Match Preview - Brazil v Belgium: Two different sides who have to win for completely different reasons

Tonight’s game in Kazan will become the first time this tournament that two of the tournament favourites will finally meet in the knockout stages. One team embodies a history of dominance as they are renowned as the World’s best footballing nation due to them having more stars above their crest than any other – Brazil. The other represents a golden generation that oozes world-class talent that could set a precedent that could lead them to dominate national football for the next decade – Belgium. 

                                

Both sides will be going into the game with everything to lose. While Brazil will be favourites going into this match, their players will know losing tonight will mean that Brazil will not have reached a World Cup final in 16 years, with them reaching three consecutive finals in 1994, 1998 and 2002 where they added the historic 4^thand 5^thstars. 

Belgium will be wary that this will be the last chance for most of this golden generation to win some gold. Right-Back Thomas Meunier acknowledged this by stating that it was “Now or Never for Belgium”.

In a game full of big players, many will be expecting big things in this Quarter-Final match in Russia as both teams have already produced defining moments so far. Belgium boasts a 45-minute thrashing of Panama, a dismantling of Tunisia and a comeback as they overcome a two-goal deficit by scoring three goals in the last 20 minutes to beat Japan. 

The Red Devils are the tournaments leading scorers with 12 and one of two teams that still boast a 100%-win record – With the other being Uruguay. Martinez’s men have by far been the most exciting team to watch in Russia but tonight's opponents will produce their first competitive test. 

Brazil on the other hand will be travelling to Kazan confident that they will be able to keep the Belgians at bay as they boast the best defence in Russia. Thier coach Tite has transformed the team we witnessed get thrashed 7-1 by Germany in 2014 into a cohesive side that embodies the same spirit that was seen in their 2002 triumph. Fernandinho will step in to replace the suspended Casemiro and will be best matched to restrain his  Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne. 

If the Brazilians shut out Belgium then all their focus will be on their star-men, Coutinho and Neymar. The pair have been a deadly partnership in Russia so far with them having a been involved in six of Brazil’s seven goals. With a man who has spent 14 minutes on the floor this World Cup, this stage of the competition will spark Neymar’s horrific memory of limping out against Colombia in the Quarter-Final in Brazil. The PSG forward will be hoping his performance tonight will overshadow that memory that has been haunting him for the past four years. 

World Cups have been characterised by that one defining match that announces the eventual winner before the final. In 2014 it was that miss-match against Germany and Brazil, while in 2010 it was Spain beating favourites Germany. People will be expecting history to recreate itself as Brazil will be desperate to make this their defining match. If they fail, however, we may just have a Belgium side who are ready to live up to their expectations and make history rather than recreate it.