As the World Cup reaches the quarterfinals, only three of the eight teams remaining in the tournament are currently ranked in the top 10 of FIFA's rankings (No. 2 Brazil, No. 3 Belgium and No. 7 France).
This is likely the result of two factors. The first is that this World Cup has been quite unpredictable so far. The second factor is that FIFA's rankings, like the organization itself, are ridiculous and unreliable.
Thank goodness I'm here to give you rankings that cannot be disputed. Much like I did with the round of 16, I've ranked each match of the quarterfinals for you.
4. Croatia vs. Russia
Saturday, July 7, 2 p.m. ET, stream on fuboTV (Try for free)
As great as the story is for Russia that it has gotten to this point, it's still the worst team remaining. Heck, it was one of the worst teams in the tournament before this stage. It's the Cinderella story to this point, or at least one of them.
I think Croatia fits that glass slipper better than Russia does because Croatia is a more talented team. A team that's a bit more, shall we say, aggressive than Russia was in its win over Spain; a team that's far more enjoyable to watch.
And that's my fear with this match. Russia knows that its best chance to advance is to keep Croatia from scoring and try to get it to the penalty stage, so it's going to park the bus early and try to withstand the barrage. Fortunately for Croatia and our entertainment, I believe Luka Modric has the chance to do what nobody on Spain could and break that defense down through the middle. But it won't be easy, and it's not going to be pretty.
3. England vs. Sweden
Saturday, July 7, 10 a.m. ET, stream on fuboTV (Try for free)
The biggest question in this match is what England does now that it got the proverbial monkey off its back. Not only did it manage to get past the round of 16 for the first time since 2006, but it did so with penalty kicks. The first time in England's history it won a World Cup match via penalties.
So will England relax and feel like it accomplished something and find itself on the end of an upset, or will it find itself invigorated with a new sense of confidence? I'm not sure. It's never easy to figure out what England is going to do in the World Cup, but this is a match it should win. It has a distinct talent advantage on Sweden. That being said, I've doubted Sweden this entire tournament, yet here it is.
2. France vs. Uruguay
Friday, July 6, 10 a.m. ET, stream on fuboTV (Try for free)
Injuries suck. We already saw Colombia have to take on England in the last round without James Rodriguez, and there's a good chance we're going to see Uruguay forced to play France without Edinson Cavani and his ridiculous jawline.
Still, it's not all bad. Uruguay still has Luis Suarez, but without Cavani, I have to imagine a defensive-minded Uruguay will skew even more to the safe side in this match. Not that I blame them. France looked terrific against Argentina, and Kylian Mbappe seems destined to be this tournament's breakout star.
1. Brazil vs. Belgium
Friday, July 6, 2 p.m. ET, stream on fuboTV (Try for free)
I mentioned in the intro that three of the top 10 teams in FIFA rankings remain, and these are No. 2 and No. 3 right here. That's not the reason I have them No. 1, because as I said earlier, I don't put much faith in FIFA's rankings. Still, they might be the two best teams remaining, and it's possible that the winner of this match becomes the favorite to win the whole thing.
Of course, if Belgium plays against Brazil as it did against Japan in the first half of its last match, there won't be any miracle comebacks this time around. There's a chance Brazil wins this one with ease (it's still Brazil), but there's just so much talent all over the pitch on both sides in this match. It's going to be terrific.
You can watch every quarterfinal match on fuboTV (Try for free).
