FIFA 2018: After Neymar & Belgium’s heroics, prepare for a European invasion

Mexico and Japan’s aspirations come to an end in this FIFA World Cup 2018 after the results of yesterday’s games. Till now the matches have been relentless in subverting the expectations of football fans. Brazil and Belgium will move on to the quarterfinal stage joining the four teams that already made it. Today’s games will determine the final two teams that will take part in the quarters.

The Brazil-Mexico match held few surprises, as a balanced Brazil decisively thwarted any attempts by Mexico to score and netted two goals. The first goal was scored by Brazil’s Neymar who slid the ball cleanly into the net. He also had a hand in the second with a sharp assist to teammate Roberto Firmino in the last few minutes of the match. There were a few grumbles by Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio regarding Neymar's antics, however, this was lost in the uproar of Brazillian fans.

Japan commenced the second match of the day with an explosive opening and scored two goals against Belgium. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that Belgium would be knocked out at this point. However, Belgium gained a second wind at the 60th minute and were able to turn the results back in their favour by scoring three consecutive goals. Goals were scored by Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini, and Nacer Chadli. Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui were the goal scorers for Japan.

How will today’s matches hold up when compared to the other games in the Round of 16? Watch European teams Sweden and Switzerland butt heads in the first match of the day at 7.30 P.M IST on SonyLIV.

To pick a winner between Sweden and Switzerland is a tough proposition as both teams have never met at the WC stage. Outside the WC they each have 10 wins and 7 draws against each other with the total number of games played numbering at 27. Switzerland has the upper hand when it comes to experience as they have made it to the 2014 and 2006 WCs. Both teams have faced WC favourites Germany and Brazil in their Groups and put up a good fight.

We expect to see a slow first half like the rest of their games followed by a fast-paced second half. There is a good chance that the winning side will be decided by penalty shootouts. Which team will quash the others hopes to reach the quarterfinals?

The England-Columbia match-up is expected to prove far more exciting goal-wise than the previous pair. Columbia might be in trouble as the fitness of James Rodriguez is in question. The absence of their Star player in today’s match could be fatal for Columbia chances at the quaters. The decision lies with their coach Jose Pekerman to take the risk and deploy Rodriguez. England will have to watch out for corners as 6ft 5in Columbia player Yerry Mina has netted two headers in this WC for his team. Another player they need to watch out for is Juan Cuadrado who can easily get behind England’s defenders if they make the same mistake as Poland and give him enough space.

England who have defeated Columbia once in a past WC are not expected to make any major changes ahead of the coming match. Against the hot headed Columbians, the calm demeanor of the English players may prove to be an ideal offset and make for an exhilarating game.

SonyLIV is the official mobile and internet broadcaster for the FIFA World Cup 2018. It is the go-to destination for all football fanatics.

Check out Match Centre on SonyLIV, where viewers can see live scores, player positions, team data, match statistics and live commentary. For a more engaging experience, users can set reminders or view the entire schedule, while the points table gives a quick update on the standings, scores, etc. Additionally, SonyLIV has also created a fan-zone on the second screen that users can access on their mobile phones or tablets and experience features like match predictions, emotion meter, polls, and contests, even as they watch the game in real-time.

Other features include viewing missed games with snippets and clips of key moments from every match along with highlights. To cater to the widest possible range of viewers, SonyLIV will be available in six simultaneous audio feeds - Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and English.

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