World Cup 2022: What to expect on Day 17

Match 55 and 56 of the Qatar World Cup will see the quarter-final line-up confirmed as Spain meet Morocco before Portugal clash with Switzerland.

Two games on the harder end of the scale to call given how this tournament has progressed with three of the four inside the top 20 in the world rankings and Morocco [22] just outside.

Spain have hit seven goals in this tournament, Morocco have topped a group also containing the world's second highest team Belgium and Switzerland have performed their flying under the radar trick to perfection. As for Portugal? The Cristiano Ronaldo show continues to generate brilliant viewing figures.

It was a thrilling conclusion to Group E last Wednesday, so discombobulating at times that Spanish manager Luis Enrique admitted that he hadn’t realised his side were facing elimination for a brief period as they trailed Japan and Costa Rica led Germany.

The 2010 World Cup winners still lost, but they progressed anyway as Germany turned things around – albeit the latter still made a group exit for the second time in succession.

Like most major names at the tournament, Spain’s group stage contained a bit of everything, including a 7-0 win over Costa Rica in their opener. That had people salivating about their chances, but an entertaining draw with Germany and that loss to Japan has tempered expectations a bit.

Indeed, for many people, Morocco have a real opportunity to claim what would be the biggest win in their history.

The north African side created a shock in the group phase of the tournament in Qatar with their 2-0 victory over Belgium, having already held 2018 finalists Croatia to a goalless draw.

A win over Canada ensured top spot was theirs although goalkeeper Yassine Bono was called on a couple of