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The Football World Cup in Russia is now heading for the business end of the tournament and half of the participating 32 teams have been eliminated, and the ones that remain now have no room for any slip ups as one defeat from this point on means they will be heading home.
The World Cup so far has given the fans some excellent entertainment, lots of dramatic twists and turns and plenty of upsets, none bigger than the early exit of defending champions Germany, who were among the favourites.
Some star players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane have lived up to their reputation while others such as Messi have struggled to light up the World Cup so far.
With the start of the Knockout rounds, for the teams that remain, it's a fresh start and any slip up will undo the previous good work to get into the knockout rounds.
So let's take a look at the fixtures, how the games are likely to turn out and who the likely winners will be:
France vs Argentina
France vs Argentina will kick off the World Cup Knockout round, and it is a true clash of two football heavyweights.
France sailed through to the Knockout rounds with reasonable comfort defeating Australia and Peru, and drawing with Denmark. The French side and their coach did get some stick from the fans despite the wins, but when are football fans completely happy with their team.
Argentina struggled to get into the knockouts as they drew their opening game against the underdogs Iceland and were crushed 3-0 by Croatia and were minutes from elimination before securing a last gasp winner against Nigeria to seal their knockout round spot.
France boast of a very sound mix of extremely talented youngsters coupled with experienced defenders and most of the squad has been in form, with Griezmann, as expected, leading the way, very ably supported by Pogba and Mpabbe.
The trio will pose a very big threat for the Argentina defense, which has appeared very shaky so far.
Argentina have looked very sluggish, tired and have lacked the cutting edge so far in the World Cup. Even though they possess some true world class players such as Kun Aguero and di Maria, they have looked more and more like a one man team. With Messi struggling for form a little bit, Argentina have struggled.
A sluggish display against France will prove to be very expensive for Argentina and they need all their players to be firing on all cylinders to stand a chance.
Result - Argentina have the potential to defeat any side in the competition, but their players have lacked form and over-reliance on Messi has stifled his impact on games. France boast of some very talented young, but experienced, players and their pace upfront and creativity should be enough to secure a win against a struggling Argentina.
Uruguay vs Portugal
Uruguay enter the Knockout rounds as one of the only three teams to have won all three of their group fixtures. While it could be argued that they had an easy group, but its the world cup and there are no easy matches.
Uruguay boast of some very tricky and explosive wingers and a lethal front line led by Suarez and Cavani. Their attacking midfielder Carlos Andres Sanchez has pulled the strings from the midfield and has very ably assisted the Uruguayan strike force.
While all the focus has been on the Uruguayan attack, it is their defense which has quietly stolen the show by not letting in even a single goal in the World Cup so far, the only team of the 32 to have done so.
The Uruguayan defense will be put to the test when they come up against the hottest football star in the world right now - Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo has very ably led the attack for his country scoring four goals in the tournament so far, including a hat-trick to secure a draw for his side against one of the pre-tournament favorites Spain.
Despite Ronaldo's heroic efforts, Portugal didn't exactly have a easy ride through their group and could even have been eliminated had Iran converted a gilt edged opportunity in the final minutes of their group fixture against Portugal.
There is no doubt that Ronaldo has been firing on all cylinders, but Portugal's chance hinge almost too much on Ronaldo's form.
Ronaldo is more than capable of winning the game on his own, but if he is kept quiet or has an off day then Portugal could struggle.
Expect the game to be a tight affair with both teams taking a cautious approach. Uruguay will keep a close watch on Ronaldo and expect Ronaldo to be man marked right through the game.
Result - If Ronaldo is on top of his game then Portugal should win, but on the down side Portugal's over-reliance on Ronaldo could also be an issue. Unlike Portugal, Uruguay pose multiple threats and have a very solid defense to back up their strong attack. Its tough to call, but Uruguay currently seem the team more likely to win this fixture.
Spain vs Russia
Spain have had a stop start FIFA World Cup Campaign so far. They started off strong against Portugal and it took a very special Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick to deny them all three points in their opening fixture, they did the job against Iran, and with qualification assured ahead of the final group game, they took their foot off the pedal against Morocco and had to settle for a draw.
Despite it not having been the greatest group campaign, it would be foolish to overlook the quality that Spain possess in their squad and there is a reason they were among the two most favored teams to lift the World Cup in nearly every bookies' book.
Spain have a lethal striker in Diego Costa, a very creative strike force led by the likes of David Silva, the veteran genius Andres Iniesta and Isco, which is backed by the formidable duo of Pique and Ramos in defense.
The overall strength of the Spanish side should be too much for hosts Russia. Russia aren't exactly football heavyweights and while playing in front of a packed home crowd will help, but home crowds can only do so much.
Russia have done well to get to the knockout rounds but getting past Spain will be an unenviable task.
What has truly helped Russia has been the form of Winger Denis Cheryshev, who scored two goals to lead his side past a hapless Saudi Arabia, and then scored another in the following game to help Russia past Egypt.
Result - Russia have had a fine tournament but the gulf between Russia and Spain is a large one and Spain should have little trouble winning this fixture. Expect lots of goals, most of them from Spain.
Croatia vs Denmark
Croatia have been very impressive in their world cup campaign and have won all their of their group fixtures rather convincingly.
As expected, their midfield general Luka Modric has been the star, scoring two goals, including a stunner against Argentina and controlling games from the midfield. Everyone remembers Croatia's brilliant World Cup campaign in 1998 where they reached the Semi-Finals and this current unit is more than capable of emulating that result if not improving on it.
Croatia boast of a fine striker in Mario Mandzukic and a solid defense, but it is their midfield which poses the biggest threat to any opposition.
Star midfielder Luka Modric is very ably supported by Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic and they possess the ability to unlock any defense in the competition with their passes.
However the true strength of Croatia is their work rate and they are a tireless unit on the field which makes the team greater than the sum of its part.
Denmark have gone largely unnoticed so far in the world cup and have done enough to quietly sneak past Peru and Australia in their group. Denmark rely heavily on Christian Eriksen to pull the strings from the midfield, but their squad lacks the overall quality required to go deep in a global tournament like the FIFA World Cup.
Its hard to see the Danes posing too much of a threat for the Croatians and man for man, seem well outmatched all over the pitch.
Result - Croatia to cruise past Denmark and score a few in the process too.
Brazil vs Mexico
Brazil's history in the World Cup is legendary and they are perhaps the most widely supported team in any world cup and this one is no different.
The current Brazil team seems a little lightweight when compared to its predecessors, but possesses plenty of flair and guile and cannot be taken lightly. They are led by Neymar who is as skillful as he is lethal in front of goal. He posses a very deep bag of tricks that makes it very tough for whichever defender is in his way.
Neymar is well supported from the midfield by Phillipe Coutinho and tricky winger Willian. Brazil had a slow start to the tournament being held by Switzerland and had to wait till injury time to secure the winner again Costa Rica, before comfortably dispatching Serbia in the final group fixture.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that Brazil have slowly built up steam as the tournament has gone on, and are ready to take their performance up a notch in the Knockout rounds.
Standing in Brazil's way are Mexico, who some would have been the biggest surprise team of the tournament so far. They shocked everyone when they defeated the much fancied German team and followed it up by defeating South Korea. However they were brought back to earth following a bit of a drubbing at the hands of Sweden.
Mexico have no real global footballing stars, but work hard and players like Carlos Vela and Andres Guardado are tricky dribblers and tough for defenders to deal with.
Result - Mexico's limitations were exposed by Sweden during their 3-0 win, and Brazil should prove to be too much for Mexico to deal with. Brazil are not exactly the team that they have been in the past world cups, but they possess more and than enough talent to see off the challenge of Mexico.
Belgium vs Japan
It would not be wrong to say that so far Belgium have looked like the strongest side in the competition. They have won all three of their group fixtures and are the team to have scored the most number of goals (9) so far in the world cup, while having let in only 2.
Belgium have a world class talent in every position, be it the goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois or the defensive partnership of Alderweld and Verthogen or the midfield creativity of Hazard and de Bruyne or the power and finishing of Romelu Lukaku upfront. Its hard to point to any position and say that Belgium have a weakness in that position.
Belgium's win against a strong England team, has put to bed accusations that Panama Tunisia were easy wins.
Their opponents Japan have already out-performed expectations in extending their stay at the FIFA World Cup beyond the group fixtures.
The bulk of the Japanese squad plies its trade in European Club football and no doubt the star of the their unit is Shinji Kagawa.
Japan are a honest hard working side that have made up for the lack of quality at this level with sheer determination and hard work. They come to the Knockout rounds with a very impressive victory against a strong Colombia team under their belt.
Result - Belgium have a very strong squad and are among the favorites if not 'the' favorite to lift the world cup. Japan just don't have the squad to cause Belgium too many problems and this should be and easy win for Belgium.
Sweden vs Switzerland
Sweden have impressed in the World Cup with wins over South Korea and Mexico and it was only a last gasp winner that denied them a well earned draw against Germany.
Sweden don't possess any real world class talent but are a well organised and well drilled unit that work hard both with and without possession.
Its tough to point to any player and say that he is the star of the Sweden team, but they have been very ably led by their skipper Andreas Granqvist who despite being a defender has bagged two goals in the competition so far.
Switzerland, like Sweden, have done well to get beyond a tough group and along the way earned a very creditable draw against much fancied Brazil. Their win against Serbia, after going a goal down, was the highlight of their tournament so far.
Unlike Sweden, Switzerland do possess some star players, such has Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and an explosive full back in Ricardo Rodriguez, who are capable of making game winning impact on their own.
Granit Xhaka possesses a fine long range shot and Sweden will have to keep a close watch on him and never allow him the space required to unleash one of his unstoppable left foot strikes.
Result - Switzerland are the slight favorites in this one, but thats not saying much. This game is perhaps the toughest one to pick a winner in. Expect a tight and uneventful fixture with 1 goal tilting the game for either team. Of all the knockout fixtures this one seems most likely to go to extra-time and possibly even penalties.
Colombia vs England
Colombia have had to qualify for the World Cup knockout rounds the hard way, from a group that they were the favorites in. Colombia were reduced to 10 men in their opening game against Japan following the sending off of Carlos Sanchez Moreno and Japan went on to win the game, leaving Colombian hopes dangling by a thread.
However Colombia bounced back to trounce Poland 3-0 and then secured a win over Senegal in a near must win fixture to not only book their spot in the knockout rounds but also win the group.
Yerry Milna has been a lethal ariel presence for Colombia and the defender has scored in both of Colombia's win so far, including the crucial winner against Senegal that sealed their spot in the knockouts.
Colombia's star midfielder James Rodriguez has also proven to be in fine form and jointly leads the assists chart at the World Cup. Then there is Colombia's proven striker Falcao who keeps the defenders on their toes during the whole game and possesses the talent to turn even half chances into goals.
England started a little shakily and required an injury time winner to seal the points against Tunisia, but a thumping 6-1 win over Panama sent expectations through the roof for the English fans and a real sense of belief developed about their chances at the World Cup.
However all that was brought to a crashing halt by Belgium who weren't even at full strength. Of course neither were England at full strength, but that defeat has dampened the mood in the English camp, atleast a little.
Striker Harry Kane has been the star for England and leads the race for the Golden Boot with 5 goals in the group matches. It is important to point out that Harry Kane didn't start in England's defeat to Belgium.
Result - England, especially with Harry Kane in the line up, seem to be a very potent team. However they don't quite seem to have what it takes to go all the way in the competition. Sooner or later they will face a real contender and bow out. However the team that sends England packing from the World Cup is unlikely to be Colombia. Having said that though there isn't a big difference in quality between the two teams. It could eventually come down to the two strikers Harry Kane and Falcao. This could go into Extra Time and penalties. However England do start as slight favorites.
