2002.
Final:
Arguably the two best teams in the World entering the tournament. We would get yet ANOTHER episode of this rivalry as the Brazilians seek revenge for 2014. This time around, Brazil is no longer Neymar and 10 other players. As magical as Brazil can be with the ball, they can be equally as dominant on the defensive end. A well-structured, well-oiled machine ran by Tite, I do not see a flaw in this Brazilian side. Again, I believe Neymar ends up being the decisive factor in this game.The type of difference maker Germany does not have. Close game but Brazil comes out victorious.
