FIFA World Cup 2018: Predicting the Quarter Finalists of the Competition

FIFA World Cup has begun and the group stage matches are done and dusted. The fans have got an idea of how strong their favourite team is and they would have a fair idea of where their team could reach.

This World Cup promised to be one of the most open tournaments and the group stages have lived up to the expectations. There have been a number of upsets with some of the favourites losing or drawing their first match.

Predicting the quarterfinalists in this competition will be a difficult proposition but this article tries to do that after looking into the draws that the teams have, the strengths that they possess and the way the team has bonded and performed on the field in the World Cup so far.

Portugal

Portugal had a brilliant start to its competition with a draw against Spain in their opening fixture. Though the fixture looked more like a Spain vs Cristiano Ronaldo match the result that the team has managed would do a world of good to their confidence.

Portugal began its World Cup campaign with a brilliant draw against Spain but their performance was below par in both their remaining matches. While Portugal comfortably defeated Morocco in its second game, the Euro champions were given a run for their money in the match against Iran.

Portugal has been lacklustre in the Group matches and has finished just behind Spain in their group. While it might have struggled, the team still possesses enough quality to win against Uruguay.

Uruguay and Portugal are similar kinds of teams in the sense that both of them rely on a single player to bail them out in tough situations. Uruguay vs Portugal match might well be a Suarez vs Ronaldo match and with the class and form that Ronaldo possesses one can reasonably expect him to defeat Uruguay in the Round of 16 match.

Spain

Spain entered the tournament as one of the favourites to win the World Cup. The team was in for a rude shock in their very first match of the tournament as the team ran into the World's best player in Ronaldo.

Spain is one of the strongest teams in the tournament and with the kind of defence that the team has it was indeed surprising to see them concede 3 goals. Their performance was much better in the match against Iran but it was again poor in its third match against Morocco.

Spain has been inconsistent in the Group stages despite managing to top the group. They will next face Russia and that is going to be an easy ride for the team. In fact, Spain has an extremely favourable draw right until the finals when compared to the likes of Brazil and the team is in a position to reach the Finals easily if they perform to its level.

France

France is one team which has found out a way to underperform in the big tournaments in recent years. Whether it was the 2016 Euro or the present World Cup the team isn't doing justice to the talent that they possess.

France managed to get off to a winning start in its opening fixture against Australia but it was a closely contested match with Australia almost eeking out a draw in that match. Though their performance was much better in the next match against Peru it needs to up their game to get anywhere close to winning the title.

France's final match against Denmark was probably the worst match of the tournament with neither of the teams making an effort to win the match. France definitely has the ability to perform better and is a definite candidate for reaching the semifinals. While Messi will be coming in their way in the Round of 16, France can easily surpass that challenge if they perform to even half of its potential

Croatia

Croatia is the surprise package in this list as they find their place in the list ahead of Argentina. Not many expected Croatia to be reaching the quarterfinals as it was expected to finish second in the group and end up facing France in the round of 16.

Croatia though had a totally different story to narrate as the team has looked top notch in the group stages. It is looking like one of the top teams in the tournament and has topped their group comfortably.

Croatia has set up an encounter with Denmark in the Round of 16 and it is expected that the team will east past a defensive Denmark in their next match.

Brazil

Brazil began this competition as the favourites to lift the World Cup for the sixth time but their start hasn't been a start that is worthy of a championship winning side. Brazil drew its opening match against Switzerland but managed an injury-time victory in the second game.

Brazil didn't have a great start to its World Cup campaign but the way they bounced back in the second game they have probably gained some confidence and that confidence was on clear display in their final match where the team looked brilliant.

The Brazilian flair was back in the final group match and now one can expect the team to go all the way if they manage to overcome the threat of Belgium in the quarterfinals.

Sweeden

Sweeden is the surprise factor in this article as no one would have expected the team to reach even the Round of 16, forget about reaching Quarterfinals. The Sweden team has done the unthinkable and is in a good position to reach the Quarterfinals.

Sweden began their World Cup campaign with a win against South Korea. They suffered an Injury time loss against Germany and was up against the then table toppers Mexico in the final group match and had to win to secure their qualification in the next round.

The Sweden team won and won with style in their final game against Mexico and has enforced a Round of 16 clash with Switzerland after topping their group. Switzerland has a good defence but Sweden doesn't have enough quality in the attack to trouble Sweden and Sweden should be able to defeat Switzerland in their next match.

Belgium

Group G is probably the most exciting group in terms of the Football that has been on display. Both Belgium and England are unpredictable but both have started their World Cup campaign in a brilliant manner.

Belgium is exciting mainly because of the kind of talents they possess. The likes of De Bruyne, Hazard and Lukaku make them a team which is exciting to watch and the brand of Football the team is playing is also exciting.

Belgium has topped the group and will be playing Japan in the Round of 16. It should be an easy match for this gifted side and the fans will be more interested with the prospect of a mouth-watering clash between Brazil and Belgium in the Quarterfinals.

England

England is one of the teams which has been extremely unpredictable when it comes to the World Cups. The team has always been hailed as the favourites but they have always fallen short in these big tournaments.

This time though the team isn't considered as among the favourites and it has probably made things better for the team. They came into the Wolrd Cup with fewer expectations and the team has begun their campaign by winning their opening fixture in the World Cup after a long time. It continued its stupendous run with a thumping 6-1 victory over Panama. It faced a slight slump when a weakened Belgium defeated a second-string England side 1-0 in their final group game.

England is looking better than they have ever been in the last two decades and this might be the year where England might be finally reaching the Semifinals or even the Finals of the Tournament after a long gap. England faces Colombia next and with the form the team is in, Colombia shouldn't be much of a challenge. However one cannot predict how England will perform on the big stage and the real test begins now for the Europeans.