The World Cup’s knockout stage is already providing some premier matchups in the round of 32. It’s part of a bracket that features an easier road for some teams than others.
Monday’s Games
There are three games on Monday, starting with Brazil vs. Japan in Houston. The Brazilians — who won Group C — are five-time World Cup champions but face a tough opponent in Japan, which is ranked No. 17 in the world.
Group E winner Germany faces Paraguay in the day’s second game. Germany scored 10 goals in the group stage, which was tied for the most of any team. Paraguay bounced back from a 4-1 loss to the United States by beating Turkey and fighting to a draw with Australia to narrowly qualify for the knockout stage after finishing third in Group D.
The nightcap is a matchup of top-10 teams when the Netherlands faces Morocco. The Dutch are often considered the best country to never win a World Cup, while Morocco has jumped into soccer’s elite over the past few years after a surprise run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals in Qatar.
Matchups and History
Brazil leads the overall series with Japan with 11 wins. The teams have played to two draws and Japan collected its first-ever win over Brazil in a friendly in Tokyo in October. Japan trailed 2-0 at halftime before rallying for the 3-2 victory.
Coach Hajime Moriyasu thinks that win will impact how Brazil approaches his team Monday. “They will be so much more motivated to play against us,” he said. “They are intent on winning against us. Because of that we feel that the match will be very intense.”
The winner will face the winner of Ivory Coast-Norway on July 5 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Germany is back in the knockout round for the first time since the 2014 final in Brazil when the Germans beat Argentina 1-0 to capture their fourth World Cup title. Leading those hopes will be coach Julian Naglesmann.
Paraguay has appeared in five knockout stage games, but has failed to score in each. It advanced only once in those games, winning on penalty kicks against Japan in the round of 16 in 2010.
The Netherlands — ranked No. 7 — topped Group F after a draw against Japan and big wins over Sweden and Tunisia. Sixth-ranked Morocco fought to a 1-1 draw against Brazil in its opener before beating Scotland and Haiti to finish second in Group C.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
