After a marathon of seventy-two games, Canada and South Africa open today, at 4pm (Brasília time), in Los Angeles, the unprecedented round of 32 finals of the World Cup. This Saturday’s decisive games featured a tireless Colombia against Portugal. The score of zero to zero guaranteed the South American team the leadership of Group K and will now face Ghana. The Portuguese will have Croatia ahead of them on the other side of the table.
Argentina beat Jordan, 3-1, with another goal from Messi, who came on in the second half. The number 10 found the net nineteen times in the World Cup. The world champions will have an “apparently” easier life until the semifinals. The next opponent will be Cape Verde and then the winner of Australia and Egypt. In the quarterfinals, the teams that could get in the way of the Argentines will be Switzerland, Algeria, Colombia and Ghana. In the semi-final, Scaloni’s men could face teams like Brazil, England and Norway.
Meanwhile, France, also favorites, will have a more difficult life throughout the knockout stage. The first opponent will be Sweden and then the winner of Paraguay and Germany. But the quarries don’t stop there. In the quarterfinals, the runners-up can face the Netherlands and, in the semifinals, Spain, Portugal and Croatia. But, as there is no logic in football, especially in the World Cup, some oddity must cross the path of the big teams.
German economist Joachim Klement, who guessed the champions of the three previous world championships, was already wrong in his first projection. He had calculated that the Netherlands and Portugal would make the decision in 2026. The two teams could face each other in the semi-final. Another prediction that I hope he gets wrong is about the national team’s game this Monday. The statistician guarantees that Brazil will be eliminated by the Japanese. We’ll talk after the match!
Below, the World Cup round of 16 duels. The regulations provide for extra time and penalties in the event of a draw.
- South Africa x Canada – today, at 4pm, in Los Angeles
- Brazil x Japan – tomorrow, at 2pm, in Houston
- Germany x Paraguay – tomorrow, at 5:30 pm, in Boston
- Netherlands x Morocco – tomorrow, at 10pm, in Monterrey
- Ivory Coast x Norway – Tuesday, 2pm, in Dallas
- France x Sweden – Tuesday, 6pm, in New Jersey
- Mexico x Ecuador – Tuesday, 10pm, in Mexico City
- England x Congo – Wednesday, 1pm, in Atlanta
- Belgium x Senegal – Wednesday, 5pm, in Seattle
- United States x Bosnia – Wednesday, 9pm, in Santa Clara
- Spain x Austria – Thursday, 4pm, in Los Angeles
- Portugal x Croatia – Thursday, 8pm, in Toronto
- Switzerland x Algeria – Friday, 00:00, in Vancouver
- Australia x Egypt – Friday, 3pm, in Dallas
- Argentina x Cape Verde – Friday, 7pm, in Miami
- Colombia x Ghana – Friday, 10:30 pm, in Kansas City
