A blockbuster set of men’s World Cup quarterfinals starts Friday with two games that pit South America’s titans against two of Europe’s giants.
Five-time champion Brazil is fresh off crushing South Korea with some of the tournament’s best goals. Croatia, the 2018 runner-up, has conceded just two goals in four games in Qatar.
Netherlands-Argentina is the latest chapter of one of the World Cup’s most famous matchups. The nations have met five times in past men’s tournaments, including the 1978 final, a 1998 quarterfinal, and a 2014 semifinal.
The winners of Friday’s games will meet in the semifinals on Tuesday (2 p.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock).
Croatia vs. Brazil
Time: 10 a.m.
Venue: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
English TV/streaming: Fox and FoxSports.com (Ian Darke on play-by-play with analyst Landon Donovan and reporter Geoff Shreeves)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Sammy Sadovnik on play-by-play with analysts Eduardo Biscayart and Mauro Silva)
FoxSports.com and TelemundoDeportes.com require authentication through participating pay-TV providers. Peacock is NBC and Telemundo’s subscription streaming service.
Fox also has replays of every game for free on its streaming platform, Tubi.
Betting odds: Croatia +500, Brazil -750. Some bookmakers may offer odds for a tie in regulation. FanDuel, where these odds came from, does not.
Players to watch
Croatia: Dominik Livaković. After saving three penalty kicks in the shootout win over Japan, what will he do for an encore?
Brazil: Vinícius Junior. The brilliant young Real Madrid creator didn’t need to score a goal to announce himself to this World Cup. But the goal he scored against South Korea was worth all the dancing he did to celebrate it.
Netherlands vs. Argentina
Time: 2 p.m.
Venue: Lusail Stadium, Lusail
English TV/streaming: Fox and FoxSports.com (John Strong on play-by-play with analyst Stuart Holden and reporter Jenny Taft)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Andrés Cantor on play-by-play with analysts Claudio Borghi and Manuel Sol)
Betting odds: Netherlands +130, Argentina -160.
Players to watch
Netherlands: Virgil van Dijk. The big centerback will have his hands full with Argentina’s many great attackers.
Argentina: Julián Álvarez. Lionel Messi gets the biggest headlines, but opponents give him too much attention at their peril. The 22-year-old Álvarez has shown off his prolific talents in the Albiceleste’s last two games, starting and scoring in each of them.
