Pundit Arena Because Sport Is Everything
Brazil and Belgium face off in Friday’s second World Cup quarter-final for the right to face France in the last four of the competition.
Tite’s favourites are looking to reach the semi-finals of the tournament for the second time in succession, while the Red Devils are looking to go one further than their quarter-final exit in 2014.
To Brazil first, and because the manager had already confirmed his starting eleven on Thursday, there are no surprises – nor is there a start for Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino. The Liverpool man would have hoped to get the nod after his goalscoring cameo against Mexico, but Tite has opted to continue with Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus as the central striker.
OFFICIAL XI vs Belgium:
Alisson;
Fágner, Silva, Miranda, Marcelo;
Paulinho, Fernandinho, Couto;
Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar.#ForçaSeleção pic.twitter.com/xiKvMmmmtD— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStat) July 6, 2018
That said, there are still a couple of changes to the team which started in the last 16. Marcelo makes a welcome return from injury in place of Filipe Luis, while Fernandinho comes into midfield in place of Casemiro.
For Belgium, meanwhile, Roberto Martinez has made a few changes of his own. Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli both start after their goalscoring heroics against Japan in the last round; the pair come in for Yannick Carrasco and Dries Mertens, with Kevin Debruyne operating in a more advanced role.
11 ⚽️ @thibautcourtois, @AlderweireldTob, @VincentKompany, @JanVertonghen, @ThomMills, @Fellaini, @axelwitsel28, @NChadli, @DeBruyneKev, @hazardeden10 (c), @RomeluLukaku9#REDTOGETHER#WorldCup#BRABEL
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 6, 2018
Vincent Kompany keeps his place in central defence ahead of Dedryck Boyata, with the defence remaining otherwise unchanged from that which sailed through the group stage.
The winners of tonight’s clash in Kazan will do battle with France for a place in the final, Les Bleus having seen off the challenge of Uruguay in Friday’s earlier kick-off.
