*By Christian Smith*
Play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup gets back underway Friday, and the day's quarterfinal match-ups shouldn't disappoint.
For Quartz editor and soccer fanatic Mike Murphy, France is the team to beat this World Cup.
"They've probably looked the strongest, most organized team of the true real contenders," Murphy said in an interview on Cheddar Thursday.
France takes on Uruguay in Friday's first game, which kicks off at 10 am ET. Nineteen-year-old rising star Kylian Mbappé, who helped lead France to a stunning 4-3 victory over Lionel Messi and Argentina, will be one of the players to watch as *Les Bleaus* look to knock out the Uruguayan squad led by Luis Suarez.
But the other real contenders in Murphy's (and most of the world's) book are Brazil and Belgium, which face each other on the field at 2 pm ET Friday. Brazil was slow out of the gate in its 2-0 victory over Mexico Monday, but so was Belgium. That team came back to win the game 3-2 in the last minute of stoppage time, despite being down by two scores earlier in the match.
Both teams have world-class strikers - Brazil in Neymar and Belgium in Romelu Lukaku. Brazil's defense has only given up one goal this World Cup, but Belgium is the highest-scoring team so far, so the match-up should make for some great soccer. The winner of the match will take on the winner of France and Uruguay in the semifinals.
On Saturday the other side of the bracket steps onto the pitch. Sweden goes head-to-head with England at 10 am ET. The young English team will have to pick themselves up, coming off a near upset in penalty kicks in their Round of 16 against Colombia. Sweden has been playing a consistent game throughout the tournament. That consistency is the reason Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of the World Cup newsletter "The Banter," calls Sweden ["predictable but effective."](https://mailchi.mp/f1ebcf954362/world-cup-banter-be-smart-about-the-quarterfinals)
Whichever team walks away victorious Saturday morning will take on the winner of the Russia-Croatia match. The hometown favorites surprised most critics by making it to the quarterfinals, and it will be even more surprising if they can upset a better-fielded Croatian team just days after stunning Spain in a penalty kick shootout.
However, there is something to be said about home-field advantage. Six countries have won the World Cup while hosting the tournament.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/what-to-expect-in-the-2018-fifa-world-cup-quarterfinals)
It's no secret that much of the popularity of Epic Games' smash hit Fortnite comes from its status as a free-to-play game. Now, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says two other surprising titles may make the switch: Overwatch and Call of Duty.
It's become par for the course for Epic Games to release game-changing items in Fortnite just before tournaments. Ghost Gaming's Kayuun shares his worries for what that means for competitive Fortnite.
In a sign of how attitudes around gambling have changed as laws around it have softened, the NFL announced its first-ever partnership with a gambling company, naming Caesars as the league's official casino sponsor. Chris Holdren, chief marketing officer for Caesars, told Cheddar that the sponsorship represents the beginning of a relationship that could eventually become one where the NFL is directly endorsing sports betting.
Bull riding isn't just for the rodeo, anymore. It's coming to a major city near you ー and streaming online ー thanks largely to the efforts of Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders (PBR). And PBR CEO Sean Gleason told Cheddarthe organization has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to keep its momentum going.
The markets opened up sharply higher on Friday after Thursday's big sell-off. The turnaround was due in large part to investor optimism over the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks but also the December jobs report. The U.S. economy added 314,000 jobs last month, topping the 184,000 jobs expected. Plus, Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason and bull rider Tanner Bryne stopped by to chat about growing bull riding in the U.S. in an ever-changing media landscape.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Fitness and beauty booking tool Mindbody is planning to make a play for the next big thing in wellness ー on-demand video, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told Cheddar on Thursday. "You can expect us to be playing in that space because we think that the on-demand and streaming video revolution hitting the fitness space is a big breakthrough," Stollmeyer said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 31, 2018.
There's a new mixed-martial arts league on the block. The Professional Fighters League ー or PFL ー is wrapping up its inaugural season with a championship match on New Year's Eve. According to Peter Murrary, the CEO of the league, the match's purse, $1 million, is a major draw for athletes ー money talks, and can mark achievement.
