With eight teams remaining in the FIFA World Cup, what follows is a look at the key tactical matchup ahead of all four quarter-final matches.
France vs. Germany: Midfield Coverage for Die Mannschaft's Back 4
The weakness of this Germany team has been at the back of midfield, as it has been since Jogi Loew tried to implement a change in style from a reactive to a proactive approach at the last World Cup.
In Germany's first two games, Loew played Sami Khedira to the right of Philipp Lahm, with Toni Kroos pushing forward from a role to the left in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid. In the last two, Bastian Schweinsteiger has replaced Khedira from the start.
In none of the four matches, though, has the base of midfield offered anything like sufficient cover for the back four, which itself is rendered vulnerable to pace from out wide by the sluggishness of the full-backs, variously Jerome Boateng, Shkodran Mustafi and Benedikt Howedes.
Loew could take a significant step to solving that by switching Lahm to full-back, but if not, Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena could make hay on the flanks.
Brazil vs. Colombia: Clash of Individual Genius
Probably no game in recent memory has seemed so much like a clash of two key individuals.
This is as much Neymar against James Rodriguez as it is Brazil against Colombia, a remarkable billing given both are just 22. Strange as it seems to say it, so underwhelming has the rest of Brazil's front four been that Colombia almost seem to have more options than Brazil, with Jackson Martinez cutting in from the left and Juan Cuadrado terrifyingly quick on the right.
With Luiz Gustavo suspended for Brazil, there is no out-and-out defensive midfielder to try to stifle James, with Paulinho likely to return, while Neymar will find himself up against the impressive Carlos Sanchez, the Rock, if Luiz Felipe Scolari persists with his 4-2-3-1.
The suggestion has been, though, that he may push Neymar further forward as a false nine.
Argentina vs. Belgium: Focus on Stopping Messi?
One underlying narrative of this tournament has been Lionel Messi's reincarnation of Diego Maradona's tournament in 1986, when he dragged Argentina almost single-handedly to victory.
Belgium face much the same problem now as they did before the semi-final then; Argentina have an obvious flaw, but to attack it is to risk leaving a genius free to wreak havoc. In 1986, Belgium settled for trying to stifle Maradona rather than seeking to exploit the space behind the wing-backs and ended up losing 2-0 to two brilliant Maradona goals.
This time, Belgium could seek to get men wide and get crosses into the box to expose the weakness hinted at by Iran, Nigeria and, in the final three minutes, Switzerland, or they could bunker down and try to shut out Messi.
The likelihood is the latter, and as countless opponents have found, the likelihood is that at some point, he will find space and win the game.
Source: Bleacher Report
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