World Cup knockout stage: A roundup of what you may have missed
RUSSIA – The knockout stage of 2018 Fifa World Cup has, so far, been a roller-coaster ride of upsets.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup has, so far, been a roller-coaster ride of upsets, with many well-known football stars packing their bags and heading home.
This was the case for two of football’s biggest stars Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, and Lionel Messi of Argentina after their teams were sent packing after losing to Uruguay and France respectively.
The first half of the round of 16 kicked off over the weekend of 30 June.
On Saturday, Uruguay knocked Portugal out of the running with a 2–1 win. Edinson Cavani scored in the 7th and 62nd minute, securing Uruguay a place in the World Cup quarters. Portugal’s Pepe scored in the 55th minute, but the European team could not find the equaliser.
Billed as Messi’s chance to reignite the hopes of a stuttering Argentine squad, the later match saw Argentina do battle against France. The action-packed thriller of a match saw a stunning 4–3 victory for the French.
Sunday’s matches saw the fixtures between Croatia and Denmark, and Spain and World Cup host Russia, decided by penalty shootouts after the four teams were unable to break the deadlock during normal and extra time.
In a stunning upset, Russia eliminated Spain on penalty kicks, 4–3, after a 1-1 tie in regulation time. Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper, David de Gea did not manage to save any of Russia’s four penalties in the shootout, with many spectators questioning his form.
Russia will face Croatia in the quarter-finals after Croatia edged Denmark on penalties during the later Sunday match.
After a 1–1 draw in normal and extra time, Croatia defeated Denmark 3–2 on penalties.
As to who will make it through the knockout stages to the semi-finals has left many football pundits heads scratching their heads with the unpredictability of this World Cup.
Since the 2010 World Cup, there have been 20 round of 16 matches and only five have been decided by at least a two-goal margin. Nine of the 20 have needed extra time or penalties to decide a winner.
The first quarter-final match will take place on 7 July Sochi’s Fisht Stadium.
