The MoneyMan and Oliver Keohane give their predictions for the Round of 16, which kicks off on Saturday evening.
Characteristic of Qatar 2022, the final round of the group stages was not without upsets, and some teams that many thought were bankers to make it to the knockout stages will already be on their way home.
Earlier in the week Ollie and I predicted who we thought would be playing in the Round of 16, and while we managed to correctly predict many of the teams who would make it through, some shock results shook up the fixture list a bit.
On Saturday evening the Round of 16 kicks off. Netherlands face the USA in the first game, with Argentina taking on a surprise opponent in Australia. Sunday evening sees France face Poland while Senegal’s group-stage success sees them up against England.
Arguably the surprise of the tournament so far, Japan finished top of Group E, ahead of Spain and Germany, with the latter being knocked out. Japan take on Croatia on Monday evening while Brazil play South Korea.
The Round of 16 draws to an end on Tuesday evening with Morocco playing Spain and Portugal up against Switzerland.
Mine and Ollie’s predictions for the matches are as follows:
MoneyMan
Netherlands 1 – 0 USA
Argentina 2 – 0 Australia
France 3 – 1 Poland
Senegal 1 – 2 England
Japan 1 – 2 Croatia
Brazil 3 – 0 South Korea
Morocco 2 – 1 Spain
Portugal 1 – 2 Switzerland
Ollie
Netherlands 1 – 0 USA
Argentina 2 – 0 Australia
France 2 – 1 Poland
Senegal 2 – 1 England
Japan 1 – 1 Croatia (Japan win on penalties)
Brazil 3 – 1 South Korea
Morocco 1 -2 Spain
Portugal 2 – 1 Switzerland
