World Cup quarterfinals

All eight teams have now booked their places in the World Cup quarterfinals. Who are they and how did they get there?

There is no greater test of that theory than facing France in the quarterfinals. The PSG forward has looked irresistible and the best player at the tournament. But against Senegal, fans were treated to a glimpse of what this England attack can do when given the space and opportunity. Like the Netherlands, Argentina is facing its biggest test of the tournament. Which begs the question: is this the best England team since 1966, when it last won thee World? In what is likely his final World Cup, Messi has slowly grown into the tournament, but against Australia he showed glimpses of why he is widely considered to be the best to grace the game. In its first game of the tournament, Argentina suffered arguably the biggest upset in World Cup history as Messi and co. The team strung 20 passes together in a picturesque advertisement of the beautiful game before Memphis Depay stroked the ball home. Within the first seven minutes, Brazil had already won the match and brought jogo bonito (the beautiful game) back to the World Cup, scoring for fun. All three of its knockout games in 2018 went to extra-time or penalties, but in every one of those, the Croatians looked like the side in control. Like its semifinal victory over England four years ago, this was a game in which Croatia looked stronger and stronger as the game went on. The team was held comfortably by Morocco in the group stages, was very lucky to draw with Belgium and had to rely on penalties to beat Japan in the last 16..

The quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Costa Rica turned out to be the colosseum of glory for Tim Krul as the goalkeeper, who became the hero of the ...

But Romania made it all square 10 minutes later, with Florin Raducioiu finding the net. But this time, the story ended differently. The concept of a Golden Goal may be alien to the latest generation of football fans, but the last of it in a men’s FIFA World Cup came in a quarterfinal 20 years ago at the Nagai Stadium in Japan. Sweden was playing a quarterfinal game in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1958 and it was Romania’s first-ever quarters. The quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Costa Rica turned out to be the colosseum of glory for Tim Krul as the goalkeeper, who became the hero of the match at the Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador. Before the quarters, here is a look at the five most exciting quarterfinal fixtures in the FIFA World Cup over the years:

DOHA: Brazil, France and other World Cup heavyweights started the build-up to their quarter-final matches in earnest on Wednesday after Portugal made a huge ...