Few of the eight teams left actually advanced in a convincing manner. Most of them ended up displaying their weaknesses and showing the opposition coming up how they can be beaten. Yet, they did win and advance to the quarterfinals, showing that they do deserve to be there.
With these four World Cup Quartefinals matches taking place this Friday and Saturday, many American soccer fans will be able to enjoy them over the Fourth of July weekend despite the U.S. going out of the tournament.
| Kickoff Time (ET) | Team 1 | Score | Score | Team 2 | Venue | Final Score | |
| Friday, July 4 | |||||||
| 12:00 pm | France | 2* | V | 1 | Germany | Rio De Janeiro | 0 – 1 |
| 4:00 pm | Brazil | 1 | V | 1* | Colombia | Fortaleza | 2 – 1 |
| Saturday, July 5 | |||||||
| 12:00 pm | Argentina | 2* | V | 1 | Belgium | Brasilia | 1 – 0 |
| 4:00 pm | Netherlands | 2 | V | 1 | Costa Rica | Salvador | *0 – 0 (Netherlands win on penalties 4-3) |
*= Win in extra time or penalties
The eight teams remaining will provide some exciting matches. I’m predicting several of these matches to go into extra time and even penalties. While this may not actually happen, it just shows how close all of these matches will be and how evenly match these teams all are.
Every team left has a combination of weaknesses and strengths that are finely balanced and the opposing sides will be looking to capitalize. No team has truly set themselves apart as favorites in this year’s World Cup which leave Brazil as the favorites primarily due to their home field advantage.
France v Germany Quarterfinal Preview
Brazil v Colombia Quarterfinal Preview