England will face Mexico in the last 16 of the World Cup, but potential opponents from the final round onwards have been revealed.
Thomas Tuchel’s England will almost certainly need to get past either Brazil or Argentina to reach the World Cup final (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
If England defeat Mexico in the last 16, they will likely face Brazil and Argentina for a chance to advance to the World Cup finals. The two South American giants are the favorites to beat Norway and Egypt in the upcoming knockout tie, in which case Carlo Ancelotti’s side will be waiting in the quarter-finals, with the holders progressing to the last four.
In order for Lionel Messi and his team to face the Three Lions in the semi-finals, they will need to get past either Switzerland or Colombia, assuming they defeat Mexico and Brazil.
Argentina are the favorites to win the title, but in the Round of 32, their match against Cape Verde went into overtime, giving them quite a scare. After Messi scored a wonderful opening goal, Deroy Duarte equalized, starting another 30 minutes of play beyond normal time.
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Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez grabbed what he and many others thought was the winner, but Sidney Cabral scored the top corner with a sensational strike. However, midway through the second half of extra time, Cristian Romero scored the winning goal with his head.
Lionel Scaloni’s side will then face Egypt, who defeated Australia on penalties earlier in the day, in the last 16. Ahead of and during the match, claims emerged that FIFA would move the kick-off time for England vs. Mexico earlier due to weather, but those plans were swiftly reversed.
In other games on the English side, Norway and Brazil defeated Ivory Coast and Japan respectively with late goals.
The final spot to advance to the last 16 will be taken by Colombia after defeating Ghana. In the former, John Arias opened the scoring within the first 15 minutes, giving Colombia a 1-0 victory as the African nation struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
John Arias scores a goal as Colombia beats Ghana
Switzerland comfortably defeated Algeria 2-0 and now awaits the next match. The winner of the tie will face either Argentina or Egypt.
On the other side of the bracket, France will take on Paraguay, Morocco will take on co-host Canada, Spain and Portugal will face off in what will likely be the draw of the round, while the United States will take on Belgium.
Didier Deschamps’ side were the clear favorites to reach the final, with Argentina appearing to be the most likely opponents until their shortcomings were exposed by Cape Verde.
Nevertheless, England would almost certainly have wanted the island nation to advance, and would certainly have given Egypt, Switzerland and Colombia all competitive games.
Brazil came through at the expense of Japan with a very late goal, potentially facing two South American powerhouses, a worst-case scenario for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
England’s road to the final
Best 16: Mexico
Quarterfinals: Brazil or Norway
Semi-finals: Argentina, Switzerland, Egypt, Colombia
