We take a look the knockout stage of the World Cup. Who is likely to progress and who may find the pressure just too much.

France vs Argentina 
On paper at least, this appears to be the best game of the round of 16 which sees two of football’s international heavyweights collide. However, neither France or Argentina have appeared that impressive in the groups, particularly the South American side who scraped through to the knockout stage with the skin of their teeth. France will fancy themselves against a relatively weak Argentinian side, but they will be aware of the major threat that Messi poses. 

Uruguay vs Portugal 
Portugal were on course to top group B until the referee awarded a very controversial penalty to Iran which levelled the game and saw Portugal finish runners up. As a result, they face winners of group A, Uruguay who were only one of three teams with a 100% record in their group despite not looking incredible, particularly in their opening two games. Nonetheless, Uruguay were the only team not to concede in the groups and they may prove hard to beat in the round of 16. 

Brazil vs Mexico 
The only round of 16 match not to feature a European team but I still expect this to serve up some entertaining football from two teams who hold plenty of quality. Both Mexico and Brazil looked shaky at times during the group stages but the Mexican team will take encouragement from the fact that Brazil have already slipped up in Russia and of course, Mexico know they can pull it off against the big teams. 

Belgium vs Japan 
This will arguably be the most one-sided round of 16 match as many expect Belgium to sail past Japan to reach the quarter finals. Japan just about got through their group whereas Belgium comfortably topped group G, with a few convincing victories along the way. I cannot see Japan posing any real challenge to one of the tournament’s favourites. 

Spain vs Russia 
Similar to Belgium, Spain should not face any real issues progressing to the quarter finals. Despite their slip up against Morocco, Spain have showed glimpses of their very best and even though Russia will have strong home support, I feel Spain’s sheer quality will prove too much for a very average Russian team who will struggle in the round of 16.

Croatia vs Denmark 
I can see this being another one-sided match as Croatia looked one of the most impressive teams in the group stage and Denmark are not exactly the best team left in the tournament. Croatia showed their class by convincingly beating Argentina and then still managing to secure a win against Iceland even though they had already topped the group and were not fielding a full-strength team. Eriksen may pose problems for the Croatian defence but its not as if Croatia are lacking the firepower going forward themselves. 

Sweden vs Switzerland 
This match may turnout to be the closest of the round of 16 as Sweden and Switzerland are two teams who are fairly equally matched and performed about the same in the group stage. This said, Sweden thumped a good Mexican side in their final match whilst Switzerland were held to a draw against Costa Rica last time out. For this reason, if I had to call it, I’d expect the Swedes to progress to the quarter finals. 

Colombia vs England 
Along with Sweden’s match against Switzerland, I expect England’s round of 16 encounter to be the closest of any. England’s first team is yet to play a strong opponent in the tournament and it is therefore difficult to judge how good Southgate’s side really is. Colombia on the other hand managed to secure victories against Poland and Senegal, two good footballing nations. James Rodriguez, arguably Colombia’s best player went off injured in their last match and he would be a huge loss to the team if he was unfit to start against England. I feel this is the only match where it is too hard to call a winner, but I am certain Colombia will give England a very good game, with or without James in the starting XI.