A striker duel for the ages & Qatar revenge - what to expect in quarter-finals

By Joe Bradshaw BBC Sport senior journalist Published 13 minutes ago This expanded World Cup has already produced some epic games - and the good news is the line-up for the quarter-finals is seriously intriguing. Six European sides plus one each from Africa and South America will attempt to get to within a game of the final in four compelling matches starting on Thursday. All four ties have plenty of interest - and happily all but the last one kicks off at a sociable hour. So what can we look forward to in the four quarter-finals? This is your guide to the last eight. 2022 semi-final rematch - with a difference To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, France overcome Paraguay to reach quarter-final France v Morocco, Atlanta Stadium, Thursday 21:00 BST What to watch out for: While Morocco's run to the last four in Qatar was a surprise, this side contending in the United States are much more than plucky underdogs. Against Canada last Saturday , the Africa Cup of Nations' champions (pending an appeal by Senegal after a controversial final in January), fielded just four of the side that lost in the semi-final to France four years ago. They play with dynamism and a swagger, and will be France's sternest test so far. For the 2022 runners-up, only three of the side that played in that semi-final started Saturday's win over Paraguay. The emergence of centre-back William Saliba and creative maestro Michael Olise are among the refresh for Didier Deschamps' side since then. Kylian Mbappe is still the star turn and will continue his bid to pip Argentina's Lionel Messi to both the Golden Boot and title of all-time top scorer in World Cup tournaments. Key stats: Half of France's World Cup defeats this century have been inflicted by African teams (three out of six). Morocco have not lost in their past 34 matches, but they have never beaten France, who have won seven in a row and 11 of their past 12 matches. How to follow: Listen to full BBC Radio 5 Live commentary on BBC Sounds and follow live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app. What information do we collect from this quiz? Attack v defence - can Belgium's forwards finally breach Spain? To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Belgium make light work of USA to set up quarter-final tie with Spain Spain v Belgium, Los Angeles Stadium, Friday 20:00 BST What to watch out for: Belgium's 13 goals are the third-highest tally at this World Cup (behind Argentina and France's 14), and they have cut loose against New Zealand , Senegal and USA in their past three games. Romelu Lukaku might not be super-svelte but he has scored three goals off the bench, at an average of one every 67 minutes, while Arsenal's Leandro Trossard has served up two goals and two assists. Spain will, obviously, be a significantly harder test. They are yet to concede at this tournament, and their si