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Breaking down the World Cup quarterfinals, with heavyweights Brazil, Argentina, France, and more in the mix

Led by Neymar (right), this is Brazil's best World Cup team since the 2002 champions.Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Now comes the stage that separates the true title contenders from the pretenders, where advancement brings dreams tantalizingly close to fruition and elimination produces anguish and reconstruction.

The World Cup of men’s soccer is down to its final eight aspirants and all of the matchups are delectable — Brazil-Croatia and Argentina-Netherlands on Friday, then Portugal-Morocco and France-England on Saturday.

The story lines involve redemption, last chances for icons, the customary enchanting outlier, and the champion’s bid for a rare reprise. France, coming off a solid submission of Poland, is bidding to become only the third country, alongside Italy (1938) and Brazil (1962), to defend its crown.

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Les Bleus know from painful experience how difficult that will be. After they claimed their first title on home turf in 1998 (”Pour L’Eternite,” declared the L’Equipe newspaper), the French went three-and-out in Korea four years later without scoring. “Who let the Frogs out?” sang tipsy Danes after their team had administered the coup de grace.

Four of the last five victors didn’t reach the second round the next time and three of them finished last in their four-team groups in the next tournament. But the French, who return seven starters from the 2018 squad, including supernova Kylian Mbappe, appear to be in full form.

So do their English counterparts, who saw off Senegal by three goals in their second-round encounter and haven’t conceded a goal in their last three matches. That said, the Three Lions are on perennial probation with their impatient supporters, who’ve been waiting since 1966 for them to reach a final.

England came agonizingly close four years ago, losing to Croatia in extra time in the semifinals after taking the lead in the fifth minute. Last year at Wembley they dropped the European final to Italy on penalty kicks (how else?).

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Sourness set in this year when England was knocked out of the Nations League in group play. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” fans chanted at manager Gareth Southgate after a 4-0 home loss to Hungary.

Now with a solid defense, a deep bench, and a rising star in teenager Jude Bellingham to go along with talismanic striker Harry Kane, Southgate is again in favor — at least until Saturday night.

The Argentina-Netherlands clash is all about gratification delayed for decades. The Dutch, whose “Clockwork Orange” system of total football reimagined the sport in the ‘70s, lost consecutive finals to the hosts then dropped from sight.

After their 21st century renaissance produced second- and third-place finishes in 2010 and 2014, the Oranje failed to qualify last time and their early play in Qatar against a gentle group provoked grumbling back home.

The Netherlands didn’t score against the Senegalese until the 84th minute and didn’t finish them off until the 99th. It gave away a draw to Ecuador after taking the lead in the sixth minute and took its time polishing off Qatar.

And while the 3-1 decision over the Americans was a clinical dissection the outcome still was in question with 10 minutes to play. Now comes Argentina, which hasn’t won the Cup since 1986 and was beaten by the Germans in the 1990 and 2014 finals.

Is this the last dance for Messi?JUAN MABROMATA/AFP via Getty Images

This is the fifth and likely final Cup for Lionel Messi, who still is the man that the Albiceleste expects to put them on the board. The South American champions, whose Cup hopes took an immediate blow with the shocking loss to Saudi Arabia, have straightened themselves out but haven’t been dominant doing so.

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Their previous knockout-round meetings with the Netherlands have been classics. Argentina won the 1978 Cup in extra time. The Dutch won their 1998 quarterfinal in the 90th minute. And Argentina won their 2014 semi in a shootout. Look for this one to go the full 90 and likely more.

The Portuguese may lead the planet in deferred gratification. They’ve never made a final and have reached the quarters for the first time since 2006, when the French put them out in the semis on a penalty kick.

They didn’t make it easy on themselves in group play, wrassling with Ghana, finishing off Uruguay in the 93rd minute, and losing in the 91st to South Korea after they’d already advanced.

But Portugal’s 6-1 smackdown of a good Swiss side with rookie Goncalo Ramos turning a hat trick while fading immortal Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the bench, got everyone’s attention. So did Morocco’s shootout victory over Spain, which made the Atlas Lions a fantasy favorite for everyone beyond Iberia.

This isn’t the first time that the Moroccans have startled the planet. In 1986, they won a group that included Portugal and England and pushed the West Germans to the 88th minute before going home.

This edition tied and beat the second- and third-place finishers from 2018 to also win their group and frustrated the Spaniards beyond belief. No African country ever has made the semifinals. This could be the one.

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How long can the Croatians walk the high wire? Last time they beat the Danes and host Russians in shootouts and took down the English in extra time to make the final. This time the kings of the checkerboard came from behind to beat the Japanese on penalties.

The Brazilians, who scored four goals in the first 36 minutes to expel the South Koreans, won’t be easy to outlast, especially with Neymar back in motion. This is the best Selecao since the 2002 champions and it’s determined to advance after three subsequent quarterfinal exits and a 7-1 humiliation by Germany in the 2014 semis on home soil. Even five-time champions hunger for redemption.


John Powers can be reached at john.powers@globe.com.