Andy was at a number of the group stages matches in America and with six European countries making up the last eight, who better to run the rule over the quarter-final ties?
England vs Norway
Miami | Saturday 11 July | 10pm UK
Andy: "Ultimately, we know England have the best squad they've had for generations, but in terms of the football, to me, it all seems a little bit disjointed still. It does feel as if we're heavily relying on the absolute elite level players that we have - so much rests on Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Even in the game at the Azteca, which was a really brave performance (3-2 win against Mexico in Round of 16), it was a brave performance in terms of defending and without the ball - it wasn't England dictating terms. I think particularly when you bear in mind that Norway dominated possession against Brazil (2-0 in the Round of 16), which no-one would have thought before the game, and certainly not before the World Cup, then it's quite interesting to see how this game will pan out."
"Thomas Tuchel is there for one reason, to win the World Cup. I don't think he cares less about the style if England get it done. He's obviously putting the best individuals in a position to do that. I think it would probably be better for people's heart rates if England were able to exert more control over games, but I don't think they're going to suddenly start doing that. The fact that it appears Declan Rice isn't 100% fit is a massive break on being able to do that as well, because he's such an influential player and he's probably only at about 60% of his capacity at the moment. I think there are big defensive question marks, which obviously up against Erling Haaland is a big deal. Having said that, it's so hard to back against Bellingham and Kane. I think that's the bottom line really. If you're asking me, do I think England will go out there and hammer Norway? No. Do I think they'll go out there and dominate against Norway? Maybe not. But I do think that if you look at the bits where Brazil made it difficult for Norway, and they did that despite having a third of possession, and Orjan Nyland made a load of good saves, it wasn't that Brazil showed superior technical qualities to Norway, it's that they were physically able to get at them. The major difference for England between this World Cup and Euro 2024 is that Kane and Bellingham are really fit. That makes the difference. For that reason, I think England will get it done."
Argentina vs Switzerland
Kansas City | Sunday 12 July | 2am UK
Andy: "I think when we saw this half of the draw opening up for Argentina and we looked at Lionel Messi absolutely dismantling teams in the group stages, maybe it was easy for people to say, 'right, okay, we know where we are, this is going to be an England-Argentina semi-final all day long'. However, Argentina have creaked quite badly, I think on a couple of occasions. We talked about teams having one bad game or one big scare on the way to the final - Argentina have had a couple and I think really if you can try and stop the supply line to Messi, obviously that's a huge deal. He can't get it on half way and run past five players anymore, he just can't do that. That's a big difference."
"I think Switzerland are quite well equipped to deal with a lot of the threats that Argentina have. I think a huge part of this game is not just about controlling Messi, it's also if Switzerland can get at that Argentina defence, where some players are out of form, not at peak fitness, not getting picked for their clubs regularly on some occasions - against Egypt (came from 2-0 down to win Round of 16 tie 3-2) for example, Nahuel Molina and Nicolás Tagliafico, neither finished last season as first-choice for their clubs. Look, if you're Switzerland, maybe it's not your first instinct to have a go, but I think the more they do have a go, the more they can make it difficult for Argentina. There's way more quality in the Swiss team than people would like to admit, Granit Xhaka coming off a fantastic season at Sunderland is an example. So many of those players play for Europe's best teams. They're difference makers for Europe's best teams, so maybe they don't get the credit they deserve. Having said all that, my guess here would be Argentina on penalties."