One World Cup game in Foxborough remains. Here are the potential quarterfinal matchups.
After three weeks of bagpiping, Viking rowing, and a little soccer in between, Boston’s World Cup games are set to draw to a close next Thursday.
Read more Ex-CIA Director John Brennan seeks court order requiring records from investigations be preserved
The last game in Foxborough will be played July 9, with one of the quarterfinals to be staged at Gillette Stadium (or “Boston Stadium,” as it’s called during the tournament).
Four teams are in contention for the two spots in that quarterfinal, with each playing their round of 16 matches Saturday.
Here are the potential matchups:
France vs. Morocco
By far the most likely matchup for next Thursday, France and Morocco are big favorites to advance over Paraguay and Canada, respectively, on Independence Day.
The French have continued to tear through this tournament, winning all four games by an aggregate score of 13-2. France has the most terrifying attack at a World Cup at least since Brazil rolled out Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo in 2002 — and these French forwards might be even better — so it’s hard to imagine Paraguay pulling off another upset.
After narrowly scraping past the Netherlands on penalty kicks (but playing much better than the Dutch over 120 minutes), the Moroccans are favored to reach a second consecutive World Cup quarterfinal.
Morocco has already gone toe-to-toe against one heavyweight at this tournament, playing Brazil to a 1-1 draw in the Group C opener.
This matchup has plenty of intrigue, aside from the sheer quality of the teams, with both ranked in the top six of FIFA’s world rankings. The two nations have a lot of history, as Morocco was under French colonial rule for much of the 20th century.
It would also be a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinals, in which France beat Morocco 2-0.
Read more Bruins free up space in net by trading backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers for AHL forward
France vs. Canada
One way or the other, if the French reach the quarterfinal, there will be a little colonial history in the mix.
If there’s going to be an upset in either of Saturday’s round of 16 matches, the likelier is Canada taking down Morocco, mostly because of just how dominant France has looked at this tournament.
The Canadians have had a solid World Cup, finishing second in Group B before hanging on to a 1-0 win over South Africa in the round of 32. Morocco will comfortably be Canada’s stiffest test yet, but the team led by American coach Jesse Marsch has enough talent to give the North Africans a run in Houston.
France and Canada have only played one competitive match against each other, with the French claiming a 1-0 win at the 1986 World Cup. The two also played to a 0-0 draw in a 2024 friendly.
Paraguay vs. Morocco
It’s hard to imagine Paraguay pulling off a second straight giant-killing, especially because the French are a significantly better team than the Germans. But if the Paraguayans can pull that off, they’d have a raucous crowd behind them in Foxborough next week.
Paraguay and Morocco have never played a competitive match against each other, but they have played some recent friendlies. Morocco beat Paraguay, 2-1, in France in March, and the two teams also played to a scoreless draw back in 2022.
Paraguay vs. Canada
Is this matchup highly unlikely? Sure. But stranger things have happened.
Canada is already reaching new heights, playing in the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time. Paraguay has been in the quarterfinals once, in 2010. Paraguay-Canada would join Senegal-Turkey in 2002 among the unlikeliest quarterfinal matchups in World Cup history.
The two countries have only played each other once, in a friendly in 1986.
Post Comment