The consensus favorite in the tournament is now Brazil<\/a>, which is coming off of a 2-0 win over Mexico. Brazil is an 11\/4 pick to win the World Cup according to Paddy Power, and will face off against Belgium (13\/2), which came back from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2.<\/p>\nAlso on Brazil\u2019s side of the bracket, France (7\/2) will take on Uruguay (14\/1) in the other quarterfinal. France has been explosive, beating Argentina in a 4-3 thriller in the first knockout round, but they may not be able to run wild against Uruguay, which has allowed only one goal so far in the tournament.<\/p>\n
The other half of the draw will play their quarterfinal matches on Saturday. While Brazil\u2019s section is filled with squads that look capable of winning the tournament, the other side is wide open, featuring no team that has made a World Cup final since 1966.<\/p>\n
The biggest surprise of the tournament so far has been Russia (20\/1). After a 3-0 loss to Uruguay in their final group stage game, few expected the hosts to make much noise in the knockout stage. Instead, they eliminated one of the tournament favorites by knocking off Spain in a shootout.<\/p>\n
Russia faces another stiff test in their quarterfinal, where they will face Croatia (13\/2). After winning all three of their group stage games, Croatia struggled against Denmark, needing a penalty shootout to advance after being held to a 1-1 draw. The Croatians will still be heavy favorites heading into their match with Russia, and should advance if they can find their form again.<\/p>\n
And finally, there\u2019s the last quarterfinal between England (4\/1) and Sweden (25\/1). England is a significant favorite over the Swedes, and supporters feel like the Three Lions now have an open path to the final<\/a>. But English fans are also used to disappointment when their hopes are highest, and Southgate says that his team can\u2019t overlook their next opponent.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve not got a good record against them, I think we\u2019ve always underestimated them,\u201d Southgate told reporters about the Swedish team. \u201cThey have good plans, they have a clear way of playing \u2013 and it\u2019s bloody difficult to play against.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
England scored a dramatic win over Colombia in a penalty shootout on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The win ended a long history of disappointment for English fans when it came to shootouts, as the country had lost their three previous World Cup matches that were decided by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":82626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
World Cup Quarterfinals Set After England Ends History of Shootout Futility<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n