Students Express Their Opinions On World Cup Round Of 16

Following the Group Stages of the FIFA World Cup was the Round of 16. In this section of the World Cup, there are a total of eight games, where each nation has one chance to advance to the quarter finals. During the quarter finals there will be a total of four games that dictate which four teams will be going to the semi finals. Finally, the two winners of the semi finals will advance to the finals and the two losers will go on to the match for third and fourth place. 

Match One And Two- The first game of the Round of 16 was The United States of America versus The Netherlands. Although the underdogs were predicted to pull off a massive upset and beat the Netherlands, the Americans fell 3-1. Later in the day, Argentina beat Australia 2-1, sending them off to yet another World Cup quarter final. The Netherlands and Argentina will now face each other on Friday, December 9th, for the game that will decide who advances to the semi finals. Junior Lindsay Guzman said, “I’m really disappointed that the U.S. didn’t win because they were doing so well and were in a great position to beat the Netherlands. I am very happy that Argentina made it to the quarter finals though because I love Messi. I 100% think that Argentina will beat the Netherlands.” 

Match Three And Four - The third Round of 16 game was France versus Poland, while the fourth game was England versus Senegal. As expected, France beat Poland 3-1 and England swept Senegal 3-0, both securing a spot in the quarter finals. Their match will take place on Saturday, December 10th. Sophomore Jayson Li said, “I’m not surprised that either of these teams won and are going to yet another World Cup quarter final. France is one of the best teams in the world and England has always been good so it’s no shock that they will be playing each other in the quarter finals. I think France is going to beat England 2-1. Kylian Mbappe is going to score.” 

Match Five And Six - The fifth Round of 16 game was Japan versus Croatia, and the sixth game was Brazil versus South Korea. Although it was going to be a tough match, Croatia was predicted to win. The game stayed at a 1-1 tie all throughout the game and overtime, forcing the decision of who will advance to the quarter finals to fall under penalty kicks. Here Croatia outscored Japan 3-1. After this game, Brazil easily beat South Korea 4-1. The quarter final match between these two teams will be held on Friday, December 9th. Sophomore Melanie Slattery said, “I thought Croatia was going to beat Japan much easier, but it was still a really exciting game and they played well. I love when big games like this come down to penalty kicks. I’m really happy with Brazil’s performance and Neymar’s penalty kick. They exceeded my expectations but South Korea put up a good fight. I think the quarter finals is going to be a close game with only a one goal differential and it’s going to go down to the last minute, but I think Brazil will win in the end.” 

Match Seven And Eight - The seventh Round of 16 game was Morocco versus Spain, and the eighth game was Portugal versus Switzerland. The game between Morocco and Spain presented soccer fans with one of the biggest upsets in international soccer history. The team stayed at 0-0 throughout the whole game and over time, however Morocco beat Spain 3-0 in penalties. Following this, Portugal blew out Switzerland 6-1. Morocco and Portugal will play each other on December 10th in the quarter finals. Junior Bryanna Martins said, “Like the rest of the world, I’m shocked that Spain lost to Morocco. That’s something you don’t see everyday in the soccer world but this tournament has been filled with many upsets and it’s everyone's game. Now onto Portugal, I’m beyond excited to see them play and hope they continue to advance in this tournament. I really believe that they’ll win it all!” 

After this weekend, the quarter finals will be over and the four winners from each game will move onto the semi finals. Sophomore Danielle Goode said, “It should be an exciting weekend of soccer. I think that the four advancing teams will be Argentina, France, Brazil, and Portugal.