Captains Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric will face each other when Portugal take on Croatia.
Doha, Qatar: With the FIFA World Cup group stage officially in the rear view mirror, the tournament marches into its brand-new and expanded Round of 32 knockout phase.
This round, competing nations will have to come face-to-face with the ruthless, win-or-go-home reality of the knockout rounds, signaling for many fans across the globe the true arrival of the World Cup spectacle.
Netherlands vs Morocco
All eyes will be fixated on the Morocco-Netherlands matchup, giving fans an early taste of a heavyweight clash involving two sides who don’t shy away from taking the game to the other side.
Fresh off a 3-1 victory over Tunisia in their Group F concluder, the Dutch side, led by an unforgiving pair of forwards consisting of Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey, thrashed Sweden 5-1 in their second World Cup showing after being held by the ever-resilient Japanese side 2-2 in the opener.
The Ronald Koeman-led Dutch side, along with France and Germany, is the side with the most goals scored in the tournament so far.
Morocco, the surprise of the 2022 World Cup, proved that their previous edition heroics were entirely by design and owed nothing to fortune.
Having tied Brazil 1-1 in the opener, the Atlas Lions went on to beat a resilient Scottish side 1-0 before showing their teeth against a valiant Haiti that looked to bow out with a commendable performance, something that Morocco fought back against two times in the first half before putting the game to bed in the second.
Mexico vs Ecuador
Mexico vs Ecuador will feature two nations who have stunned this tournament’s audiences, in what could prove to be a sleeper-hit.
Mexico, one of the three host nations, finished on top of a group that included all of the Republic of Korea, South Africa and Czechia without having conceded a single goal, all while scoring a perfect 9/9 on the total point count.
Ecuador on the other hand managed to claw a third-placed, Round of 32 berth with a 2-1 victory over the four-time tournament heavyweights Germany in a World Cup win so grand that the South American nation declared the following day a public holiday in celebration.
The two sides have shown grit, courage, and a knack for coming out on top against tournament heavyweights and their encounter should be nothing short of a feast for the eyes.
Brazil vs Japan
The Brazil-Japan matchup should be another one for fans to look out for.
Though situated on two opposing hemispheres, the technical-gap between the two nations is nearly non-existent; with Japan consistently proving they belong among the top football nations currently, playing at a tactical level reminiscent of the ‘joga bonito’ (literally translate to play beautifully) football philosophy often linked with the Brazilians. This is expected to be a match-to-watch for all fans of the beautiful game.
Captains Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric will face each other when Portugal take on Croatia.
Belgium vs Senegal
Belgium and Senegal face off in a clash that involves two teams that were off to a rough start, with both sides nearly missing out on qualification save for a final day heroic feat that saw both teams make “statement wins”.
With the former’s 5-1 victory over New Zealand and the latter’s 5-0 beating of Iraq having reignited their fan’s hopes, both teams will be looking to make even bigger statements as the tournament progresses.
Portugal vs Croatia
Two former teammates who won it all with their club Real Madrid, and who are often name-dropped among the game’s greatest ever players, find themselves facing each other on two opposite line-ups when Portugal take on Croatia.
Captains Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric, both still performing in the twilight of their careers, are hoping to define their legacy with the one trophy missing from their cabinets, in hopes of providing the ultimate bookend to two of the greatest careers the sport has ever witnessed.
