Brazil takes on Belgium in the second quarterfinal of the 2018 World Cup at Kazan Arena on Friday, July 6 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The match is a broadcaster’s dream with the likes of Neymar and Philippe Coutinho taking on Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard. It’ll be a high-octane affair with the winner moving on to Saint Petersburg to play either France or Uruguay in the semifinals.
Just days after it was reported that Real Madrid had lowered Cristiano Ronaldo’s buyout clause from over $1 billion to just $140 million, the latest rumors see Juventus meeting that asking price with a sensational swoop for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
France takes on Uruguay in the first quarterfinal of the 2018 World Cup at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Friday, July 6, at 10:00 a.m. ET. The match will serve as the tournament’s first truly fascinating clash of styles: the attacking zest of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba versus the hard-bitten play of Diego Godin, Jose Gimenez and Luis Suarez. It’s all on the line with the winner advancing to the semifinal to meet either Brazil or Belgium.
How fast is Kylian Mbappe? That was the question preying on everyone’s mind after the 19-year-old French phenom tore away from three Argentina players before threatening to do the same to Marcos Rojo, causing the defender to take him down in the box for an early penalty to France. Mbappe is frighteningly quick. He eats distances in the blink of an eye with his flowing stride, and he’s as capable of tearing off on a thundering run in the 90th minute as he is in the first. He’s non-stop.
The Round of 16 is off to a flying start, and it's everything we need in a World Cup. The underdogs have been ruthless — Russia taking down Spain and Japan nearly beating Belgium.
Every game this weekend from the Round of 16 was an absolute nail-biter. Two games went to PKs and the world's two best players went out in tight, goal-filled games. It was awesome.
Japan’s entire 2018 World Cup cycle was something of a bitter complaint. Yes, the Samurai Blue qualified for a sixth straight tournament, but manager Vahid Halilhodzic was fired ten weeks before the finals for doing things like losing to the UAE and drawing with Iraq. To begin World Cup play, Japan recorded a 2-1 win over Colombia but somehow managed to look second-best despite playing 87 minutes with a man advantage.
Who is Chucky Lozano? Mexico’s Hirving "Chucky" Lozano is, like France’s Kyllian Mbappé, one of this World Cup’s rising stars.
But where did he come from and where is he headed?
Hirving Lozano came out of Club Pachuca’s football academy. The institution has been a cradle for young Mexican talent, forging the likes of Héctor Herrera, Jürgen Damm, Rodolfo Pizarro and Erick Gutiérrez.
You don’t grapple with Sergio Ramos. Unless you want to damage your shoulder ligaments or score a disastrous own goal in front of 80,000 of your countrymen, just stay away from the guy. He’s always a threat on set pieces — especially when the clock reads 92:48 — but he’s also a major threat with his understanding of judo.
You know in FIFA when you strike the perfect ball and the goalkeeper really shouldn’t even have time to react but instinctively leaps sideways and backwards and claws out your shot with a preposterous bit of animation that makes your blood curl? Well that just happened to Poland’s Kamil Grosicki but in real life.
The Polish attacker really should’ve scored with this perfectly placed header, but Japan’s Eiji Kawashima sprinted across his goal-line, went full extension and pawed it out with a monstrous right claw. This is what’s referred to as slamming the door shut.