Eight teams remain in the 2022 World Cup, all with the same dream of lifting the trophy on December 18.
After a tournament of shocks in the group stage, we’re now getting down to the real business end, and the quarter-finals are packed with talent.
Of the remaining teams, six are former champions or finalists – and have won the competition 10 times between them.
There is also a surprise package, with Morocco now aiming to become the first semi-finalist from Africa to reach their first quarter-final.
JEE News looks at some of the themes that are developing as players aim to cement their glory and go down in footballing folklore.
Hit hard in the last eight.
Friday: Croatia v Brazil (15:00 GMT), Netherlands v Argentina (19:00).
Saturday: Morocco v Portugal (15:00), England v France (19:00).
Shock group-stage exits for the likes of Germany and Belgium – and Spain’s exit in the last 16 – mean they have missed out on being part of the quarter-final line-up for the ages.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo provide the headline names, but big players like Neymar, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric still stand out.
The four relationships are so closely matched that you can’t call them. This is going to be epic.
Anglo-French War
England and France – the reigning champions – are meeting in a major tournament for the first time in 10 years, and in the knockout stages for the first time.
The teams drew 1-1 in the Euro 2012 group stage, but you have to go back to 1982 for their last meeting at the World Cup.
Bryan Robson scored twice in England’s 3-1 victory over a side captained by French great Michel Platini.
The Three Lions were not crowned world champions in Spain that year, but they had done so once before – in 1966 – with one of the teams they beat on their way to glory being, you guessed it, France. . Not a bad omen.
