Only the elite remain as we reach the quarter-finals of this year’s World Cup. There have been a few massive teams that have underperformed and have been found out. It goes to show, you can’t bank on big name players to always get the job done. Sometimes hard work and determination is all that you need.
Belgium and Brazil will line-up alongside one another at the Kazan Arena with both teams possessing plenty of quality on all fronts. Football fanatics are in for a cracker when the dark horses, Belgium, look to eliminate the five-time world champions, Brazil.
To Win (90 Mins)
Brazil 21/20
Draw 47/20
Belgium 26/10
Brazil
Brazil made a slow start to this year’s showpiece with an underwhelming 1-1 draw against Switzerland but that looked to be just a minor hiccup after two late goals saw the Selecao claim a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Costa Rica. The Brazilians then wrapped up the group stage with another 2-0 win, putting Serbia to bed with what looked to be a routine victory.
Neymar found the back of the net and played a key role in the second goal as Brazil got the better of Mexico in an end-to-end Round of 16 contest. Mexico 
dominated the opening period of the match but the Brazilians eventually found their feet and played their way to a deserved third consecutive 2-0 win, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 matches, conceding just three times.
Despite Neymar’s swimming pool-like dives, excessive rolling and constant moaning, he has played a vital part in Brazil’s growth at this year’s World Cup. He has now been involved in 20 goals in his past 19 games in all competitions for Brazil, scoring 11 and assisting nine.
The one downfall going into the quarter-finals will be the suspension of Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro after being shown a second yellow card of the tournament against the Mexicans. However, the Selecao do have a fantastic replacement in the form of Fernandinho, who will be hungry for more success following his title-winning Premier League campaign with Manchester City.
Belgium
Belgium will be flying high after completing one of the greatest ever World Cup comebacks against Japan to reach the quarter-finals. With the score locked at 0-0 after the first half, the game sprung to life with two goals in four minutes from Japan, leaving Belgium’s golden generation with a mountain to climb.
Jan Vertonghen scored the first in their fight-back before goals from super-subs Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli saved the day with 31 seconds to go, as the Red Devils edged out Japan 3-2, whilst showing the world what champions are made of. The victory extends their unbeaten run in all competitions to 23 games and if they are to keep that up, they will need to be at their very best against Brazil.
The Red Devils breezed through the group stages with three straight wins, scoring nine goals and conceding just twice. They obviously have the players to reign supreme here with Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to name a few attacking threats. The latter has fired in 17 goals in his last 12 games for Belgium and the Brazilians will need to keep a close eye on the Manchester United forward.
Probable line-ups:
Brazil: 4-2-3-1
Alisson; Fagner, Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Paulinho, Fernandinho; Willian, Coutinho, Neymar; Gabriel Jesus
Belgium: 3-4-3
Courtois; Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen; Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco; Mertens, Hazard, Lukaku
Prediction: Both Teams to Score (Yes) and Totals (Over 2.5 Goals) (12/10)
Belgium have never kept a clean sheet in their 12 World Cup knockout round matches, conceding 28 goals in total. That’s a worrying factor for the Europeans, especially against a star-studded Brazil side. With that being said, and knowing the amount of goals Belgium score, I’m going with Both Teams to Score (Yes) and Totals (Over 2.5 goals) at 12/10!
Aaron Crowie
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