A tough loss for England to face, but every nation and its players has a story. Good luck to the Croatia team against France!
In what should be a classic FIFA World Cup match, France will take on Belgium for a spot in the Final. As previous winners and with a generation perhaps equal in talent to the 1998 winners, France will feel this is their time to start a Germany-style dynasty. For Belgium, though, it’s time to capitalize on the greatest crop of youngsters they have ever produced – and what better way to make your point than knocking out Brazil and then France?
France News
The only worry for France is that Djibril Sidibe might miss out. He’s not played a great deal, though, and should not be a huge loss given the form of Benjamin Pavard. The Stuttgart man has had a tremendous breakout tournament, and is sure to take that next step to the highest level.
Blaise Matuidi is likely to reprise his unconventional left wing role, and should offer the energy needed – alongside N’Golo Kante – to press high. Belgium need to be aware of the options on the bench, too: if Kylian Mbappe is not up to it, Ousmane Dembele likely will be.
Belgium News
The Red Devils are going to feel the loss of Thomas Meunier. While ‘only’ a squad player at Paris Saint-Germain at club level, he’s essential for a Belgium generation that has struggled for quality full-backs. He’s been solid, and will want to try and impress the plethora of clubs linked to him as he tried to rebuild his club career. He misses out here, though, and we might see Yannick Carrasco play as a rather odd but effective replacement.
With Carrasco and Nacer Chadli likely to be the wing-backs, though, there will be a major onus on Mousa Dembele and Axel Witsel to offer as much cover as they can.
Verdict
A Belgium win: they have a touch more experience than this young and exciting France side. While France have so much youthful exuberance, this Belgium team feels fated to make it to the Final. We think that, after an intensive an absorbing game, it’ll be a Belgium win.
Iran may be likely to head out the tournament, but they know they have the firepower to produce a major surprise. With a lot of striking strength in their side, they should feel pretty comfortable about being able to make chances. Can the Iran defence keep the enigmatic Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, though?
Iran News
Iran will be looking to try and at least get a draw, and we expect them to go quite solid with that in mind. Omid Ebrahimi will likely play, while Alireza Jahanbakhsh will be the main outlet in attack. His pace and dribbling quality is outstanding and he could offer Team Melli an outlet.
Roozbeh Cheshmi, though, will miss out most likely. This will leave Iran more likely to try and find some kind of solid formation. We expect them to look sit and break, instead leaving Portugal to have the ball.
Portugal News
Portugal, though, aren’t best suited to being the dominant party in games. They left Morocco with the ball last time out, and nearly were punished for it in a big way. Bruno Fernandes will probably come in to try give them a killer ball, with Ronaldo likely to try and play on the break.
However, with Iran likely to sit in and leave them to make the chances, there may not be the space that Portugal like to play in. with Raphael Guerreiro likely to play, too, he’ll need to show more than he did in a shocking display against Morocco.
Verdict
Portugal will win, we think, but it won’t be pretty. Both sides are quite similar in that they have firepower on the break. With both sides likely to try let the other give up spaces, it’s going to be about who makes the most of the few chances they get.
