The World Cup 2014 Round of 16 is live on the schedule and the draw has the last knockout teams into the quarterfinals in Brazil, as the host nation, the Netherlands, Costa Rica and Colombia have advanced, while teams like Germany, France, Nigeria, the United States, Belgium, Algeria, Argentina and Switzerland are alive with the final games coming Monday and Tuesday.
France got a late goal from Paul Pogba against Nigeria and that put the team through to the next stage and now part of the bracket draw is set heading into the final games on Tuesday. Germany is one of the favorites and they play against Algeria and those two teams have World Cup history against each other as well. France has played well in this tournament and they scored two goals against Nigeria after having no goals in their last game and now they are looking very good and could be one of the favorites behind teams like Brazil and Argentina.
Brazil advanced after very dramatic game against Chile and those went to penalty kicks and so did Costa Rica and Greece and now those teams are through to the next stage. The quarterfinals are coming on Friday and over the weekend and so far Brazil and Colombia are matching up and that should be a great matchup. James Rodriguez has been amazing and Neymar will once again be front and center for the host nation. The South American continent is guaranteed to get a team through to the semifinals and Brazil will be the favorite.
Brazil did not play their best game against Chile, but they were able to advance and this comes ahead of the semifinals, which will be next Tuesday and Wednesday. The third place game comes on Saturday July 12 and then the final matchup will be on Sunday July 13 and that comes after Spain and the Netherlands played the final last time in South Africa. The United States is playing against Belgium and that game will be tough, but it's winnable for the team. The American are getting back Jozy Altidore in that game and he could be the difference even if he will be a bit off his game from missing time this World Cup with a hamstring injury.
Brazil remains the favorites and France has a strong team behind them, while Argentina has the best player in the world in Lionel Messi. The US needs to play like it did against Ghana after the way they held against Germany and with Belgium missing some key players in the lineup with injuries, this could be their way to advance.
