Big guns stand ready to roar
Neymar in spotlight
For all the drama around England, the winner of the tournament is more likely to come from the top half of the draw, where the teams boast a combined eight tournament titles.
Favored Brazil will come up against Belgium's 'golden generation' in Kazan on Friday, while an exciting young France squad spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe takes on a shrewd Uruguay outfit in Nizhny Novgorod.
While much of the focus surrounding Brazil's bid for a record-extending sixth world title has inevitably been on Neymar, the world's most expensive player has hit the headlines as much for his perceived playacting as for on-pitch brilliance.
Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio said the stoppages caused by Neymar's antics stalled his team during its 2-0 last-16 loss to Brazil, claiming the Paris Saint-Germain forward's reaction to Miguel Layun stepping on his ankle was a "shame for football".
Belgium was on the brink of another major tournament failure when trailing 2-0 with 21 minutes to play, only for a magnificent breakway goal by Nacer Chadli in the fourth minute of injury-time to cap a stunning fightback.
Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens and Kevin De Bruyne are likely to give Brazil's defense the biggest test of their campaign so far, although the South Americans have only conceded once in four matches.
"This is the sort of game you dream about as a little boy and we can enjoy it from the first second," said Belgium coach Roberto Martinez.
France never got out of first gear in easing through the group stage, but turned on the style as Mbappe dazzled in a classic 4-3 victory over Argentina to set up the clash with Uruguay.
"We have been preparing for months, for weeks to play matches like that," said France coach Didier Deschamps.
Uruguay's success has been built on a solid defense led by Atletico Madrid pair Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, with the old-fashioned strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani doing the damage at the other end with five goals between them.
AP
