Now the World Cup really starts: Here's the draw from the Round of 16 until the Final

[sandensea]

After a hectic World Cup group stage full of emotion there is now the calm - but that will only be for a day, as on Saturday the Round of 16 will start.

There will be no second chances this weekend with France taking on Argentina and then Uruguay facing Portugal, both on Saturday.

The winners of these two games will face each other in the quarter finals, on the most difficult side of the draw. Mexico plays Brazil on Monday, as do Belgium and Japan.

Spain, who finished first in their group thanks to Video Assistant Referees (VAR), missed the most dangerous draw, and they do not meet a former World Cup winner until England, at the semi finals.

First up for Spain though are Russia on Sunday, and if they get through the host nation they would face the winner of the Croatia-Denmark match that same day.

Finally on Tuesday Sweden faces Switzerland, and Colombia are up against England. Of course the big absentee from the Round of 16 is Germany, while Uruguay, Croatia, and Belgium emerge from the group stage undefeated.

Who will win the World Cup? Who are favorites to lift the trophy on July 15th in Moscow?

At: http://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/2018/06/28/5b354502e2704e02238b461e.html

The World Cup Final bracket has been decided. Comments? Predictions?

[Ron Obvious]

1. It's been a remarkable tournament and surprisingly open

I predicted Germany to win the tournament, so I obviously don't know what I'm talking about.

I'd say this is about as open as I've ever seen. None of the big favourites have impressed. Croatia and Belgium have perfect records, but nobody else has lived up to their billing. France, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, they could have easily gone out as the Germans did, but I still think one of them will do it. If Portugal win, I will never watch another World Cup again.

Quarter Finals predictions:
Uruguay - Argentina
Brazil - Belgium
Spain - Croatia
Sweden - England

Semi-Finals:
Argentina - Brazil
Spain - England

I'm sure FIFA will love those.

[sandensea]

2. You certainly do know what you're talking about, my good man.

Barring the dreaded curse of the World Cup champion, I doubt very many could have predicted Germany would go down in the first round like that.

And I second your predictions; they look pretty good to me.

[T_i_B]

3. You weren't the only one to predict Germany winning...

It was an obvious, logical choice for many of us. They just couldn't score when they really needed to, which is a surprise in itself!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12152499

Given my own track record with football predictions, I think I might as well predict Sheffield Wednesday to win. That would be about as accurate as any proper prediction of mine is likely to turn out!