Here are the eight matches, which begins on June 28, Saturday at 4 PM (21:3o IST).
Schedule
Saturday, June 28 (4 PM GMT)Brazil vs Chile, Belo Horizonte - The home nation will be favourites to win the World Cup and with a confident hero in Neymar there is no stopping them! The hosts are pitted against Chile who have been great so far and are famous for humiliating World Cup 2010 champions – Spain.
Saturday, June 28 (8 PM GMT)
Colombia vs Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro - The day’s second all-South America matchup with see the CONMEBOL champions, without Luis Suarez, take on the attack-minded Colombia. Without having Falcao in their side, attacking midfielder James Rodriguez has certainly stepped-up to become one of the stars of the tournament, while Edinson Cavani will be asked to play better for Uruguay.
Sunday, June 29 (4 PM GMT)
Netherlands vs Mexico, Fortaleza - The Netherlands have been very strong in the tournament and have so far only conceded one goal. Mexico have qualified from a group which had group favourites Brazil and two other similar teams and have showed the quality to keep up in the World Cup so far. Their veteran defense led by Rafa Marquez will be tasked with slowing the competition’s most potent striker tandem: Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben.
Sunday, June 29 (8 PM GMT)
Costa Rica vs Greece, Recife – Surprise package vs Stubborn warriors. The least-likely of the knockout round match ups features two teams who’ve found success without seeing much of the ball. Greece’s last minute winner against the Ivory Coast clinched their first knockout round spot, while Costa Rica were the surprise winners of one of the tournament’s deepest groups. Shockingly, one of these teams will be in the quarterfinals.
Monday, June 30 (4 PM GMT)
France vs Nigeria, Brasilia - Though they were drawn in their last group game by Ecuador, France has been one of the tournament’s best teams as they have gone on to score seven goals in three games. Nigeria, much like Greece and Algeria, were the beneficiaries of a thin group, finishing second behind Argentina.
Monday, June 30 (8 PM GMT)
Germany vs Algeria, Porto Alegre - Despite stumbling in their second group game against Ghana, Germany remains one of the tournament’s favourites, with a possible matchup against France potentially providing semifinal quality in the round of eight. To get there, however, the Germans will have to deal with the team they controversially put out of the 1982 World Cup. Though collusion with Austria kept Algeria from getting out of the teams’ group in Spain, Algeria is finally into the knockout round after their draw with Russia.
Tuesday, July 1 (4 PM GMT)
Argentina vs Switzerland, Sao Paulo: Lionel Messi single-handedly took Argentina to the top of Group F, while Switzerland recovered from its thrashing by France to win their final game and reach the next round. Both teams have their own heros, but Argentina boasts the best attacking talent in the world.
Tuesday, July 1 (8 PM GMT)
Belgium vs United States, Salvador – A lot was expected from Belgium as they boast a side that have players in the biggest clubs in Europe. But they have failed to show any sort of spark in any of their three group matches. They’ll be favoured over the United States, however, Jurgen Klinsmann’s men proved what they are all about by getting out of Group G among the likes of Germany, Ghana and Portugal.
There will be the following changes in the format as it is the knock-out stage:
1) Top two teams from the tournament’s eight groups have advanced, slotting into a pre-determined bracket;
2) Teams that finished first in one group will face second place-finishers from others;
3) Games start on Saturday and will happen two-per-day until the quarterfinals are set on Tuesday;
4) If a game is tied after 90 minutes, there’ll be 30 minutes of extra time, then penalty kicks;
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