With no one country willing to grab the tournament by the scruff of the neck, anything could happen in the last eight.
Despite a handful of scares, most of the pre-tournament favourites have secured their passage to the quarter-finals and the showpiece is coming to the boil.
Hosts Brazil have laboured through but have as yet failed to justify the brazen confidence which swept the nation during the build-up. Meanwhile, Argentina remain on course for the final, but have been heavily reliant on talisman Lionel Messi in their opening fixtures.
Plucky underdogs Costa Rica took Group D by storm before ousting Greece in the last-16, while dark horses Belgium have quietly gone about their business.
Here, James Olley runs the rule over the last eight - scroll through out gallery to find out which European nation he expects to reach the final in Rio on July 13.
World Cup 2014: How will the last eight fare?
