The World Cup 2022 quarter-finals have almost arrived with some of the world’s finest footballing nations convening to do battle.
England are through to the final eight, where they will meet reigning world champions France, but not before we see how pre-tournament favourites Brazil fare.
Argentina are also in the mix as the final stages approach, while Morocco are the surprise package heading into the business end of the tournament in Qatar.
RadioTimes.com brings you World Cup 2022 quarter-final dates, as well as our latest predictions for all the encounters coming up.
For more World Cup features check out: World Cup 2022 TV schedule | World Cup 2022 on radio | World Cup 2022 TV presenters, pundits and commentators | World Cup stadiums
When are the World Cup quarter-finals?
The World Cup 2022 quarter-finals run between Friday 9th December 2022 and Saturday 10th December 2022.
The remaining eight teams will duel across four matches in the 3pm and 7pm time slots each day.
The winners from each day of action will be paired up for the semi-finals.
World Cup quarter-final dates
All UK times.
Quarter-finals
Friday 9th December
QF1: Croatia v Brazil (3pm)
QF2: Netherlands v Argentina (7pm)
Saturday 10th December
QF3: Morocco v Portugal (3pm)
QF4: France v England (7pm)
World Cup quarter-final predictions
Croatia 1-2 Brazil
The Samba Boys returned to their slick best against South Korea with a supreme show of force in a whirlwind first half.
However, Croatia are wily contenders. It would be easy to slap that label on seasoned campaigners such as Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic, but centre-back megastar-elect Josko Gvardiol has topped the lot in this tournament.
Expect a close-run encounter with Brazil coming through by the skin of their teeth.
Netherlands 1-3 Argentina
Lionel Messi arrived at the World Cup against Australia. He truly dominated the game for the first time at World Cup 2022 and will be determined to exert himself in Game #1001.
The Netherlands boast plenty of quality, but Copa America champions Argentina are gathering pace with their knockout know-how.
This could be the performance that shunts Argentina into the minds of the masses in a big way ahead of the semi-finals.
Morocco 0-2 Portugal
The two biggest headline-makers of the World Cup collide in this one: the nation of Morocco and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Moroccans have been superb in the tournament so far and no eyebrows should be patronisingly raised at their unapologetically defensive set-up. They are set up to win games of football, and if that means staying tight, compact and reinforcing against their oppositions’ weaknesses, so be it.
Unfortunately, the end of the road is coming into view… right?! Nobody, after watching Portugal’s 6-1 demolition of Switzerland, could predict any other outcome. Morocco will keep it tight again and could enter the half-time break level, but the dam will burst and their lack of clinical finishing will hurt them against a lethal Portuguese unit, who should ride into battle without Ronaldo at their helm. His time is up.
France 2-3 England
They’re more scared of you than you are of them. France are the spider in the corner of your mum’s living room. They cause a great stir, a mass kerfuffle, but they’re secretly more concerned about the threat you could cause to them with any manner of tools, as opposed to their own perceived threat.
That’s not to say France won’t be confident – they will be, they’re reigning champions. However, while their threat is channelled predominantly through Kylian Mbappé, Gareth Southgate’s own arsenal is teeming with attacking stars France would happily slot into their team.
Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford would each find themselves knocking on the door of the French starting XI had they been born on the other side of the Channel.
This is far from a cut-and-dry, sure-fire, nailed-on victory for France. If England can defend against superior opposition like they have done all tournament versus decent attacking units, they stand more than a good chance against a French team yet to keep a clean sheet at this tournament. Believe.
Check out our World Cup hub for all the latest from Qatar 2022, including match previews, predictions and analysis.
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