Max-level burst damage at the start, the British Empire arrives!

The first round of the World Cup knockout stage has ended, and most fans feel that their favorite team is still lacking, but fans of other teams insist that their team has a chance.

After the quarterfinals were determined, the matchups for the quarterfinals were automatically generated based on the schedule.

Upper half:

Brazil vs. Colombia.

Germany vs. France.

Lower half:

England vs. Netherlands.

Argentina vs. Belgium.

Seeing this matchup, many fans who only watch the games felt that the betting companies were indeed shrewd, and that the pre-tournament favorites were indeed in the quarterfinals.

The only team that really faltered was the Spanish team. The golden generation of the Spanish national team left fans with endless sadness over the Spanish team that had only emerged in the last seven or eight years.

Prior to 2008, the number of Spanish football fans in the country was significantly less than that of the world's major powers.

At that time, there was still a year before Barcelona's golden age, and only a considerable number of fans, though certainly not many, would support the Spanish team.

Unfortunately, the Spanish team's performance in those years was not as consistent as the English team's, and they were even given a slightly mocking nickname - the King of Qualifying Tournaments.

Despite having La Liga, the Spanish national team has not been considered a favorite to win major tournaments since they were eliminated as a seeded team by Nigeria in 1998.

As a result, Aragonés implemented the possession-based tactics before Guardiola, and the Spanish team began their glorious treble journey.

From winning the European Championship for the first time, to winning the World Cup, and then winning the European Championship again, the Spanish team has only had four years in total.

The reason people remember them so fondly is simply because those three trophies were so dazzling.

To be fair, if we only look at the squad, the Spanish team is still better than the English team, and everyone has to admit that.

Even though Xavi and Alonso are getting old, if anyone says that the Spanish team is not competitive, Sun Ke will be the first to disagree.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at the strength of the eleven players on the field, England could at most win by three or four positions.

This lineup, facing the Netherlands, was completely crushed. This result will definitely ruin many gamblers' lives.

The Dutch team declared at the start of the season that they would take back everything they had lost.

But brother!

Can you get it back?

Does thrashing Spain once mean winning the World Cup?

impossible!

The reasons for the strength of this Spanish team are, firstly, the players, and secondly, the head coach.

Most of the players in Spain's starting lineup have won at least two championships, which they received four years ago.

In this state, the Spanish players have lost their desire for the championship, which is more frightening than injuries and age.

Facing the red-eyed Dutch players, the Spanish players showed no excitement and continued to play steadily.

This kind of performance would definitely be disastrous in the World Cup. As a result, after being overtaken by the Netherlands while in the lead, their mental defenses collapsed.

It's not that the Spanish players aren't working hard, but they certainly don't have the same passion they had four years ago.

As the team's head coach, Vicente del Bosque had long been aware of the team's situation, but at this point he dared not make any further adjustments.

In the first match, Spain used a 4-3-3 formation, but Del Bosque fielded 34-year-old Xavi, 33-year-old Alonso, and Busquets, who lacked physical strength.

Although the Dutch team repeatedly claimed they wanted revenge, Van Gaal was actually very afraid of Spain's passing and control style, and he set up a 5-3-2 formation for his team.

The Dutch team was prepared to defend desperately, but they didn't expect the Spanish team's midfield to be so fragile, easily breached.

When the Netherlands played a counter-attacking style, Robben could usually face the Spanish defense directly with the ball, and sometimes he could even get past the defense to face the goalkeeper.

Spain's three midfielders were almost useless in defense.

If Del Bosque allows Xavi and Alonso to rotate in the starting lineup, and then puts those muscle-bound guys from Atletico Madrid next to him, Robben's shin guards would probably be crushed if he tried to score again.

Although the teams that made it to the quarterfinals were expected by most fans, their journey to the quarterfinals was enough to bankrupt gamblers.

Of the eight knockout matches, only four were decided within 90 minutes. Such results required betting on a draw, which could wipe out a gambler's entire investment.

Once the quarterfinals began, the situation became even more unpredictable.

First of all, the match between Brazil and Colombia is hard to predict. Brazil's path to the quarterfinals was bumpy, and apart from the match against Cameroon, they didn't play a single good game.

Colombia's matches are definitely highly entertaining, and if they can defeat Brazil, it wouldn't be considered a major upset by many.

The match between Argentina and Belgium was also seen as full of suspense, mainly because Argentina's attacking performance was very disappointing.

A team with numerous attackers such as Messi, Higuain, Lavezzi, and Di Maria could only win by one goal in each group stage match, and almost got dragged into extra time by Switzerland.

Although Belgium's performance wasn't great either, putting two mediocre teams together actually makes for quite a suspenseful game.

On the contrary, the match between Germany and France was one-sided before the game.

Although the German team didn't exactly dominate weaker opponents, they at least controlled their opponents to a standstill in every match.

They didn't have many chances to score, mainly because their opponents were all playing defensively.

The highly anticipated quarter-final match is between England and the Netherlands.

One team boasts an absolute superstar and massive fanbase, while the other is the defending champion who crushed the previous runner-up. This match is arguably the most anticipated quarter-final game among fans.

In terms of strength, the England team is still no match for the Netherlands team.

Although the Dutch players are four years older than they were four years ago, their physical abilities have declined.

However, judging from previous matches, this Dutch team remains very tenacious and has great fighting spirit.

It would be a stretch to say that England could eliminate the Netherlands with just one player.

The Netherlands team's average age is indeed higher than England's, but football is not track and field; speed is not the only factor that matters.

Young people, driven by sheer grit, charge in headfirst, but such recklessness may not yield good results.

They haven't even done anything yet, and you're already failing.

Although the older players' physical abilities are not as good as the younger ones, they have experience and know how to control the rhythm.

When both sides compete, you can't exert your strength, while the other side plays with ease and completely controls the rhythm.

Besides, the Dutch team isn't all old men who can't run anymore.

Robben is still at least a top winger, while Depay has already shown his ability against Mexico.

When the two teams compete on the same field, the Netherlands are afraid of England's speed, but England may not be so unafraid of the Netherlands' speed either.

When these two teams meet, it's both exciting to watch and provides in-depth tactical discussions.

When the Netherlands faced Spain, they knew they couldn't control the midfield, so they simply fielded five defenders and two forwards.

Of their three midfielders, only Sneijder is a technical midfielder, flanked by Swansea's De Guzman and de Jong.

Against Chile, Van Gaal fielded a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Kuyt, De Jong, and Wijnaldum controlling the midfield and immediately handing possession to Sneijder.

Against Australia, the Netherlands switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation, focusing on controlling the midfield.

When it came to the round of 16, the formation changed to 4-3-1-2.

Veteran coach Louis van Gaal is adept at using various formations, and the Dutch players also possess excellent tactical awareness.

Especially after experiencing the success of reaching the final of the last World Cup through defense, this group of Dutch players strongly agrees with the philosophy of prioritizing defense.

This is a significant difference between the Dutch team and previous ones, and another difference is that this group of Dutch players is very united, which is quite rare.

In the history of Dutch football, the vast majority of their major tournament defeats have been due to internal strife.

The history of internal strife within the Dutch national team has essentially been intertwined with the history of Dutch football.

The Netherlands team won the runner-up title in the 1974 World Cup, and four years later the team was still in its prime.

Before his departure, Cruyff had a conflict with the head coach and was directly excluded from the squad.

Even without Cruyff, that Dutch team still made it to the final of the 1978 World Cup, which shows how strong the Dutch team was at the time.

The Netherlands' victory in the 1988 European Championship naturally made them one of the biggest favorites to win the 1990 World Cup.

However, that Dutch team was plagued by internal strife and was eliminated after the group stage of the World Cup.

The fact that this Dutch team, which once produced the "Three Musketeers," is so united and has such a deep bench suggests that the media's assessment that they have a certain advantage over the English team is not entirely unfounded.

Despite their defensive approach, they have scored 12 goals in four games, ranking second among all teams.

But England is no pushover either; they are the highest-scoring team in the World Cup so far, with 13 goals in four matches, averaging more than 3 goals per game.

That's right, England is the team that scored the most goals.

Compared to Van Gaal, who was known for his tactical versatility, Hodgson was a master of rotation.

In England's four matches, at least four starting players were changed in each game compared to the previous one.

Such a team is a breath of fresh air in the World Cup, which emphasizes stability.

It's certain that Hodgson will field a 4-2-3-1 formation in the quarterfinals, but from the outside perspective, it's hard to say whether Sun Ke, Rooney, Walcott, Terry, Cahill, and Joe Hart will be in the starting lineup.

Media outlets speculate that England will likely include Walker in the starting lineup to wear down Robben.

Before the World Cup, everyone thought England's left flank would be exposed, but after seeing Walker's performance, everyone felt that Robben wouldn't be able to easily dominate him.

After all, Walker is in his prime and can be completely unreasonable when facing Robben.

The formation that the Dutch team will field has become the focus of everyone's attention.

It is widely believed that Van Gaal will likely field a fighting lineup to go head-to-head with England.

After all, Alonso has the most experience when it comes to fighting.

There are six days of rest between the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, which is a rare opportunity for everyone to recuperate.

Sun Ke took a closer look at the schedule and realized that the host country had put some thought into it.

As a team in the upper half of the bracket, Brazil finishes all their matches early and gets plenty of rest.

The round of 16 match between Germany and France, who are in the same half of the bracket, will be played two days later, while their quarter-final match will be played on the same day.

This means that teams in the same half of the bracket will have two fewer days of rest after entering the knockout stage than them.

The semifinals in the upper bracket are held one day earlier than those in the lower bracket. If the Brazilian team makes it to the final, they will have one more day of rest than their opponents.

The upper bracket will have four days of rest, and the lower bracket will have three days of rest.

In such a high-intensity competition, having an extra day of rest is a huge advantage.

The three-day rest period is designed to push the body to its recovery limit.

See, we're not the hosts for nothing; they can't just invite you for free.

In the following days, both English and Dutch media outlets racked their brains to help their teams gather information.

However, the Dutch team spent their media open time playing rondo, while the English team spent their free time practicing shooting.

They couldn't see anything clearly; the only information the Dutch media got was that Sun Ke's shooting percentage was exceptionally high.

However, the well-known English fishing media outlet The Guardian still judged from the water bottles and bandages thrown away at the training ground and the players' condition in the car that not all members of the Dutch team participated in the regular training.

The Guardian acted like a Middle Eastern tycoon, publicly revealing Eriksson's assessments of England players, forcing the latter to abandon their contracts.

England had five days of rest, while France and Germany only had four days of rest before starting their quarter-final matches.

In this match, the German team finally demonstrated the strength of the biggest favorite to win the championship. The midfield combination of Reus, Gündoğan, Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Irving completely controlled the French team's "black and tough" midfield.

Pogba performed quite well. This guy is a combination of top talent, top physique, top wickedness, top stupidity, and a lack of love for football.

Against the German team, the French team's lack of a fast and excellent winger was fully exposed.

In the 13th minute, Hummels opened the scoring for France with a corner kick.

Hummels is definitely the top center-back of this generation. He is strong, has no weaknesses, and has a long playing time.

He eliminated France with a corner kick in 2014 and Paris Saint-Germain with a corner kick in 2024, making him a true nemesis of French football.

In the second half, the German team made a series of exquisite passes in the attacking third, and Reus scored another goal with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

2 is better than 0!

Germany eliminated France without any controversy and advanced to the semi-finals.

After watching the German team's match, Sun Ke suddenly realized that his rise had indirectly contributed to the German team's strength.

Neither Royce nor Gündoğan were injured, and both had greatly increased their strength.

Hummels and Kroos have experienced the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup finals this season, accumulating enough experience of defeat...

But in any case, these five people have definitely undergone more trials than in their previous lives. What a terrible thing!

In the semi-final held on the same day, Brazil defeated Colombia 2-1 thanks to goals from center-backs Silva and Luiz.

James Rodriguez has scored again; this guy has basically secured the Silver Boot.

Brazil's forward line still lacks attacking power, and Neymar, unfortunately, couldn't escape the fate of getting injured.

Seeing this, Sun Ke was basically certain that the German team would be a formidable opponent for England in their quest for the championship.

7 month 6 day.

On his way to the stadium, Son could see on his phone that Argentina had beaten Belgium 1-0, holding onto Higuain's opening goal until the end of the match.

In the World Cup, defense truly triumphs!