We’re now down to the eight best teams remaining at the Qatar World Cup, meaning we have well and truly entered the business end of the tournament.
But before we turn our attention to the quarterfinals, here’s a quick look at what transpired in the last-16.
Netherlands 3-1 USA
No surprises here as the Dutch proved too strong for the Americans.
Goals from Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries sealed a comfortable win.
The Netherlands may have been accused of being a boring side…but Louis Van Gaal’s team are definitely getting the results.
Argentina 2-1 Australia
The Argentines underlined their status as tournament favourites with a win over the Socceroos, although this was far from a routine victory.
The Aussies showed heart and determination and can hold their heads high after putting in another brave performance.
France 3-1 Poland
The defending champions has no problems dispatching Polandwith ease.
Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud were once again on the scoresheet, demonstrating how these two have been shouldering the attacking responsibilities for Les Bleus in the absence of the injured Karim Benzema.
With five goals, Mbappe is also currently the tournament’s top scorer in Qatar.
England 3-0 Senegal
The Three Lions appear to be going from strength to strength since being held to a goalless draw by the USA in the group stage.
A dominant win over Wales was followed by another solid performance in their victory over the reigning African champions.
There is a growing sense that things appear to be clicking into place nicely for Gareth Southgate’s squad, and they’ll be fancying their chances this time around.
Japan 1-1 Croatia (Croatia win 3-1 on penalties)
The Blue Samurai have captured the hearts of the neutrals in Qatar with their highly-impressive wins over Germany and Spain.
And despite another organised and energetic effort, they just couldn’t find a way past the stubborn, and equally-well organised Croatians, with the match eventually decided by spot kicks.
They may be out of the tournament, but Japan’s heroics will remain one of the bright sparks of the 2022 edition.
Brazil 4-1 South Korea
The Brazilians danced their way to a comfortable victory, and we’re not just talking about their goal celebrations.
The five-time champions were quick, accurate and sublimely agile…and were simply unstoppable despite the best efforts of the Koreans.
The result, and the manner of the victory, leaves the Selecao one of the overwhelming favourites to go all the way.
Morocco 0-0 Spain (Morocco win 3-0 on penalties)
The biggest upset of the round, and arguably one of the most eyebrow-raising results in World Cup history.
Spain may have dominated possession and completed nearly a thousand passes, but they failed to do the most important thing – score.
While the 2010 champions were all tiki and no taka…Morocco on the other hand, held on to take the game into penalties, and held their nerve to emerge victorious.
Morocco are also only the fourth African side after Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal to reach the World Cup quarterfinals.
Portugal 6-1 Switzerland
The result, in an of itself, was impressive.
But all attention was on head coach Fernando Santos, who made the brave (and up until that point unthinkable) decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench.
It was a call that proved remarkably correct because Portugal not only played well, but Ronaldo’s replacement Goncalo Ramos went on to score a hattrick.
And with that, all eyes now turn to the final eight. Here’s a quick reminder about the quarterfinal matchups:
- Croatia vs Brazil
- Netherlands vs Argentina
- Morocco vs Portugal
- England vs France
Catch all matches LIVE on Astro.
