Brazil vs Croatia, Argentina vs Netherlands

Welcome to the Quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup.

The four games on Friday and Saturday determine the semi-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday. We prefer semi-finals between Brazil and Argentina and Portugal and France, although don’t discount the chances of the Netherlands and England or even Morocco and Croatia.

Here’s what you need to know for the Quarterfinals.

10 p.m. ET Friday, Fox

This is where Croatia’s run has to end, doesn’t it? This is a team that deservedly made it to the quarter-finals but looks extremely vulnerable even against a top-flight side. Croatia are well equipped to play so successfully against teams like Belgium, Morocco and Japan, but we just can’t see how they can screw up 90 minutes against the Brazilians.

2 p.m. ET Friday, Fox

The Dutch could easily cause some problems for Argentina, especially on the flanks. Cody Gakpo could work in Argentina’s defense and the Netherlands’ three-man central defense won’t give Lionel Messi much leeway. While Argentina at +125 feels like a solid number, it’s worth pointing out how much odds makers don’t believe in a string of goals. Below 2.5 is -190.