World Cup 2018 has been a great level playing ground for all teams. The rankings have not mattered when it comes to the performance of the teams.

This tournament has already seen the No.1 ranked team, Germany, getting eliminated. Poland was another top 10 ranked team which had to exit path much earlier than expected.

The pre quarter clash of the 16 teams : Knock out stage begins today with four teams getting in to action.

France Vs Argentina

Uruguay Vs Portugal

It couldn’t have got better than this. Two superb matches and hope it is going to be a nail biting one.

Argentina Vs France

Messi Vs Umtiti
Griezmann Vs Otamendi

This is one of the most awaited matches of the tournament. It will definitely have lot of action in addition to the ones mentioned above.

Argentina coach needs to get his starting xi right. Will he be using Aguero or Higuain? Aguero can be the dangerous one and he can create space for Messi. Can Banega continue to dominate the mid field ? Argentinian defense have not been in the best of form. I feel they will start with a back 4 against France with Otamendi and Rojo holding the fort.

France have not lost any of their group stage matches. But they have not been able to dominate as well. They are still trying to find that finesse which has been lacking. They have one of the best forwards in the form of Griezmann, Mbappe and Giroud. But none of them have showcased their attacking ability in this World Cup. Pogba will be waiting to etch his mark on this big stage. The main man for tonight’s game against Argentina will be N’golo Kante. He can create nightmare for Messi and gang. Umtiti and Varane will be all pumped to defend their goal against this Argentinian attack.

Portugal Vs Uruguay :

Ronaldo Vs Godin
Suarez, Cavani Vs Pepe

Ronaldo will be looking to infuse confidence in to this Portugal line up.
Every match from now on will need something special from CR7. But he will hope that some support comes in from the likes of Quaresmo, Carvalho, Moutinho or Silva.

Uruguay has two lethal strikers in Suarez and Cavani. Suarez is a smart finisher , Cavani can be dangerous with his physical presence & powerful strikes. But both of them will need good support from the midfield.
Godin and Giminez have to be focused. They will have a tough task in hand to keep CR7 quiet.

Two superb matches on the cards.

Will they be as interesting as expected or will it be a one way traffic ? Are we going to witness the magic of Ronaldo and Messi ? The star names of France, Uruguay, Argentina and Portugal will shine tonight ? This night will witness a new star emerging from the shadows of super stars ? Will the matches go to extra time and penalty shootout?

World Cup 2018 will get a chance to witness a potential Ronaldo Vs Messi quarterfinal ? If that happens then the whole footballing world will be glued to their TV sets on the 6th of July.

But I feel that at least one of these teams will fail to move ahead in this tournament. Let the best team Win…!!! At the end of the day whoever wins or loses , one thing is sure : “Football will be the Winner”