Pass completion rate into the attacking third:Portugal 81%, Ghana 57% (Portugal won 3-2)Portugal 79%, Uruguay 64% (Portugal won 2-0)Fernandes and Silva have both completed 40 passes into the final third (with a ridiculous 86% completion rate), and the stalwart Portuguese defense, led by cent-backs Ruben Dias along with veterans Danilo Pereira (31) and Pepe (39), has fended off most threatening buildups. Even one of Ghana's goals came on a cross that a defender deflected. Why they won't: You have to hold onto leads to win it all.
Allow even three goals instead of two -- which would have still been overachieving -- and Poland would be on a plane home right now. Why they won't: They can't create opportunities for one of the best strikers in the world. In 19 matches with Barcelona this season, Robert Lewandowski has averaged 4. 5 shots, 0. 8 xG and 1. 1 goals per 90 minutes. In three World Cup matches, he has averaged 2. 3 shots, 0. 6 xG and 0.
3 xG, but Messi's wonderful long-range goal in the 64th minute allowed them to relax. They saw off Mexico, then dominated Poland 2-0 in a match that was closer to about 4-0 than 2-1. There was tension and there were unforced errors, but they finished the group stage atop Group C, with the second-best xG differential in the tournament to date (behind only France). Their defense barely allowed any decent looks over three matches, and they looked the part of the contender they were supposed to be all along.
Argentina vs. Poland live stream: How to watch 2022 World Cup live online, TV channel, prediction, picks, odds Poland live stream: How to watch 2022 World Cup live online, TV channel,
... a goal in the tournament so far, joining Brazil and
3 goals. He scored his first ever World Cup goal against Saudi Arabia, but missed on a late chip in the same match and had a penalty saved against Mexico. Those were his only three shots on goal in three matches. He barely touched the ball against Argentina and attempted zero shots. Lewandowski isn't Poland's only high-level player, of course -- 14 other members of the roster play for clubs in Europe's Big Five leagues -- but when your headliner is neither getting the service he needs nor taking advantage of the opportunities he gets, your ceiling isn't going to be very high. He could unleash a hat trick at any time, but if he couldn't do it against Saudi Arabia, it's fair to assume the odds aren't high that he will do it against France.
France beat Poland 3-1 to advance to quarterfinals of World Cup 2022: Live updates and reaction France beat Poland 3-1 to advance to quarterfinals of World Cup 2022: Live
updates and reaction. Jacob Tanswell. December 4, 2022 at 9:21 AM
Never. Stop. Let's be honest: Very little worked as Japan might have hoped for large portions of the group stage. Germany enjoyed 74% possession against them and doubled them up in terms of both shots (26-12) and xG (3. 1-1. 5). They had all the ball they wanted against Costa Rica, but produced very few scoring opportunities, failed to take advantage of what they had and suffered a dismal 1-0 upset loss.
Japan will suffer for 85 minutes and beat you in five. Why they won't: Read the last three paragraphs again. You don't win the World Cup by giving superior opponents that many chances. It will eventually backfire, but until then, it's going to be hell to actually eliminate them from this competition. Morocco (first place, Group F)Title odds, per FiveThirtyEight: 1% Round of 16 opponent: Spain (Tuesday, 10 a.
Why they won't: OK, fine, they're lucky. You don't get outshot more than 2-to-1, with the second-worst xG differential (per-match) of the 32 teams, and advance very far. They got their doors blown off by France, they allowed Tunisia to attempt three of the match's four most high-value shots (per xG) while scoring on a low-percentage flick, and they have completed just 73% of their pass attempts, second lowest in the competition (ahead of Iran, who still attempted way more shots and created far more shot value).
Stat Perform's Goals Prevented measure compares the goals you've allowed to the post-shot xG value of the shots opponents put on your goal. Based solely on that xG figure, Poland should have allowed about six goals in the group stage; they allowed only two because Wojciech Szczesny stood on his damn head. He stopped penalties from both Messi and Saudi Arabia's Salem al-Dawsari, he stopped close-range efforts from al-Dawsari and Argentina's Rodrigo De Paul, and he saved 18 total shots on goal in three matches.
2022 World Cup: How things went for Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador Just as had happened against Colombia four years ago, Poland were
changes for the Cameroon game -- established Brazil's credentials
Netherlands (first place, Group A)Title odds, per FiveThirtyEight: 6% Round of 16 opponent: USA (Saturday, 10 a. ET)Why they will win it all: They turn you over. Louis van Gaal's Dutch team is active. They lead the competition with the fewest passes allowed per defensive action (9. 3) and despite leading for the majority of each group stage match, they started 29 possessions in the attacking third to opponents' 17. Midfielder Frenkie de Jong leads the team in ball recoveries, but the pressure is a full-team effort: Netherlands have commanded 57% of overall touches in the attacking third with a 57% possession rate. They've got the raw defensive talent -- Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake, Jurrien Timber, Matthijs de Ligt -- to safeguard them while pressing heavily (goalkeeper Andries Noppert has been excellent, too), and they put the ball in more dangerous areas than opponents.
They have been fortunate in the finishing department -- they created shots worth 3. 3 xG in their first two matches but scored five goals from them, and they scored one of their goals when Cristiano Ronaldo whiffed on a Fernandes cross (which fooled the Uruguayan goalkeeper) -- but they still created plenty of chances, and they made sure that they were the only team regularly completing passes into dangerous areas.
Brazil vs. Cameroon FREE LIVE STREAM (12/2/22): Watch World Cup 2022 online | Time, USA TV, channel Cameroon FREE LIVE STREAM (12/2/22): Watch World Cup 2022 online | Time,
... November, 26: Poland vs Saudi Arabia – Education City
Why Brazil, Argentina and more will or won't win World Cup Poland. That match almost ruined two matches; manager Lionel Scaloni made a
ton of lineup changes for what turned out to be a dire
Brazil vs South Korea times, how to watch on TV, stream online, World Cup 2022 FOX Sports; Telemundo. You can watch Brazil vs South Korea live stream on
FuboTV (free trial available).
The last thing you want to do is leave available goals unclaimed while trying to bring the World Cup trophy home. France (first place, Group D)Title odds, per FiveThirtyEight: 12% Round of 16 opponent: Poland (Sunday, 10 a. ET)Why they will win it all: Kylian Mbappe. France quickly secured advancement to the knockout rounds by taking care of Australia and Denmark by a combined 6-2 -- which allowed them to field an extremely rotation-heavy squad against Tunisia -- but that score line doesn't do justice to the levels of domination in those two matches. They outshot their opponents by a combined 44-14 and created 6.
France vs Poland FREE LIVE STREAM (12/4/22): Watch World Cup 2022 online | Time, USA TV, channel France vs Poland FREE LIVE STREAM (12/4/22): Watch World Cup 2022 online |
Time, USA TV, channel. Published: Dec. 04, 2022, 8:00 a.m.. Antoine
Portugal (first place, Group H)Title odds, per FiveThirtyEight: 8% Round of 16 opponent: Switzerland (Tuesday, 2 p. ET)Why they will win it all: Where passing is harder, Portugal is better. One would assume that a squad featuring Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Guerreiro and Joao Cancelo would be one of the more creative in the competition, and that has played out thus far.
Cameroon vs Brazil summary: Aboubakar winner and red card, score, goals, highlights 1-0 | Qatar World Cup 2022 Brazil, already through to the round of 16 before this game, win the group
on goal France vs Poland - Sunday, 4 December, 10am