World Cup Quarterfinals – What to Expect From The Top 8

The quarter-finals of the World Cup is set to begin tomorrow, and with it will be more drama. This is what the World Cup is about, drama, and as the teams get ready to fight it out to the semi-finals, there will be no shortage of that with the final 8.

Much of this year’s drama came as a result of top nations being eliminated when expected to advance. One of those was Russia, the host nation, another was defending champions, Germany. Yet, with a steeped history in the World Cup, England was not one expected to go beyond the final 8, yet with after defeating Columbia in a shootout – there they are.

We can hope, of course, that the quarter-finals will provide the same level of unpredictability as the first two stages. With the quarter-finals comes another round of betting, and for Canadian bettors, there are few better opportunities for international live betting than the World Cup. Further still, not many can match the quality and superior promotions than that of  bet365, our sports betting site of choice for Canadian sports fans.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a closer look at the eight nations remaining and how they fared in the group stage and knockout stage.

1) Brazil

The group stage saw Brazil win two matches, one against Costa Rica, the other against Serbia. They lost. There came out of the group stage: 2-1-0. In the round of 16, Brazil faced Mexico and defeated the Mexicans 200. Brazil has a pre-tournament ranking of 2.

2) Belgium

Belgium’s performance in the group stage saw the European nation winning once against Tunisia, and once against England to advance to the round of 16. Facing Japan, the Belgians came out with a victory to earn their place in the quarterfinals. Belgium entered the tournament with a ranking of 3.

3) Croatia

Croatia performed well during both stages and defeated Argentina 3-0 and then went on to be victorious against. Their round of 16 match against Denmark ended in a draw and with come controversy, Croatia was awarded the win based on fewer penalties. Croatia is a shining star entering the tournament with a ranking of 20.

4) England

England’s rise to the quarter-finals wasn’t without its own drama. They took a 6-0 landslide win against Panama and lost to Belgium 1-0. However managed to make the round of 16 and was successful in defeating Colombia in the shootout stage after ending regular play, injury time and stoppage time in a draw. They entered the tournament with a ranking of 12.

The Round of 16. Wow.

Who’s ready for the quarter-finals? #WorldCup

Full round-up: https://t.co/1ZpB3j3qbA pic.twitter.com/Duf0LiIXuX

— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) July 4, 2018

5) France

France also has somewhat of a challenge in the group stage winning against Peru 1-0, then ending their match with Denmark in a draw. They succeeded to defeat Argentina 4-3 to advance to the quarter-finals. They came to the tournament ranked 7th.

6) Russia

Russia is the storybook team having entered with a pre-tournament ranking of 70, they defeated Egypt 3-1 in the group stage and ended their match against Spain in a draw, but were able to advance due to the penalty rule.

7) Sweden

Sweden is another golden child of sorts having entered with a pre-tournament ranking of 24, and they were not expected to advance beyond the Group stage. However, with wins against Mexico in the group stage and Switzerland in the round of 16, they now get ready for their next challenge.

8) Uruguay

Uruguay had had a stellar World Cup performance and beat Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Russia. They are 3-0 and eyes are on this nation with high anticipation they will advance unless disaster strikes. Yet, with the drama so far in this year’s tournament has taught us one thing – expect the unexpected.