The BBC and ITV have agreed the division of live games for the quarter-final stages at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
ITV has the first pick of live matches from the last eight of the competition and the commercial broadcaster has chosen to screen the host nation’s prime-time clash against Colombia, kicking off at 21:00 BST on Friday, July 4.
Brazil squeezed through their last 16 encounter against Chile after coming within a whisker of going out against their accomplished opponents.
The win – 1-1 after extra time and 3-2 on penalties – keeps the host nation’s dreams alive of winning a World Cup on home soil and their record of not losing a competitive match at home since 1975.
Chile had taken Brazil all the way in Belo Horizonte, dominating for long spells of the second half and nearly snatching it at the death through Mauricio Pinilla’s strike which struck the crossbar, a performance which should give an impressive Colombian side a great chance of causing a major upset in Fortaleza.
In the earlier quarter-final on Friday, kicking off at 17:00 BST, France take on Germany in an all European clash which will be screened live on BBC One.
The French marched into the World Cup quarter-finals after shading an absorbing contest against Nigeria in Brasilia courtesy of Paul Pogba’s header.
Les Bleus had been kept at bay by the African side for much of the match, and given a few scares of their own, before a spell of intense pressure led to Pogba’s winner, with Joseph Yobo’s late own goal only compounding Nigeria’s misery in a 2-0 defeat.
Meanwhile the Germans scraped through to the last eight despite being given a real scare by Algeria on a thrilling night of international football in Porto Alegre.
Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil scored as Germany won 2-1 after extra-time, but for much of the night, it seemed Joachim Low’s men were heading for what would have been the shock defeat of the tournament so far.
On Saturday, July 5, Argentina take on Belgium in the first of the day’s quarter-final clashes at 17:00 BST, which will be shown live on ITV.
Angel Di Maria’s extra-time winner carried Argentina into the last eight after an unconvincing display against Switzerland.
The two-time champions dominated possession in a turgid last 16 tie, but were unable to break through until Di Maria swept in Lionel Messi’s pass deep into extra time.
They will take on Belgium, who themselves needed extra time in beating the United States, for a place in the semi finals.
Finally, the semi-final line-up will be confirmed later that evening as the Netherlands take on the impressive Costa Rica in Salvador, a clash which will be broadcast live on BBC One.
The Dutch stunned Mexico with an injury-time winner courtesy of Klaas Jan Huntelaar, with the Schalke striker firing home a penalty to put the Dutch through, inflicting an agonising defeat on Mexico who were within two minutes of an historic win.
Wesley Sneijder’s blistering volley pulled Holland level before Arjen Robben won a penalty and substitute Huntelaar smashed it home to make it 2-1 send the Dutch fans into ecstasy and into the quarter-finals.
Costa Rica are through to their first ever World Cup quarter-final, having recovering from a second-half red card, a late Greece leveller and an extra-time barrage to progress on penalties against the 2004 European champions.
Los Ticos have been the tournament’s surprise package in Brazil, overcoming Uruguay and Italy before holding England to a goalless draw as they won Group D, and that dream run continued in Recife last Sunday as they rode their luck against Greece to win a tense clash.
It is the first time in a 32-team World Cup that all eight winners from the group stages have progressed through to the quarter-finals.
Looking further ahead, the BBC will have the first pick of the semi-finals to be played on July 8-9 with the possibility of Brazil facing either France or Germany in the last four, while in the other half of the draw the Netherlands could square off against Argentina.
The FIFA World Cup Final, to be staged at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, will be broadcast live on both BBC One and ITV, while the 3rd place play-off the day before will be shown, as in 2010, by ITV.
Visit our dedicated World Cup page – sport-onthebox.com/worldcup – for a full rundown of both channel’s comprehensive coverage of the tournament.
WORLD CUP 2014 ON THE BOX – SOTB’S TV GUIDE
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QUARTER FINALS
| FRIDAY 4th JULY |
| FRANCE v GERMANY Rio de Janeiro | 17:00 |
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| BRAZIL v COLOMBIA Fortaleza | 21:00 |
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| SATURDAY 5th JULY |
| ARGENTINA v BELGIUM Brasilia | 17:00 |
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| NETHERLANDS v COSTA RICA Salvador | 21:00 |
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