France - Belgium -- Of the four remaining teams Belgium has (to my eye) the best offense and the crappiest defense. If they can push the ball forward they'll crack the French back line but if they get pressed at all, they'll get wrecked. France has a good collection of offensive talent, too, and a stiff back line to go with it. Tough call, the two teams are really similar. Who gets loose? Mbappe or Lukaku? Does de Bryne find Hazard or is it Pogba finding Giroud? And which goalie will make the mistake that gets his team bounced? My gut is Belgium is better...but also worse. I dunno, I'll take Belgium (they've already beaten Brazil and England, there's no one left to scare them).
England - Croatia -- Croatia looked excellent against Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland but then waffled against Denmark and Russia, escaping in shootouts both times. At their best they look like the ideal mix of vets and youth, offense and defense, invention and discipline; at their worst, they look tired and too dependent of Modric (who looks listless on occasion). It feels to me like Croatia should beat England, who are a fine but not superlative side. That said, England has played some crafty football to get to this point and though they don't exactly seem loaded with superstars, well, the World Cup is where superstars get made so it wouldn't be that shocking if two weeks from now this English roster looks like an all-star team. England is smart, they don't mess around and when given the chance, they can make plays up front. But they also seem youthful and perhaps overly exuberant and could be beaten by some veteran linkage. Okay, I'll go with Croatia, it feels like they're gonna have more chances around the goal.
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