XXI WORLD CUP (RUSSIA 2018)

FINAL STAGE — GAME DETAILS

(From 14-06-2018 to 15-07-2018)

 

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 14-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Néstor Pitana (ARG)

GOALS: 1-0 (Gazinskij 12’); 2-0 (Cheryshev 43’); 3-0 (Dzjuba 71’); 4-0 (Cheryshev 90+’); 5-0 (Golovin 90+’)

BOOKED: Golovin (88’) / Al-Jassem (90+’)

[Incidents: Opening game of the World Cup, preceded by an inaugural ceremony.]

RUS

Россия

Russia - Saudi Arabia

العربية السعودية

KSA

5-0 (2-0)

RUSSIA

Akinfeev (c)

Mário Fernandes, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Zhirkov

Samedov (Kuzjaev 64’), Zobnin, Gazinskij, Dzagoev (Cheryshev 24’)

Golovin, Smolov (Dzjuba 70’)

COACH: Stanislav Cherchesov

SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Mayouf

Al-Buraik, Osama Hawsawi (c), Omar Hawsawi, Al-Shahrani

Al-Shehri (Bahebri 72’), Al-Jassem, Otaif (Al-Muwallad 64’), Al-Faraj, Al-Dosari

Al-Sahlawi (Assiri 85’)

COACH: Juan Antonio Pizzi

GAME SUMMARY

Russia and Saudi Arabia opened the 21st edition of the World Cup with a highly one-sided inaugural game in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. As usual, the celebrations and the spirit of the tournament overshadowed the actual match. That the two lid-lifters harbor no hope of raising the gold-plated trophy at this very same venue four-plus weeks forward did not matter a lick to the 78,011 fans stuffed inside the arena, the 25,000 partying in the adjacent riverside fanfest and hundreds of millions watching in time zones near and far. With President Vladimir Putin in the VIP balcony, sitting side by side with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Russian national team lifted the spirits of a pessimistic public by thumping hapless Saudi Arabia 5-0. Stanislav Cherchesov’s team entered the tournament winless in seven consecutive matches and there were genuine concerns that Russia would become the second host in tournament history to exit after the group stage. Luckily for the locals, they opened the competition against the weakest team in the group and lifted their spirits with an easy win.

 

Less than 12 minutes had expired when Golovin crossed to Gazinskij for a six-yard header that settled into the far corner. The arena erupted, except for the green patch of glum Saudi supporters behind the other goal. Russia lost Dzagoev to a hamstring injury in the 22nd minute, but his departure cleared the way for Cheryshev, who scored just before halftime. The foray began in the defensive end, and when the Saudis left acres of emerald grass exposed, the Russians pounced. In the penalty area, Cheryshev kept his cool to let two defenders slide out of reach and finished with an angled effort from seven yards to the near side of the net.

 

The Saudis were in a better place for 25 minutes of the second half, but the outcome wasn’t in doubt and Russia added three more goals to their tally. In the 71st minute, another substitute, Dzjuba, extended the lead to three with a header into the left side of the target, set up by Golovin’s sterling cross, much to the delight of Cherchesov and Putin. The last two Russians goals came in injury time, although the both were of extraordinary quality. First, Cheryshev latched onto the ball at the edge of the penalty area and, with exquisite technique, used the outside of his left foot to spin a rising shot over goalkeeper Al-Mayouf. Later, the 22-year-old Golovin delicately placed a picture-perfect free kick from 23 yards just inside the near post.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Tsentral’nyj Stadion (Ekaterinburg)

DATE: 15-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 27.015

REFEREE: Björn Kuipers (NED)

GOALS: 0-1 (Giménez 89’)

BOOKED: Hegazi (90+’)

EGY

مصر

Egypt - Uruguay

Uruguay

URU

0-1 (0-0)

EGYPT

El-Shenawi

Fathi (c), Gabr, Hegazi, Abdel-Shafi

Warda (Sobhi 82’), Hamed (Morsy 50’), Said, El-Neni, Trézéguet

Mohsen (Kahraba 63’)

COACH: Héctor Cúper

URUGUAY

Muslera

Varela, Giménez, Godín (c), Cáceres

Nández(C.Sánchez 58’), Vecino(Torreira 87’), Bentancur, Arrascaeta(C.Rguez. 59’)

Suárez, Cavani

COACH: Óscar Tabárez

GAME SUMMARY

After dominating for long spells of the game, Uruguay escaped with a last-gasp 1-0 win over Egypt thanks to a late header by defender Giménez, who made amends for the bucketful of wasted chances of Charrúa’s attacking duo Suárez-Cavani. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but Uruguay took all three points to make it to the top of Group A together with Russia. It was also the first victory in an opening match for the South Americans at the World Cup in 48 years. Egypt, without Mohammed Salah—still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid—, parried off every Uruguay chance and lucked out as Luis Suárez missed two surefire chances, one early and one late. Coach Héctor Cuper’s dual gambit—not playing Salah and going with Mohammed el-Shenawi in goal instead of captain Essam el-Hadary— was so close to paying off, but with one minute to go Giménez rose above the Egyptian defenders on a free kick to head Uruguay to victory.

 

In the first half, Uruguay tried to take a bite out of an arguably toothless Egypt squad without Salah, but they only nibbled around the box. Suárez had a glorious chance to score in the 24th minute, when he received the ball in a wide-open position on the left side of the area but sent his attempt into the side netting. The Barcelona attacker had another opportunity to score in the 73rd minute, but he kept the ball on his feet too long and the Egyptian goalkeeper covered it up. El-Shenawi made the top save of the contest in the 83rd minute, as he leaped to his left to deny Cavani’s shot from the top of the box. With time ticking down in regulation, Giménez’s header to a free kick from Atlético de Madrid’s teammate Diego Godín produced the celebratory moment Uruguay was hoping for and the heart-shattering experience Egypt wanted to avoid.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 15-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 62.548

REFEREE: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)

GOALS: 0-1 (Bouhaddouz [o.g.] 90+’)

BOOKED: El-Ahmadi (34’) / Shojaei (10’), Jahanbakhsh (47’), Ansarifard (90+’)

MOR

المغرب

Morocco - Iran

ایران

IRN

0-1 (0-0)

MOROCCO

Munir

N. Amrabat (S. Amrabat 76’), Benatia (c), Saïss, Achraf

El-Ahmadi, Belhanda, Boussoufa, Harit (Manuel da Costa 82’)

Ziyech, El-Kaabi (Bouhaddouz 77’)

COACH: Hervé Renard

IRAN

Beiranvand

Rezaeian, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi, Hajsafi

Shojaei (c) (Taremi 68’), Ebrahimi (Hosseini 81’), Amiri, Ansarifard

Jahanbakhsh (Ghoddos 85’), Azmoun

COACH: Carlos Queiroz

GAME SUMMARY

Iran produced the first surprise of the tournament after defeating Morocco 1-0 thanks to an injury-time own-goal by substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz. Just when it looked like both teams would play out a fairly lifeless nil-nil draw, a 95th minute free kick allowed Iran to steal their first World Cup victory since 1998. It was a set piece that made the difference in this match. Ehsan Hajsafi’s free kick deep into stoppage time ended up glancing in off Bouhaddouz’s head.

 

Morocco had the better of the chances throughout the match. They did well to work themselves into threatening areas, particularly in the first half, but their finishing lacked quality and truly let them down throughout the match. Iran was able to put together some chances on the counter, but they struggled to get the final ball right as well. Credit goes to their midfield and defense, who did well to slow up Morocco’s possession and prevent them from creating many chances after the half-time break. They failed to register a shot in the second half, yet still won the match.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Olimpijskij Stadion Fisht” (Sochi)

DATE: 15-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.866

REFEREE: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Cristiano Ronaldo [p.] 4’); 1-1 (Diego Costa 24’); 2-1 (Cristiano Ronaldo 44’); 2-2 (Diego Costa 55’); 2-3 (Nacho 58’); 3-3 (Cristiano Ronaldo 88’)

BOOKED: Bruno Fernandes (28’) / Busquets (17’)

POR

Portugal

Portugal - Spain

España

SPA

3-3 (2-1)

PORTUGAL

Rui Patrício

Cédric, José Fonte, Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro

B. Silva (Quaresma 69’), J. Moutinho, W. Carvalho, B. Fernandes (J. Mário 68’)

Gonçalo Guedes (André Silva 80’), Cristiano Ronaldo (c)

COACH: Fernando Santos

SPAIN

De Gea

Jordi Alba, Sergio Ramos (c), Piqué, Nacho

Iniesta (Thiago 70’), Busquets, Koke

Isco, Diego Costa (Iago Aspas 77’), Silva (Lucas Vázquez 86’)

COACH: Fernando Hierro

GAME SUMMARY

The clash of heavyweights in Group B certainly lived up to its billing as Spain and Portugal tied 3-3 at the end of a thriller. A stellar Cristiano Ronaldo produced a hat-trick to cancel out two goals from Diego Costa, his last target coming from a perfectly curled free kick in minute 88 which salvaged one point for Portugal.

 

Just four minutes into the game, Portugal was in front on a penalty kick goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. The star forward met Real Madrid teammate Nacho Fernández on his way into the box, and the combination of early jumping and slight contact by the Spanish defender was enough for Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi to point to the spot. Spain slowly worked back from there, eventually scoring a goal of their own on a magnificent solo effort from Diego Costa. It wasn’t without some controversy, though, as the Spanish attacker muscled his was past Pepe and the rest of the Portugal defense before shooting on goal. Moments before halftime, though, Portugal was back in lead on a David de Gea blunder. Following a spectacular touch from Gonçalo Guedes, Cristiano Ronaldo fired a low shot from the top of the box which slipped through De Gea’s hands and into the back of the net, giving Portugal a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime.

 

Fireworks continued early in the second half as Diego Costa matched Cristiano Ronaldo with his second goal of the game, finishing from close range on a free kick sequence. Shortly after, Nacho stepped up with a stunner, rifling a half-volleyed finish off the post and in. Finding themselves on the lead for the first time in the match, Spain dominated possession for the rest of the game with their classic interpassing play, enjoying roughly twice as much time on the ball as their Iberian rivals. Just when the Spaniards looked certain of a deserved victory, a late free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo produced as a stunning equalizer.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Kazan Arena (Kazan’)

DATE: 16-06-2018 (13:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.279

REFEREE: Andrés Cunha (URU)

GOALS: 1-0 (Griezmann [p.] 58’); 1-1 (Jedinak [p.] 62’); 2-1 (Pogba 81’)

BOOKED: Tolisso (76’) / Leckie (13’), Risdon (57’), Behich (87’)

FRA

France

France - Australia

Australia

AUS

2-1 (0-0)

FRANCE

Lloris (c)

Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas

Tolisso (Matuidi 78’), Kanté, Pogba

Dembélé (Fekir 70’), Griezmann (Giroud 70’), Mbappé

COACH: Didier Deschamps

AUSTRALIA

Ryan

Risdon, Sainsbury, Milligan, Behich

Leckie, Jedinak (c), Rogic (Irvine 72’), Mooy, Kruse (Arzani 84’)

Nabbout (Juric 64’)

COACH: Bert van Marwijk

GAME SUMMARY

France opened their participation in the World Cup with a hard-earned victory against Australia. Although heavily favored to win the game, Les Bleus needed some luck to down the Socceroos with a Paul Pogba winner in the 81th minute which needed VAR assistance, as the ball bounced in and out of the goal line.

 

In a quiet first half, France had the better looks. Mbappé was kept out early by Mat Ryan, while Australia defended heavily against the dangerous France attack. Griezmann had a pair of efforts towards goal, but the Australian keeper gathered each with ease. Griezmann broke the deadlock in the 58th minute as video review reversed a call on the field. Referee Andrés Cunha awarded Les Bleus a penalty kick after Josh Risdon hacked down the Atlético de Madrid forward inside of the box. Griezmann scored the ensuing penalty kick, leaving Ryan flat-footed on his line. However, Australia leveled the score quickly as Jedinak slotted past Hugo Lloris from his own penalty kick in the 62nd minute, after a silly handball by Umtiti gave Cunha no argument but to whistle for the spot kick in the French area. France’s pressure paid off in the 81st minute as Pogba’s right-footed effort clipped Aziz Behich’s foot and went off the crossbar and in. Video review was used to check if the ball crossed the line, but it was quickly awarded to Didier Deschamps side.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Otkrytie Arena (Moskva)

DATE: 16-06-2018 (16:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.190

REFEREE: Szymon Marciniak (POL)

GOALS: 1-0 (Agüero 19’); 1-1 (Finnbogason 23’)

BOOKED: -

[Incidents: Messi missed a penalty shot (min. 64), saved by Halldórsson.]

ARG

Argentina

Argentina - Iceland

Ísland

ICE

1-1 (1-1)

ARGENTINA

Caballero

Salvio, Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico

Meza (Higuaín 84’), Mascherano, Biglia (Banega 54’), Di María (Pavón 75’)

Messi (c), Agüero

COACH: Jorge Sampaoli

ICELAND

Halldórsson

Sævarsson, Árnason, R. Sigurðsson, Magnússon

Gunnarsson (c) (A. Skulason 76’), G. Sigurðsson, Hallfreðsson, Bjarnason

Guðmundsson (Gíslason 63’), Finnbogason (Sigurðarson 89’)

COACH: Heimir Hallgrímsson

GAME SUMMARY

Argentina and Messi had a disappointing start to their World Cup campaign, as the Albiceleste was held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland. A first-half goal by Alfreð Finnbogason paired with a strong defensive effort by the islanders earned them one point against the favorites to top Group D. Despite their massive ball possession (78%), Argentina was unable to break the Icelandic wall.

 

The South Americans started the game in a dominant fashion, and Hannes Halldórsson was called into action to palm away Messi’s curled effort. Argentina took the lead in the 19th minute, when a long effort by Marcos Rojo found the feet of “Kun” Agüero, who shimmied to his left and scored smoothly with a blistering shot into the top-left corner. The lead only lasted four minutes though, as Finnbogason equalized at the equator of the first half when a cross by Hörður Magnússon was palmed away by Willy Caballero and the Augsburg striker tapped in Iceland’s first ever World Cup goal. The Europeans grew in confidence, and on the verge of halftime Gylfi Sigurðsson’s right-footed strike was gathered by Caballero.

 

Argentina had a huge chance to regain the lead in the 64th minute when Magnússon bundled over Maxi Meza and Jorge Sampaoli’s side were awarded a penalty. Messi stepped up to the spot, but his poorly taken effort allowed Halldórsson to punch the ball out. Messi’s struggles continued as he missed the left post in the 81st minute after creating some space. The Icelandic goalkeeper was called into action again to parry away a Cristian Pavón’s effort from a tough angle with a long stretch.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Mordovija Arena (Saransk)

DATE: 16-06-2018 (19:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 40.502

REFEREE: Bakary Gassama (GAM)

GOALS: 0-1 (Yurary Poulsen 59’)

BOOKED: Tapia (38’) / Delaney (86’), Yurary Poulsen (90+’)

[Incidents: Cueva missed a penalty shot (min. 45+).]

PER

Perú

Peru - Denmark

Danmark

DEN

0-1 (0-0)

PERU

Gallese

Advíncula, Alberto Rodríguez (c), Christian Ramos, Trauco

Carrillo, Tapia (Aquino 87’), Cueva, Yotún, Flores (Guerrero 62’)

Farfán (Ruidíaz 85’)

COACH: Ricardo Gareca

DENMARK

Schmeichel

Dalsgaard, Kjær (c), Christensen (M. Jørgensen 81’), Stryger Larsen

Kvist (Schöne 35’), Eriksen, Delaney

Yurary Poulsen, N. Jørgensen, Sisto (Braithwaite 67’)

COACH: Åge Hareide

GAME SUMMARY

In a game dominated far and wide by Peru, it was Denmark who grabbed all three points after making the most of their scarce opportunities. The Danes took the lead after a second-half finish by winger Yussuf Yurary Poulsen on a swift counterattack and then stayed compact defensively to deal with a lively Peru attack. Even with their 16 shots compared to Denmark’s eight, the South Americans lacked the cutting edge in front of goal.

 

Most of the chances in the first half fell on the Peruvian side. In one rare Danish effort, Lasse Schöne’s volley was kept out by Gallese. Just before halftime, video review awarded Peru a penalty after Christian Cueva was dragged back by Yurary Poulsen. Despite winning the spot kick, Cueva failed to make it count as he skied his effort into the stands. Fourteen minutes into the second half, Yurary Poulsen received a lay off from Christian Eriksen on the left wing and danced his way into the box to score with a nice left-footed finish which beat Gallese to the bottom-left corner. Peruvian captain Paolo Guerrero came off the bench after the hour mark and tried to spark a comeback with a header, but Schmeichel cushioned the ball. Guerrero’s backheel in the 79th minute look destined to squeak in, but again luck wasn’t on his side. Schmeichel’s biggest save came in the 84th minute as his kick save on Jefferson Farfán kept Denmark ahead.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad)

DATE: 16-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 31.136

REFEREE: Sandro Meira Ricci (BRA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Etebo [o.g.] 32’); 2-0 (Modrić [p.] 71’)

BOOKED: Rakitić (30’), Brozović (89’) / Troost-Ekong (70’)

CRO

Hrvatska

Croatia - Nigeria

Nigeria

NIG

2-0 (1-0)

CROATIA

Subašić

Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinić

Modrić (c), Rakitić, Perišić, Rebić (Kovačić 78’)

Kramarić (Brozović 60’), Mandžukić (Pjaca 86’)

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

NIGERIA

Francis

Shehu, Troost-Ekong, Balogun, Idowu

Moses, Ndidi, Etebo, Mikel (c) (Nwankwo 88’)

Ighalo (Iheanacho 72’), Iwobi (Musa 62’)

COACH: Gernot Rohr

GAME SUMMARY

Two untimely errors doomed Nigeria in their World Cup debut against a clinical Croatia. An own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo and a penalty conceded for a body check of William Troost-Ekong on Mario Mandžukić right in front of the referee were enough to see Croatia past Nigeria and take the lead in Group D. The match overall was a very defensive one. Both sides played strong defense in open play and didn’t allow the other side many opportunities. Once Croatia went up by a pair of goals, Nigeria’s attack stook little chance at penetrating their defensive shield. Luka Modrić was instrumental in the midfield all match long, even before he added the sealing goal.

 

Both of Croatia’s goals materialized from set pieces. The first was directly off a corner just after the half-hour mark. Modrić’s take fell to Mandžukić, who got a shot away but it took a deflection off Etebo to bumble into the back of the net. The second was a penalty against Troost-Ekong, who was caught with his arms all over Mandžukić as he attempted to reach a corner. Modrić subsequently stepped to the spot and had no trouble at all slotting the ball home.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Cosmos Arena (Samara)

DATE: 17-06-2018 (16:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.432

REFEREE: Malang Diédhiou (SEN)

GOALS: 0-1 (Kolarov 56’)

BOOKED: Calvo (22), Guzmán (56) / Ivanović (59’), Prijović (90+’)

CRC

Costa Rica

Costa Rica - Serbia

Србија

SER

0-1 (0-0)

COSTA RICA

Keylor Navas

Gamboa, Acosta, Giancarlo González, Duarte, Calvo

Borges, Bryan Ruiz (c), Guzmán (Colindres 73’), Venegas (Bolaños 60’)

Ureña (Campbell 66’)

COACH: Óscar Ramírez

SERBIA

Stojković

Ivanović, Milenković, Tošić, Kolarov (c)

Tadić (Rukavina 83’), Milivojević, Milinković-Savić, Matić, Ljajić (Kostić 70’)

Mitrović (Prijović 90’)

COACH: Mladen Krstajić

GAME SUMMARY

In a match that lacked attractive attacking play, Serbia labored their way to three points in their World Cup opener against Costa Rica. A free kick proved the deciding factor for the Europeans in their 1-0 win over the Ticos. The set piece was an impressive strike off the boot of Serbian captain Kolarov in the 56th minute. The Roma left back curled a shot over the wall and inside the near post, giving Keylor Navas absolutely no chance at a save. Serbia controlled much of the flow of play before the goal and was content to sit back and defend a pretty lifeless Costa Rica attack afterwards. The Ticos did have one golden opportunity in the final seconds of the match, when Christian Bolaños was left all alone on the doorstep, but he got under the shot as it sailed over the bar as the offside flag went up.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 17-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Alireza Faghani (IRN)

GOALS: 0-1 (Lozano 35’)

BOOKED: Müller (83’), Hummels (84’) / Héctor Moreno (40’), Herrera (90’)

GER

Deutschland

Germany - Mexico

México

MEX

0-1 (0-1)

GERMANY

Neuer (c)

Kimmich, Boateng, Hummels, Plattenhardt (Gómez 79’)

Müller, Kroos, Özil, Khedira (Reus 60’), Draxler

Werner (Brandt 86’)

COACH: Joachim Löw

MEXICO

Ochoa

Salcedo, Ayala, Héctor Moreno, Gallardo

Layún, Herrera, Vela (Álvarez 58’), Guardado (Márquez 74’), Lozano (Jiménez 66’)

“Chicharito” Hernández

COACH: Juan Carlos Osorio

GAME SUMMARY

Mexico produced the first big shock of the tournament after defeating defending world champions Germany in their opening game. El Tri used a swift counterattack in the first half capped off by a Hirving Lozano goal to stun the Germans 1-0 in Moscow. Despite continuous pressure by Joachim Löw’s side, Mexico defended strongly and left their opponents frustrated at the final whistle.

 

The Mannschaft dominated the early stages of the game, but Mexico always looked dangerous on the break. In the 35th minute, Juan Carlos Osorio’s side snatched the lead when Hirving Lozano slotted past Manuel Neuer after a nice set up by “Chicharito” Hernández. Memo Ochoa came up big just minutes later as he stretched out to save a Toni Kroos’ free kick that look destined for the top-right corner. After halftime, Mexico failed to add to their lead after a two-on-one saw Chicharito’s pass drift wide of Carlos Vela in front of goal. Miguel Layún’s long run on a one-on-one later in the half could have iced it for Mexico, but the Sevilla defender skied his effort over goal. Joshua Kimmich’s overhead kick soared over the crossbar in the 64th minute, adding to Germany’s frustration. Marco Reus came on as a substitute but also lacked the final product as he missed from close range in the 71st minute. Mario Gómez looked likely to chip past Ochoa in the 89th minute, but the keeper was able to pester him enough to force his effort wide.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Rostov Arena (Rostov-na-Donu)

DATE: 17-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.109

REFEREE: César Arturo Ramos (MEX)

GOALS: 1-0 (Coutinho 20’); 1-1 (Zuber 50’)

BOOKED: Casemiro (47’) / Lichtsteiner (31’), Schär (65’), Behrami (68’)

BRA

Brasil

Brazil - Switzerland

Schweiz / Suisse

SWI

1-1 (1-0)

BRAZIL

Alisson

Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo (c)

Willian, Paulinho (Renato Augusto 67’), Casemiro (Fernandinho 60’), Coutinho

Gabriel Jesus (Firmino 79’), Neymar

COACH: Adenor Bacchi “Tite”

SWITZERLAND

Sommer

Lichtsteiner (c) (Lang 87’), Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez

Shaqiri, Behrami (Zakaria 71’), Xhaka, Zuber

Džemaili, Seferović (Embolo 80’)

COACH: Vladimir Petković

GAME SUMMARY

Following the steps of Spain, Argentina and Germany, Brazil joined the club of favorites who had a shaky start to their World Cup campaign. The perennial contenders were frustrated and stifled to a 1-1 draw by a resolute Swiss team. Philippe Coutinho’s stunner in the first half was canceled out by a finish from Steven Zuber early in the second half. Despite a constant Brazilian pressure for the rest of the game, the Swiss defense stood firm. Neymar was kept at bay with a combination of harsh tackling and his own growing frustration.

 

The first half was largely in Brazil’s favor, with the South American favorites maintaining a bulk of the possession. Chances, though, were harder to come by as the Swiss kept a tight defensive line despite having less of the ball. Brazil took the lead after 20 minutes with a magnificent finish from Coutinho. Following a headed clearance out of Switzerland’s box, the Barcelona winger picked up the ball and took a touch before curling a shot towards the far post which went off the post and in. Tite’s team seated on their lead waiting for a chance to extend it on the counterattack, but that gave Switzerland plenty of time and space to grow in confidence. Early in the second half, Zuber pushed away defender Miranda to provide a headed finish to a corner kick from Xherdan Shaqiri and make it 1-1. Switzerland opened up a little bit with Shaqiri proving a weapon on the right-hand side. On the attacking end, Brazil struggled, meanwhile, as the Swiss played a physical match that proved stop-and-start due to frequent fouling (with Neymar the main target). Brazil did muster a few chances late, though, with the best coming on a Miranda shot from a corner kick.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Nizhnij Novgorod (Nizhnij Novgorod)

DATE: 18-06-2018 (15:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.300

REFEREE: Joel Aguilar (SLV)

GOALS: 1-0 (Granqvist [p.] 65’)

BOOKED: Claesson (61’) / Kim Shin-ook (13’), Hwang Hee-chan (55’)

SWE

Sverige

Sweden - South Korea

한국

SKR

1-0 (0-0)

SWEDEN

Olsen

Lustig, Jansson, Granqvist (c), Augustinsson

Claesson, Larsson (Svensson 81’), Ekdal (Hiljemark 71’), Forsberg

Toivonen (Kiese Thelin 77’), Berg

COACH: Janne Andersson

SOUTH KOREA

Cho Hyun-woo

Lee Yong, Jang Hyun-soo, Kim Young-gwon, Park Joo-ho (Kim Min-woo 28’)

Lee Jae-sung, Ki Sung-yong (c), Koo Ja-chul (Lee Seung-woo 73’), Son Heung-min

Hwang Hee-chan, Kim Shin-ook (Jung Woo-young 66’)

COACH: Shin Tae-yong

GAME SUMMARY

The VAR had its first important saying in the World Cup in a dull opener between Sweden and South Korea, marred by fouls and poor attacking. A foul on Viktor Claesson in the Korean box, which had gone unnoticed to Salvadorean referee Joel Aguilar to the point of dismiss the furious Swedish appeals, was overruled by the video replay. Captain Andreas Granqvist stepped to the spot and knocked home the lone goal of the contest. The win was reward for Sweden's more attacking approach, but it was unsurprising the winner came from the penalty spot in a game between two sides who had managed only two goals between them in seven games heading into Russia. Sweden never really convinced that they would score prior to the penalty despite their domination and a toothless South Korea did not manage a single shot on target. However, the Asian side should have equalized in the 90th minute when Hwang Hee-chan put a free header wide, spurning their best chance of the game by far.

 

Sweden created the better chances in the first half, but the forward pairing of Ola Toivonen and Marcus Berg struggled to consistently challenge surprise keeper Cho Hyun-woo (third pick on goal in the Korean team). Berg had the best chance of the opening stanza in the 20th minute, but his shot from close range was denied by the Korean custodian. Midway the second half, Granqvist scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, after VAR technology ruled that a tackle by Kim Min-woo took down Claesson in the box. South Korea put a bit of pressure on the Sweden net in the final 25 minutes, but the closest they would come would be Hwang Hee-chan’s stoppage time attempt into the side netting.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Olimpijskij Stadion Fisht” (Sochi)

DATE: 18-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.257

REFEREE: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)

GOALS: 1-0 (Mertens 47’); 2-0 (Lukaku 69’); 3-0 (Lukaku 75’)

BOOKED: Meunier (14’), Vertonghen (59’), De Bruyne (88’) / Davis (18’), Bárcenas (45+’), Cooper (49’), Murillo (51’), Godoy (57’)

BEL

België / Belgique

Belgium - Panama

Panamá

PAN

3-0 (0-0)

BELGIUM

Courtois

Alderweireld, Boyata, Vertonghen

Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel (Chadli 90’), Carrasco (Dembélé 74’)

Mertens (Th. Hazard 83’), Lukaku, E. Hazard (c)

COACH: Roberto Martínez

PANAMA

Penedo

Murillo, R. Torres (c), Escobar, Davis

Bárcenas (G. Torres 63’), Cooper, Gómez, Godoy, Rodríguez (Ismael Díaz 63’)

Pérez (Tejada 73’)

COACH: Hernán Gómez

GAME SUMMARY

The World Cup match between one of the strongest and one of the weakest teams had the expected outcome, as Belgium beat Panama 3-0. Los Canaleros held on longer than expected in the country’s World Cup debut, and Belgium could only break their deadlock in the second half, when Dries Mertens scored a stunning volley and Romelu Lukaku provided a brace.

 

The Central American debutants suffered a shaky start as Lukaku went close for Belgium in the opening minute after an incisive pass from Kevin de Bruyne set Yannick Carrasco free down the left, but the Manchester United striker fired wide. After this early scare, Panama defended well throughout the first half, limiting the Belgian chances throughout. Jaime Penedo was forced into two solid saves, his best one coming on a shot from Mertens. In the attacking end, Panama was perhaps more active than many expected. The CONCACAF side did come out of their shell several times, working well enough on the counter despite not mustering a clear chance.

 

Following a frustrating first half, Belgium finally broke through in spectacular fashion just moments into the second. With the ball being headed around in the box, Mertens popped up with a curling volley to the back post and in. Lukaku's hard work up front was rewarded when he headed home De Bruyne's brilliant pass off the outside of his foot to make it 2-0 in the 69th minute, then the big striker latched onto an Eden Hazard pass to complete the scoring with a neat finish.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Volgograd Arena (Volgograd)

DATE: 18-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.064

REFEREE: Wilmar Roldán (COL)

GOALS: 0-1 (Kane 11’); 1-1 (Sassi [p.] 35’); 1-2 (Kane 90+’)

BOOKED: Walker (33’)

TUN

تونس

Tunisia - England

England

ENG

1-2 (1-1)

TUNISIA

Hassen (Ben Mustapha 16’)

Bronn, S. Ben Youssef, Meriah, Maâloul

Sassi, Skhiri, Badri

F. Ben Youssef , Khazri (c) (Khalifa 85’), Sliti (Ben Amor 74’)

COACH: Nabil Maâloul

ENGLAND

Pickford

Walker, Stones, Maguire

Trippier, Alli (Loftus-Cheek 80’), Henderson, Lingard (Dier 90+’), Young

Sterling (Rashford 68’), Kane (c)

COACH: Gareth Southgate

GAME SUMMARY

A late winner by Harry Kane saved the day for England in their World Cup opener against Tunisia. In spite of their constant pressure, the Three Lions had to wait until injury time to secure a deserved 2-1 victory. The Tottenham forward scored both English goals to save Gareth Southgate’s team from embarrasment and future complications in Group G. Tunisia paid dearly for their poor defending on air balls.

 

Kane capitalized on the early wave of challenges on the Tunisian goal in the 11th minute, as he knocked in a rebound near the right post. John Stones rose above the pack in the box to head a chance on goal off a corner kick, but Mouez Hassen made a terrific leaping save before dumping the rebound to Kane’s feet. The joy of the early goal, which brought a sense of relief among English fans this World Cup may be different than past tournaments, shifted in the normal sense of despair as the opening stanza rolled on. In the 33rd minute, Kyle Walker committed a needless and calamitous mistake in the box, as he raised his arm and hit Syam Ben Youssef in the face. This contact handed Tunisia a penalty kick, and Ferjani Sassi slotted home from the spot past Jordan Pickford. Stones’ whiff from close range and a rolling ball off the post on Jesse Lingard’s run into the box continued the attacking frustration for the English in the first half.

 

Even though Tunisia were much better in the second half, there were no shots on goal for Pickford to deal with. The English pressure on their rivals was almost unremitting, and it was short of a miracle that Tunisia managed to reach the final minutes with an even score. With time ticking down and the normal sense of disappointment already settled in for the Three Lions in a World Cup campaign, Kane rescued his team with an open header at the back post and immediately rushed to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Mordovija Arena (Saransk)

DATE: 19-06-2018 (15:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 40.842

REFEREE: Damir Skomina (SVN)

GOALS: 0-1 (Kagawa [p.] 6’); 1-1 (Quintero 39’); 1-2 (Osako 73’)

BOOKED: Carlos Sánchez (RC 3’), Barrios (64’), James Rodríguez (86’) / Kawashima (90+’)

[Incidents: Carlos Sánchez was sent off (min. 3).]

COL

Colombia

Colombia - Japan

日本

JAP

1-2 (1-1)

COLOMBIA

Ospina

Arias, Dávinson Sánchez, Murillo, Mojica

Juan Cuadrado (Barrios 31’), C. Sánchez, Quintero (James Rodríguez 59’), Lerma

Falcao (c), Izquierdo (Bacca 70’)

COACH: José Pékerman

JAPAN

Kawashima

H. Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo

Haraguchi, Hasebe (c), Kagawa (Honda 70’), Shibasaki (Yamaguchi 80’)

Osako (Okazaki 85’), Inui

COACH: Akira Nishino

GAME SUMMARY

Japan had a dream start to their World Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory over Colombia, who four years ago in Brazil had crushed their qualification hopes. The Blue Samurais took advantage of an early red card to Colombian midfielder Carlos Sánchez (the second-fastest in World Cup history) for a deliberate handball in the box, with Shinji Kagawa slotting home the ensuing penalty kick. Although down one man, Colombia fought hard to remain in the game, and they earned an equalizer in the 39th minute via Juan Quintero, who rolled a free kick underneath the leaping wall and tucked it into the bottom-left corner of the net before Eiji Kawashima was able to get to the ball. The protests of the Japanese goalkeeper were hopeless, as video replay showed the ball crossing the line. Los Cafeteros hung in the contest for parts of the second half, as David Ospina came up with a few saves before he was beaten by Yuya Osako on a set piece in the 73rd minute. The Japanese attacker worked his way through a pack of players and nodded a corner kick into the net. Although Colombia tried to produce chances in the attacking third through substitute James Rodríguez, they couldn’t get the job done as the missing man was starting to take its physical toll.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Otkrytie Arena (Moskva)

DATE: 19-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.190

REFEREE: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)

GOALS: 0-1 (Cionek [o.g.] 37’); 0-2 (Niang 60’); 1-2 (Krychowiak 86’)

BOOKED: Krychowiak (12’) / Sané (49’), Guèye (72’)

POL

Polska

Poland - Senegal

Sénégal

SEN

1-2 (0-1)

POLAND

Szczęsny

Piszczek (Bereszyński 83’), Cionek, Pazdan, Rybus

Błaszczykowski (Bednarek 46’), Krychowiak, Zieliński, Grosicki

Lewandowski (c), Milik (Kownacki 73’)

COACH: Adam Nawałka

SENEGAL

Kh. N’Diaye

Wagué, Koulibaly, Sané, Sabaly

Mané (c), A. N’Diaye (Kouyaté 87’), Guèye, Sarr

Diouf (N’Doye 62’), Niang (Konaté 75’)

COACH: Aliou Cissé

GAME SUMMARY

Senegal pushed past Poland in their first World Cup match in 16 years with a pair of fluky goals. After a less than thrilling opening 35 minutes, Idrissa Guèye’s shot deflected off Thiago Cionek and past Wojciech Szczęsny for the game’s opener. Poland’s best chance for an equalizer came in the 50th minute, when Robert Lewandowski’s free kick appeared to be on a collision course with the back of the net. However, Khadim N’Diaye read the set piece correctly and leaped to his left to keep out the blast from the Bayern Munich forward. A bizarre situation played out in the 60th minute in the build-up to Senegal’s second goal. As the African team was preparing a substitution, M’Baye Niang was allowed back on the field by the referees during the run of play. As the Senegalese attacker trotted over from the sideline, the ball was played back in the direction of Szczęsny, who was forced to rush off his line to clear. Niang eluded the Polish keeper and finished into an open net to secure Senegal’s third-ever World Cup victory, all of which have come against European sides. Poland pulled back a late tally in the 86th minute, as Grzegorz Krychowiak connected with a free kick and headed his third-career international goal into the right side of the net, but it was already too late.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 19-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 64.468

REFEREE: Enrique Cáceres (PAR)

GOALS: 1-0 (Fathi [o.g.] 47’); 2-0 (Cheryshev 59’); 3-0 (Dzjuba 62’); 3-1 (Salah [p.] 73’)

BOOKED: Smolov (84’) / Trézéguet (57’)

RUS

Россия

Russia - Egypt

مصر

EGY

3-1 (0-0)

RUSSIA

Akinfeev (c)

Mário Fernandes, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Zhirkov (Kudrjashov 86’)

Samedov, Zobnin, Golovin, Gazinskij, Cheryshev (Kuzjaev 74’)

Dzjuba (Smolov 79’)

COACH: Stanislav Cherchesov

EGYPT

El-Shenawi

Fathi (c), Gabr, Hegazi, Abdel-Shafi

Salah, Hamed, Said, El-Neni (Warda 64’), Trézéguet (Sobhi 68’)

Mohsen (Kahraba 82’)

COACH: Héctor Cúper

GAME SUMMARY

The much-awaited return of Mohammed Salah to the Egyptian line-up was marred by a defeat which most likely will put an end to the Pharaohs participation in the World Cup. On the other side Russia, heavily criticized during the pre-tournament, qualified for the next stage. A trio of second half goals proved more than enough for the hosts to take down Egypt 3-1.

 

While the first half was fairly uneventful, there were some dangerous moments for both sides with most of that danger coming from out wide. The best look was likely a shot from Salah, who turned and curled an effort just wide of the post from just outside the box. Russia jumped into the lead just a minute into the second half on a bizarre goal. Following a clearance, a hopeful ball in was fired in the direction of Egypt defender Ahmed Fathi. The fullback was bumped by Artjom Dzjuba as he looked to clear the ball, firing the ball into his own net as he fell to give Russia the lead. The hosts doubled their lead in the 59th minute on a goal from Denis Cheryshev, his third of the tournament. The Russian winger finished on an assist from Mário Fernandes, who fired a pass just outside of the six-yard box to allow Cheryshev to finish first-time. Three minutes later, it was 3-0 as Dzjuba scored his second of the tournament to all but eliminate Egypt. Salah was able to get on the board eventually, though, burying a spot kick that proved little more than consolation for Egypt.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 20-06-2018 (15:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Mark Geiger (USA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Cristiano Ronaldo 4’)

BOOKED: Adrien Silva (90+’) / Benatia (40’)

POR

Portugal

Portugal - Morocco

المغرب

MOR

1-0 (1-0)

PORTUGAL

Rui Patrício

Cédric, Pepe, José Fonte, Raphaël Guerreiro

B.Silva(G.Martins 59’), W.Carvalho, J.Moutinho(A.Silva 89’), J.Mário(B.Fernandes 70’)

Gonçalo Guedes, Cristiano Ronaldo (c)

COACH: Fernando Santos

MOROCCO

Munir

Dirar, Benatia (c), Manuel da Costa, Achraf

N. Amrabat, El-Ahmadi (Fajr 86’), Belhanda (Carcela-G. 75’), Boussoufa, Ziyech

Boutaïb (El-Kaabi 70’)

COACH: Hervé Renard

GAME SUMMARY

Portugal held on to top a resolute Morocco side with another goal from in-form Cristiano Ronaldo. Following a hat-trick performance in the opener against Spain, the Real Madrid attacker added to his tally in a narrow 1-0 win over Morocco, which means that the Portuguese will advance to the knock-out rounds whereas the North Africans are eliminated with zero points in two games. Cristiano Ronaldo’s fourth goal of the tournament came just four minutes in, when the Portuguese star fired a header from close range to give his team the lead. From that point forward, though, Portugal was forced to hold on as Morocco remained the aggressor for most of the match. The African side maintained a bulk of the possession while creating a number of chances that tested goalkeeper Rui Patrício. The Portuguese custodian made his best stop in the 58th minute, diving to palm out a headed shot from Younès Belhanda.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Rostov Arena (Rostov-na-Donu)

DATE: 20-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.678

REFEREE: Clément Turpin (FRA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Suárez 23’)

BOOKED: -

URU

Uruguay

Uruguay - Saudi Arabia

العربية السعودية

KSA

1-0 (1-0)

URUGUAY

Muslera

Varela, Giménez, Godín (c), Cáceres

C. Sánchez (Nández 82’), Vecino (Torreira 59’), Bentancur, C. Rodríguez (Laxalt 59’)

Suárez, Cavani

COACH: Óscar Tabárez

SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Owais

Al-Buraik, Osama Hawsawi (c), Al-Bulaihi, Al-Shahrani

Bahebri (Kanno 75’), Al-Faraj, Otaif, Al-Jassem (Al-Moqahwi 44’), Al-Dosari

Al-Muwallad (Al-Sahlawi 78’)

COACH: Juan Antonio Pizzi

GAME SUMMARY

Uruguay limped through into the knock-out rounds with a dull victory over Saudi Arabia. For the second time in as many games, the Charrúas escaped with three points from a match where the team played far from their best. For the Saudi team, the defeat meant elimination. The first half was a bit more back-and-forth than many would have expected, but the favorites eventually broke through on a Saudi Arabia mistake. On a corner kick in, goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais whiffed on his attempted punch and the ball fell right to the feet of Luis Suárez, who tapped into the open goal for Uruguay’s only goal of the game. Saudi Arabia actually controlled plenty of possession throughout the match, playing a fairly even game with the South American powerhouse. While Uruguay did generate a few more chances on the day, Juan Antonio Pizzi’s side put in a performance far better than the 5-0 battering suffered against hosts Russia.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Kazan Arena (Kazan’)

DATE: 20-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.718

REFEREE: Andrés Cunha (URU)

GOALS: 0-1 (Diego Costa 54’)

BOOKED: Amiri (79’), Ebrahimi (90+’)

IRN

ایران

Iran - Spain

España

SPA

0-1 (0-0)

IRAN

Beiranvand

Rezaeian, Hosseini, Pouraliganji, Hajsafi (c)(Mohammadi 69’)

Ansarifard (Jahanbakhsh 74’), Ebrahimi, Taremi, Ezatolahi, Amiri (Ghoddos 86’)

Azmoun

COACH: Carlos Queiroz

SPAIN

De Gea

Carvajal, Piqué, Sergio Ramos (c), Jordi Alba

Silva, Busquets, Isco, Iniesta (Koke 71’), Lucas Vázquez (Asensio 79’)

Diego Costa (Rodrigo 89’)

COACH: Fernando Hierro

GAME SUMMARY

Spain edged past Iran 1-0 to earn a much-needed three points in Group B and face the last competition day in a position to qualify for the knock-out rounds, which they will do with at least a draw against Morocco. Iran committed to defending Spain’s possession attack for much of the game, allowing Fernando Hierro’s side to complete as many as 720 passes and control the ball for 68% of the game. That proved too much for Iran’s strenuous defensive effort. Diego Costa’s lucky rebound in the 54th minute was the result of Spain’s patience in unlocking the Iranian skein, an amazing exercise of constant pressure and running for ninety minutes.

 

The Iranians came into the match with a solid defensive plan and they executed it to near perfection. Spain did create a few solid chances before the goal, but struggled breaking down a very disciplined Iranian fortress that often featured all eleven players behind the ball. Time wasting was also key to the Iran plot. The underdogs took their time on their set piece opportunities and lingered on the pitch for some fairly minor knocks. From time to time, Iran would venture forward looking for a goal of their own. Their best looks came off a 53rd minute throw-in that resulted in Karim Ansarifard smashing a blistering shot into the side netting. One minute late, however, it was Spain who took the lead when Andrés Iniesta beat two defenders and caught Iran’s back line outnumbered around the 18-yard box. The Barcelona midfielder played a nice pass into the box to Diego Costa, who controlled the ball and spun between two defenders. One tried to make a tackle and instead flicked the ball off Costa’s shin and then past goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand to open the scoring. Iran looked like they had a response ten minutes later after earning a free kick in the attacking half. The ball fell into the box undefended and wound up in a scrum until Saeid Ezatolahi found it and struck it past Spanish keeper David de Gea, inciting a frenzy in the Iranian technical area and on the field. However, the assistant referee flagged the Iranian midfielder for being offside as he finished and VAR confirmed the decision. Although Spain kept control of the ball until the final whistle, there was still time for another Iranian scare in the 82nd minute, in a spectacular sequence that saw Vahid Amiri nutmeg Gerard Piqué and lob a picture-perfect cross to Mehdi Taremi, whose header went just over the bar.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Cosmos Arena (Samara)

DATE: 21-06-2018 (16:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 40.727

REFEREE: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (SPA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Eriksen 7’); 1-1 (Jedinak [p.] 38’)

BOOKED: Yurary Poulsen (37’), Sisto (84’)

DEN

Danmark

Denmark - Australia

Australia

AUS

1-1 (1-1)

DENMARK

Schmeichel

Dalsgaard, Kjær (c), Christensen, Stryger Larsen

Delaney, Schöne, Eriksen

Yurary Poulsen (Braithwaite 59’), N. Jørgensen (Cornelius 68’), Sisto

COACH: Åge Hareide

AUSTRALIA

Ryan

Risdon, Sainsbury, Milligan, Behich

Leckie, Jedinak (c), Rogic (Irvine 82’), Mooy, Kruse (Arzani 68’)

Nabbout (Juric 75’)

COACH: Bert van Marwijk

GAME SUMMARY

Denmark and Australia kept qualification in Group C open after a back-and-forth tie. The Danes jumped into the lead just seven minutes into the match as Tottenham’s midfielder Christian Eriksen collected a lay-off from Nicolai Jørgensen to rifle a shot first time. However, the game continued to be an open contest, with both teams enjoying spells of possession. In the 37th minute, a VAR-assisted penalty kick for a handball by Yussuf Yurary Poulsen allowed Socceroos’ captain Mile Jedinak to equalize from the spot. Australia created the best chances in the second half, forcing Kasper Schmeichel into a pair of saves in the 88th minute to preserve the draw.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Tsentral’nyj Stadion (Ekaterinburg)

DATE: 21-06-2018 (20:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 32.789

REFEREE: Mohammed Abdulla Mohammed (UAE)

GOALS: 1-0 (Mbappé 34’)

BOOKED: Matuidi (16’), Pogba (86’) / Guerrero (23’), Aquino (81’)

FRA

France

France - Peru

Perú

PER

1-0 (1-0)

FRANCE

Lloris (c)

Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas

Mbappé (Dembélé 75’), Pogba (N’Zonzi 89’), Kanté, Matuidi

Griezmann (Fekir 80’), Giroud

COACH: Didier Deschamps

PERU

Gallese

Advíncula, Ch. Ramos, Alberto Rodríguez (Santamaría 46’), Trauco

Carrillo, Aquino, Cueva (Ruidíaz 82’), Yotún (Farfán 46’), Flores

Guerrero (c)

COACH: Ricardo Gareca

GAME SUMMARY

France secured a place in the last-16 round with a hard-earned win over Peru, who are in time eliminated from contention. A scrappy goal from Kylian Mbappé after a turnover was enough for Les Bleus, who suffered the attacking talent of the Peruvians. The French goal started with a Paul Pogba’s interception in the attacking three quarters. The Manchester United midfielder fed Olivier Giroud with a nice through ball into the left side of the box. Giroud’s attempt was deflected and landed at the boot of Mbappé, who finished to become the youngest French scorer in the World Cup. Three minutes earlier, Paolo Guerrero had had a golden opportunity to put Peru ahead, but his shot was deflected by Lloris’ knees. The South American side produced plenty of pressure in the second half and could have equalized when Pedro Aquino struck the top-right part of the crossbar with a distant shot after a spectacular Peruvian move.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Nizhnij Novgorod (Nizhnij Novgorod)

DATE: 21-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.319

REFEREE: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)

GOALS: 0-1 (Rebić 53’); 0-2 (Modrić 80’); 0-3 (Rakitić 90+’)

BOOKED: Mercado (51’), Otamendi (85’), Acuña (87’) / Rebić (39’), Mandžukić (58’), Vrsaljko (67’), Brozović (90+’)

ARG

Argentina

Argentina - Croatia

Hrvatska

CRO

0-3 (0-0)

ARGENTINA

Caballero

Mercado, Otamendi, Tagliafico

Salvio (Pavón 56’), Mascherano, Enzo Pérez (Dybala 68’), Acuña

Messi (c), Agüero (Higuaín 54’), Meza

COACH: Jorge Sampaoli

CROATIA

Subašić

Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinić

Rebić (Kramarić 57’), Rakitić, Modrić (c), Brozović, Perišić (Kovačić 82’)

Mandžukić (Ćorluka 90+’)

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

GAME SUMMARY

Argentina compromised seriously their World Cup campaign after losing 3-0 against Croatia. Willy Caballero’s catastrophic howler, paired with a lack of scoring chances, doomed the Albiceleste in a lacklustre display (Messi included). The first half was mired by poor play and missed scoring opportunities on both ends. Ivan Perišić produced an early save out of Caballero, who dove and got his left hand on the fourth-minute attempt. Within a span of three minutes, Enzo Pérez and Mario Mandžukić failed to capitalize on quality chances. The River Plate midfielder rolled a shot wide of the net after an open goal was put in front of him, while Mandžukić’s diving header near the left post missed the net. Eight minutes into the second half, Caballero tried to make an average clearance but instead scuffed his pass intended for a teammate and sent the ball to the boot of Ante Rebić, who used a terrific bit of skill to power his shot past the Argentinian goalkeeper and hand the Croatians the advantage they would never give up. Luka Modrić added to Argentina’s frustration in the 80th minute, as he struck a beautiful shot into the left side of the net after toying with Argentinian defenders on the edge of the box. Ivan Rakitić finished off the fantastic result for Croatia, as he took advantage of an open net in injury time to further destroy Argentina’s goal difference. The win advanced Croatia into the round of 16, while Argentina need to beat Nigeria and receive help from elsewhere to salvage their poor group stage.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 22-06-2018 (15:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 64.468

REFEREE: Björn Kuipers (NED)

GOALS: 1-0 (Coutinho 90+’); 2-0 (Neymar 90+’)

BOOKED: Neymar (81’), Coutinho (81’) / Acosta (84’)

BRA

Brasil

Brazil - Costa Rica

Costa Rica

CRC

2-0 (0-0)

BRAZIL

Alisson

Fágner, Thiago Silva (c), Miranda, Marcelo

Willian (Douglas Costa 46’), Casemiro, Coutinho, Paulinho (Firmino 68’), Neymar

Gabriel Jesus (Fernandinho 90+’)

COACH: Adenor Bacchi “Tite”

COSTA RICA

Keylor Navas

Gamboa (Calvo 75’), Giancarlo González, Acosta, Duarte, Oviedo

Venegas, Guzmán (Tejeda 83’), Borges, Bryan Ruiz (c)

Ureña (Bolaños 54’)

COACH: Óscar Ramírez

GAME SUMMARY

Brazil survived an ambush and escape with an very late 2-0 victory against Costa Rica thanks to two injury-time goals by Coutinho and Neymar. The Ticos frustrated their rivals to the brink of desperation, and Neymar was the reflection of this emotional roller-coaster, as his growing frustration (starting with a “no penalty” VAR decission and reaching to the dying minutes) changed into a mixture of joy and tears after the final whistle. Brazil’s first goal came in the first of six minutes of stoppage time on a beautiful sequence from the Canarinha, which ended with a Gabriel Jesus layoff and a perfect Coutinho shot, beating a standout Keylor Navas. Neymar tacked on another in the 97th minute, tapping home a Douglas Costa pass to seal all three points.

 

Brazil was far and away the more attacking team, as could be expected. The South American powerhouses dominated a bulk of the possession and created a majority of the chances only to be repeatedly thwarted by Keylor Navas. The Costa Rica goalkeeper made big save after big save with a majority of his stops coming in the second half. Keylor Navas was called into action early, following a punch with a save in the 48th minute while the Real Madrid keeper also pushed away a strong Coutinho shot away after Gabriel Jesus fired a header off the crossbar. Late in the match, video review came into play as Neymar was taken down in the box but, after an original ruling of no penalty, VAR confirmed the decision as play went on. When all was said and done, Brazil was a deserved winner, out-shooting Costa Rica 20-3.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Volgograd Arena (Volgograd)

DATE: 22-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 40.904

REFEREE: Matt Conger (NZL)

GOALS: 1-0 (Musa 49’); 2-0 (Musa 75’)

BOOKED: Idowu (44’)

[Incidents: Gylfi Sigurðsson missed a penalty shot (min. 83).]

NIG

Nigeria

Nigeria - Iceland

Ísland

ICE

2-0 (0-0)

NIGERIA

Francis

Omeruo, Troost-Ekong, Balogun

Moses, Etebo (Iwobi 90’), Mikel (c), Ndidi, Idowu (Ebuehi 46’)

Musa, Iheanacho (Ighalo 85’)

COACH: Gernot Rohr

ICELAND

Halldórsson

Sævarsson, Árnason, R. Sigurðsson (Ingason 65’), Magnússon

Gíslason, Gunnarsson (c) (A. Skulason 87’), G. Sigurðsson, Bjarnason

Böðvarsson (Sigurðarson 71’), Finnbogason

COACH: Heimir Hallgrímsson

GAME SUMMARY

Nigeria downed Iceland 2-0 to keep Group D open and secure a final showdown with Argentina. The Vikings and their faithful fans had all the momentum coming off their dramatic draw against Argentina, but the Super Eagles stole the show to put themselves in the driver’s seat in the race for a place in the knockout rounds. Nigeria’s opener came shortly after halftime on a ruthlessly precise counterattack. The move ended with a wonderful cross into the box from Victor Moses to Ahmed Musa in the penalty area. The CSKA Moscow forward skillfully brought the ball down before smashing it into the back of the net on the half-volley. In the 75th minute, Musa put the game to sleep with his second goal of the match. It was another well executed counter with the Nigerian winger doing most of the work himself. He outran the Iceland wide defense, juked Hannes Halldórsson off his line and booted the ball into the gaping goal. Iceland had an excellent chance to get back into the game in the final ten minutes. Alfreð Finnbogason was brought down in the penalty area in the 80th minute and, after VAR stepped in to confirm the call, Gylfi Sigurðsson had a chance from the spot. The Everton midfielder, however, skied his attempt well over the bar, and Iceland remained goalless.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad)

DATE: 22-06-2018 (20:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 33.167

REFEREE: Felix Brych (GER)

GOALS: 1-0 (Mitrović 5’); 1-1 (Xhaka 52’); 1-2 (Shaqiri 90’)

BOOKED: Milinković-Savić (34’), Milivojević (39’), Matić (45+’), Mitrović (87’) / Shaqiri (90+’)

SER

Србија

Serbia - Switzerland

Schweiz / Suisse

SWI

1-2 (1-0)

SERBIA

Stojković

Ivanović, Milenković, Tošić, Kolarov (c)

Tadić, Milivojević (Radonjić 81’), Milinković-Savić, Matić, Kostić (Ljajić 64’)

Mitrović

COACH: Mladen Krstajić

SWITZERLAND

Sommer

Lichtsteiner (c), Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez

Shaqiri, Behrami, Džemaili (Embolo 73’), Xhaka, Zuber (Drmić 90+’)

Seferović (Gavranović 46’)

COACH: Vladimir Petković

GAME SUMMARY

Switzerland overturned not only his game against Serbia, but the whole of Group E, leaving three candidates for qualification into the final rounds and only one team, Costa Rica, eliminated. Despite the early Serbian goal by Aleksandar Mitrović, the Swiss came back from behind and, thanks to two second half goals scored by Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, fought back for a 2-1 victory. The Stoke City winger played the hero for his side, slotting in the winner in the 90th minute on a breakaway. Mitrović’s header in the fifth minute had Serbia ahead, but their lead lasted until the 52nd minute, when a Xhaka’s blistering left-footed strike curled its way into the right side of the goal to level the score at 1-1. Just when it looked like both teams would settle for a tie, a great through ball by Mario Gavranović played in Shaqiri, who beat Duško Tošić and slotted the ball under Vladimir Stojković to help the Swiss to their first win in Russia.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Otkrytie Arena (Moskva)

DATE: 23-06-2018 (15:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.190

REFEREE: Jair Marrufo (USA)

GOALS: 1-0 (E. Hazard [p.] 6’); 2-0 (Lukaku 16’); 2-1 (Bronn 18’); 3-1 (Lukaku 45+’); 4-1 (E. Hazard 51’); 5-1 (Batshuayi 90’); 5-2 (Khazri 90+’)

BOOKED: Sassi (14’)

BEL

België / Belgique

Belgium - Tunisia

تونس

TUN

5-2 (3-1)

BELGIUM

Courtois

Alderweireld, Boyata, Vertonghen

Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco

Mertens (Tielemans 86’), Lukaku (Fellaini 59’), E. Hazard (c) (Batshuayi 68’)

COACH: Roberto Martínez

TUNISIA

Ben Mustapha

Bronn (Naguez 24’), S. Ben Youssef (Ben Alouane 41’), Meriah, Maâloul

Khaoui, Skhiri, Sassi (Sliti 59’)

F. Ben Youssef, Khazri (c), Badri

COACH: Nabil Maâloul

GAME SUMMARY

Belgium presented their credentials as one of the favorites to win the World Cup with another attacking display against Tunisia, who was routed by the Red Devils (yellow on this occasion). Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku each scored twice to smack the North Africans by a 5-2 score. The goals flew fast and furious in the first half, with Belgium getting off to a quick start. A sixth minute penalty allowed Eden Hazard to open the scoring. Lukaku scored his first goal of the day ten minutes later, but Tunisia replied quickly with a free kick header in the 18th minute by Dylan Bronn. In-form Lukaku would grab a second just before the halftime whistle by collecting a through pass and slipping a shot underneath Farouk Ben Mustapha.

 

The second half started just as quickly as the first. Eden Hazard made it 4-1 for the Red Devils by getting behind the Tunisian backline and smashing into an empty net in the 51st minute. Substitute Michy Batshuayi spurned several glorious chances to score, until he finally got himself in the game statistics with a nice sliding finish in the final minute. Tunisia added a consolation goal in stoppage time from captain Wahbi Khazri. Although that was it for the goals scored, Belgium were unlucky not to have scored several more. A combination of posts, clearances off the line, and excellent saves were the reasons they didn’t hang six or seven when all was said and done.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Rostov Arena (Rostov-na-Donu)

DATE: 23-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.472

REFEREE: Milorad Mažić (SER)

GOALS: 0-1 (Vela [p.] 26’); 0-2 (“Chicharito” Hernández 66’); 1-2 (Son Heung-min 90+’)

BOOKED: Kim Young-gwon (58’), Lee Yong (63’), Lee Seung-woo (72’), Jung Woo-young (80’)

SKR

한국

South Korea - Mexico

México

MEX

1-2 (0-1)

SOUTH KOREA

Cho Hyun-woo

Lee Yong, Jang Hyun-soo, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Min-woo (Hong Chul 84’)

Moon S.M. (Jung W.Y. 77’), Choo S.J. (Lee S.W. 64’), Ki S.Y. (c), Hwang H.C.

Lee Jae-sung, Son Heung-min

COACH: Shin Tae-yong

MEXICO

Ochoa

Álvarez, Salcedo, Héctor Moreno, Gallardo

Layún, Herrera, Guardado (c) (Márquez 68’)

Vela (Giovani 77’), “Chicharito” Hernández, Lozano (Corona 71’)

COACH: Juan Carlos Osorio

GAME SUMMARY

Mexico qualified for the Last 16 Round of the World Cup after dispatching a combative South Korea, who says goodbye to the tournament after their second loss in as many games. The first half largely went to plan for El Tri, who kept calm, composed possession throughout the 45 minutes. Mexico largely limited South Korea to out-manned counterattacks, although Son Heung-min did create several nervy moments for Memo Ochoa and the Mexican backline. The Americans opened the scoring in the 26th minute, when a handball call in the Korean box allowed Carlos Vela to step up and bury the ensuing spot kick, giving El Tri a deserved 1-0 lead. “Chicharito” Hernández doubled that lead, finishing off a magnificent counter alongside Vela and Lozano. With Vela and “Chicharito” on either side, Lozano slid a pass to his left to the latter, who took a touch past a defender and scored to seal all three points for the Mexicans. Juan Carlos Osorio’s team continued to maintain possession for the rest of the game, prompting a number of “¡Olé!” chance from the Mexico-heavy crowd. South Korea did end up notching a heck of a consolation goal. Son Heung-min scored a real screamer from well outside the box in the third of five minutes of stoppage time.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Olimpijskij Stadion Fisht” (Sochi)

DATE: 23-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.287

REFEREE: Szymon Marciniak (POL)

GOALS: 0-1 (Toivonen 32’); 1-1 (Reus 48’); 2-1 (Kroos 90+’)

BOOKED: Boateng (71’), Boateng (82’ > RC) / Ekdal (52’), Larsson (90+’)

[Incidents: Boateng was sent off (min. 82).]

GER

Deutschland

Germany - Sweden

Sverige

SWE

2-1 (0-1)

GERMANY

Neuer (c)

Kimmich, Rüdiger, Boateng, Hector (Brandt 87’)

Müller, Rudy (Gündoğan 31’), Draxler (Gómez 46’), Kroos, Reus

Werner

COACH: Joachim Löw

SWEDEN

Olsen

Lustig, Lindelöf, Granqvist (c), Augustinsson

Claesson (Durmaz 74’), Larsson, Ekdal, Forsberg

Berg (Kiese Thelin 90’), Toivonen (Guidetti 78’)

COACH: Janne Andersson

GAME SUMMARY

Germany kept their qualification hopes alive with yet another display of resilience in a top tournament. Ninety-plus minutes of disappointment fueled by missed chances and poor defending for the Mannschaft were washed away by one free kick in deep injury time Toni Kroos’ whipping set piece in the 95th minute handed Germany a vital 2-1 win over Sweden to keep them in contention of advancing to the knockout stage. Kroos struck his free kick from just outside the left side of the box into the opposite side of the net to secure the victory.

 

Although Germany controlled the first half, Sweden produced a few quality chances in the opening 45 minutes. The Swedes had an early penalty shout, when Marcus Berg broke in on goal and appeared to be fouled by Jerome Boateng. No call was given despite the Swedish frustration, but they were able to strike before halftime. In the 32nd minute, Ola Toivonen sneaked a shot over an incoming Manuel Neuer to put an immense amount of pressure in Germany. Germany battled back right after the start of the second half, as Marco Reus finished from close range, but the defending champion couldn’t break through the Swedish defensive banks of four after that. To add to Germany’s misery, Jerome Boateng was sent off for a second yellow card in the 82nd minute. Despite missing most of their key chances, Germany stayed alive through Kroos’ game-winner in stoppage time. That goal will allow Joachim Löw’s team to qualify with a victory against South Korea (already eliminated) in the last group game, whereas Sweden has a mountain to climb, as they need to defeat Mexico or wait for a German loss.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Nizhnij Novgorod (Nizhnij Novgorod)

DATE: 24-06-2018 (15:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.319

REFEREE: Gehad Grisha (EGY)

GOALS: 1-0 (Stones 8’); 2-0 (Kane [p.] 22’); 3-0 (Lingard 36’); 4-0 (Stones 40’); 5-0 (Kane [p.] 45+’); 6-0 (Kane 62’); 6-1 (Baloy 78’)

BOOKED: Loftus-Cheek (24’) / Cooper (10’), Escobar (44’), Murillo (72’)

ENG

England

England - Panama

Panamá

PAN

6-1 (5-0)

ENGLAND

Pickford

Walker, Stones, Maguire

Trippier (Rose 70’), Loftus-Cheek, Henderson, Lingard (Delph 63’), Young

Sterling, Kane (c) (Vardy 63’)

COACH: Gareth Southgate

PANAMA

Penedo

Murillo, R. Torres (c), Escobar, Davis

Bárcenas (Arroyo 69’), Cooper, Gómez (Baloy 69’), Godoy (Ávila 62’), Rodríguez

Pérez

COACH: Hernán Gómez

GAME SUMMARY

England crushed Panama 6-1 to level on points and goal difference with Belgium and secure a final showdown in Group G. The beatdown of the CONCACAF minnows began in the eighth minute, as John Stones got on the end of  Kieran Trippier corner kick to kickstart the England scoring blitz. Harry Kane was then on the board 14 minutes later, scoring his first of two penalty kicks on the day. Jesse Lingard made it three with the best goal of the bunch in the 36th minute, finishing on a wonderful piece of build-up play with Raheem Sterling. The Manchester United midfielder’s finish was a curled effort from outside of the box, pushing the scoreline to 3-0. Following Stones’ second finish of the day, Kane fired his second penalty kick in stoppage time of the first half, making it 5-0 heading into halftime. Kane completed his hat-trick early in the second half, but didn’t know much about the shot that ended up being his third, as his finish was a deflection of a Ruben Loftus-Cheek effort, pushing the score to 6-0. In the 78th minute, though, Panama got their feel-good moment, scoring their first goal at the World Cup. Captain Felipe Baloy provided the finish from a free kick, firing past Jordan Pickford to send the Panama fans into a frenzy. The English players seemed content to sit down on their lead in the final minutes of the game, even though they were tied on goal average with Belgium and one more goal to Panama would have meant qualification as group winners in case of a tie with the Belgians.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Tsentral’nyj Stadion (Ekaterinburg)

DATE: 24-06-2018 (20:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 32.572

REFEREE: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)

GOALS: 0-1 (Mané 11’); 1-1 (Inui 34’); 1-2 (Wagué 71’); 2-2 (Honda 78’)

BOOKED: Inui (68’), Hasebe (90+’) / Niang (59’), Sabaly (90’), N’Doye (90+’)

JAP

日本

Japan - Senegal

Sénégal

SEN

2-2 (1-1)

JAPAN

Kawashima

H. Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo

Haraguchi (Okazaki 75’), Hasebe (c), Kagawa (Honda 72’), Shibasaki, Inui (Usami 87’)

Osako

COACH: Akira Nishino

SENEGAL

Kh. N’Diaye

Sabaly, Koulibaly, Sané, Wagué

B. N’Diaye (N’Doye 81’), A. N’Diaye (Kouyaté 65’), Guèye

Sarr, Niang (Diouf 86’), Mané (c)

COACH: Aliou Cissé

GAME SUMMARY

At the end of an entertaining game, Japan and Senegal had to split points at the top of Group H. The Lions of Teranga struck first on a fluky goal scored by Sadio Mané in the 11th minute. Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima parried Youssouf Sabaly initial shot back into the front of goal, where the ball bounced off Mané and in to give Senegal the early lead. The Japanese were not intimidated by the physical display of the Africans and leveled the match in the 34th minute as Takashi Inui capped off a strong sequence with a curler to the far post. As the second half began, Japan began to find a rhythm, creating several chances. The best came from Inui, who struck the bar in the 65th minute. Six minutes later, though, Senegal regained the lead as Moussa Wagué drove to the backpost to finish a cross for his team’s second. Japan had another chance in the 75th minute on a corner kick, but Yuya Osako’s shot form inside the six-yard box was blocked away and cleared. Substitute Keisuke Honda was able to restore parity, though, scoring into an open net after Khadim N’Diaye whiffed on a punch.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Kazan Arena (Kazan’)

DATE: 24-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.873

REFEREE: César Arturo Ramos (MEX)

GOALS: 0-1 (Mina 40’); 0-2 (Falcao 70’); 0-3 (Juan Cuadrado 75’)

BOOKED: Bednarek (61’), Góralski (85’)

POL

Polska

Poland - Colombia

Colombia

COL

0-3 (0-1)

POLAND

Szczęsny

Piszczek, Bednarek, Pazdan (Glik 80’)

Bereszyński (Teodorczyk 72’), Krychowiak, Góralski, Rybus

Zieliński, Lewandowski (c), Kownacki (Grosicki 57’)

COACH: Adam Nawałka

COLOMBIA

Ospina

Arias, Dávinson Sánchez, Mina, Mojica

Juan Cuadrado, Aguilar (Uribe 32’), Quintero (Lerma 73’), Barrios, James Rguez.

Falcao (c) (Bacca 78’)

COACH: José Pékerman

GAME SUMMARY

Colombia cruised past Poland 0-3 to stay alive in Group H, whereas for the Poles it’s goodbye. While Colombia’s stars shined, Robert Lewandowski failed to make a consistent impact in the final third, leading to an ineffective 90 minutes of attacking for Poland. Yerry Mina brought the game to life in the 40th minute, as he headed home a beautiful assist sent in by James Rodríguez off a short corner kick routine. Despite controlling the match with plenty of pressure in the final third, Los Cafeteros didn’t strike again until the 70th minute, when captain Radamel Falcao, who was a menace to the Polish defense for most of the second half, made a nice run into the right side of the box and finished past Wojciech Szczęsny. José Pékerman’s team added a third tally five minutes later, as Juan Cuadrado latched onto a filthy cross-field assist from James Rodríguez.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Volgograd Arena (Volgograd)

DATE: 25-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 36.823

REFEREE: Wilmar Roldán (COL)

GOALS: 0-1 (Salah 22’); 1-1 (Al-Faraj [p.] 45+’); 2-1 (Al-Dosari 90+’)

BOOKED: Gabr (45+’), Fathi (86’)

[Incidents: The Egyptian goalkeeper Essam el-Hadary became the oldest player to participate in a final stage of the World Cup: 45 years, 4 months and 9 days. Al-Muwallad missed a penalty shot (min. 41), saved by El-Hadary.]

KSA

العربية السعودية

Saudi Arabia - Egypt

مصر

EGY

2-1 (1-1)

SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Mosailem

Al-Buraik, Osama Hawsawi (c), Motaz Hawsawi, Al-Shahrani

Bahebri (Assiri 65’), Al-Faraj, Otaif, Al-Moqahwi, Al-Dosari

Al-Muwallad (Al-Shehri 79’)

COACH: Juan Antonio Pizzi

EGYPT

El-Hadary (c)

Fathi, Gabr, Hegazi, Abdel-Shafi

Salah, El-Neni, Said (Warda 45+’), Hamed, Trézéguet (Kahraba 81’)

Mohsen (Sobhi 64’)

COACH: Héctor Cúper

GAME SUMMARY

Looking for consolation after their disappointing tournament, Egypt did their best to go back home with a victory against Saudi Arabia, but at the end of the day they collected another defeat. With two goals in deep injury time of each period, the Saudis avoided last place in a qualifying group for the first time in their history. Mo Salah opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when he ran onto an excellent long pass from Aballah Said and chipped the ball over the on-rushing Saudi goalkeeper. It looked like it would be Egypt’s day to taste victory when 45-year-old goalkeeper Essam el-Hadary saved a penalty attempt in the 41st minute. The oldest player in the tournament, Hadary denied Fahad al-Muwallad from the spot to keep Egypt in the lead, though it wound up only being temporary. Saudi Arabia finally broke through in the first-half stoppage time when Egyptian defender Ali Gabr was whistled for a foul in the penalty area on Al-Muwallad. A nearly five-minute delay to review the play ultimately led to the initial penalty call being upheld. Salman al-Faraj converted the penalty to tie the match just before halftime. With no further goals in regulation of the second half, Salem Al-Dosari’s late winner gave Saudi Arabia an unexpected joy at the end of their World Cup campaign.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Cosmos Arena (Samara)

DATE: 25-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.970

REFEREE: Malang Diédhiou (SEN)

GOALS: 1-0 (Suárez 10’); 2-0 (Cheryshev [o.g.] 23’); 3-0 (Cavani 90’)

BOOKED: Bentancur (59’) / Gazinskij (9’), Smol’nikov (27’), Smol’nikov (36’ > RC)

[Incidents: Smol’nikov was sent off (min. 36).]

URU

Uruguay

Uruguay - Russia

Россия

RUS

3-0 (2-0)

URUGUAY

Muslera

Coates, Godín (c), Cáceres

Nández (C. Rodríguez 73’), Vecino, Torreira, Bentancur (De Arrascaeta 63’), Laxalt

Suárez, Cavani (Maxi Gómez 90+’)

COACH: Óscar Tabárez

RUSSIA

Akinfeev (c)

Smol’nikov, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Kudrjashov

Samedov, Zobnin, Aleksej Miranchuk (Smolov 60’), Gazinskij (Kuzjaev 46’)

Dzjuba, Cheryshev (Mário Fernandes 38’)

COACH: Stanislav Cherchesov

GAME SUMMARY

Uruguay clinched top position in Group A with a 3-0 win over 10-man Russia. The Charrúas took their first step towards sealing victory in the 10th minute through a free kick just outside the box, which Luis Suárez ripped into the bottom corner to give Uruguay the lead. The South Americans doubled their advantage in the 23rd minute through an unfortunate deflection, as Laxalt’s long-range effort banked off Denis Cheryshev and in. Making matters even worse for the hosts, debutant Igor’ Smol’nikov picked two consecutive yellow cards and was subsequently sent off. After cruising through a majority of the second half, Cavani added to his tally in the last minute, finishing off a rebound to seal the Uruguayan win.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad)

DATE: 25-06-2018 (20:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 33.973

REFEREE: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)

GOALS: 0-1 (Boutaïb 14’); 1-1 (Isco 19’); 1-2 (En-Nesyri 81’); 2-2 (Iago Aspas 90+’)

BOOKED: El-Ahmadi (21’), N. Amrabat (29’), Manuel da Costa (31’), Boussoufa (31’), Munir (88’), Achraf (90+’)

SPA

España

Spain - Morocco

المغرب

MOR

2-2 (1-1)

SPAIN

De Gea

Carvajal, Piqué, Sergio Ramos (c), Jordi Alba

Silva (Rodrigo 84’), Busquets, Isco, Thiago (Asensio 74’), Iniesta

Diego Costa (Iago Aspas 74’)

COACH: Fernando Hierro

MOROCCO

Munir

Dirar, Manuel da Costa, Saïss, Achraf

N. Amrabat, El-Ahmadi, Belhanda (Fajr 63’), Boussoufa (c), Ziyech (Bouhaddouz 85’)

Boutaïb (En-Nesyri 72’)

COACH: Hervé Renard

GAME SUMMARY

A VAR-assisted decision allowed Spain to finish atop Group B. At the same time as Iran equalized Portugal in the other game, a 91st-minute goal by Iago Aspas salvaged one point for La Roja and overturned the group completely, as Spain moved from second position (and a possible elimination in case of an Iranian victory against Portugal) to the first place. The young Celta striker came on as a second-half substitute and saved the day for his team, finishing Dani Carvajal’s cross in from close range. Video review was used by referee Ravshan Irmatov, but the goal stood, as Iago Aspas’ position was confirmed as legal. However, at contention was the corner kick precending the goal, as the ball went out of bounds on the right side of the goal and Spain took it quickly on the left corner, with the Moroccan defense in disarray.

 

Morocco’s opener came in the 14th minute, as a shocking turnover by Sergio Ramos allowed Khalid Boutaïb a solo run to goal before slotting home from inside the box. Spain answered back quickly through the figure of in-form Isco. The Real Madrid midfielder received a pass from Andrés Iniesta and ripped a right-footed shot into the top-right corner. Although Spain kept possession for most of the game, Morocco was always dangerous on the break. In the 54th minute, Nordin Amrabat’s curling effort rattled the crossbar. Youssef en-Nesyri’s header in the 81st minute looked to have doomed the Spaniards as their opponents regained the lead. However, it would not be enough for Morocco as Iago Aspas’ late heroics rescued a point for Fernando Hierro’s team.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Mordovija Arena (Saransk)

DATE: 25-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.685

REFEREE: Enrique Cáceres (PAR)

GOALS: 0-1 (Quaresma 45’); 1-1 (Ansarifard [p.] 90+’)

BOOKED: Hajsafi (52’), Azmoun (54’) / Raphaël Guerreiro (33’), Quaresma (64’), Cristiano Ronaldo (83’), Cédric (90+’)

[Incidents: Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty shot (min. 53), saved by Beiranvand.]

IRN

ایران

Iran - Portugal

Portugal

POR

1-1 (0-1)

IRAN

Beiranvand

Rezaeian, Hosseini, Pouraliganji, Hajsafi (c)(Mohammadi 56’)

Taremi, Jahanbakhsh (Ghoddos 70’), Ezatolahi (Ansarifard 76’), Ebrahimi, Amiri

Azmoun

COACH: Carlos Queiroz

PORTUGAL

Rui Patrício

Cédric, Pepe, José Fonte, Raphaël Guerreiro

Quaresma (B. Silva 70’), W. Carvalho, A. Silva, João Mário (J. Moutinho 84’)

André Silva (Gonçalo Guedes 90+’), Cristiano Ronaldo (c)

COACH: Fernando Santos

GAME SUMMARY

Portugal, on top of Group B for most of the game, had to settle for second place after a late equalizer in a game in which the instant replay technology had to work overtime. A VAR-assisted penalty kick in the 93rd minute by Karim Ansarifard gave Iran some hope, and in fact the Asian side could have qualified as group winner with another goal in deep injury time, but Rui Patrício saved from Saman Ghoddos.

 

Knowing that any outcome other than a loss would send them into the last 16 round, Portugal tried to score early to avoid late nervousness, but they had to wait until the end of the first half for the opener, which came via Ricardo Quaresma’s blast from long-range. In the 53rd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo had a golden chance to secure top group place for Portugal, but his penalty kick was saved by Alireza Beiranvand. The damage could have been worse for the Real Madrid star, who faced a possible sending off in minute 82 for a flying elbow to a rival, but VAR consultation made it a yellow card. Despite having only two shots on goal, Iran grabbed a late point when yet another VAR-assisted decision allowed Ansarifard to equalize from the penalty spot and gave Iran a little more time for some heroics.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 26-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Sandro Meira Ricci (BRA)

GOALS: -

BOOKED: M. Jørgensen (45+’)

DEN

Danmark

Denmark - France

France

FRA

0-0 (0-0)

DENMARK

Schmeichel

Dalsgaard, Kjær (c), Christensen, Stryger Larsen

Delaney (Lerager 90+’), M. Jørgensen, Eriksen

Sisto (Fischer 60’), Cornelius (Dolberg 75’), Braithwaite

COACH: Åge Hareide

FRANCE

Mandanda

Sidibé, Varane (c), Kimpembe, Lucas (Mendy 50’)

Dembélé (Mbappé 78’), Kanté, Griezmann (Fekir 68’), N’Zonzi, Lemar

Giroud

COACH: Didier Deschamps

GAME SUMMARY

As was to be expected in a game in which a tie qualified both teams, Denmark and France produced the first goalless game of the World Cup at the end of a soporific match, which was greeted with disapproval by the fans at the end of ninety uneventful minutes. The first half was largely a dull affair, as France controlled the ball but created few chances. Despite maintaining nearly 70 percent of the possession, Les Bleus tested Kasper Schmeichel just twice with the best look coming on an Olivier Giroud shot that forced a diving stop from the Leicester City goalkeeper. The second half proved more of the same. As Peru pulled away from Australia, neither side truly pushed forward with spots in the knockout round all but secure. France never truly moved out of cruise control, as the goalless tie was enough to secure top position in Group C, even though their rivals from Group D are yet to be known.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Olimpijskij Stadion Fisht” (Sochi)

DATE: 26-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.073

REFEREE: Sergej Karasjov (RUS)

GOALS: 0-1 (Carrillo 18’); 0-2 (Guerrero 50’)

BOOKED: Jedinak (10’), Arzani (60’), Rogic (66’), Milligan (88’) / Yotún (45’), Hurtado (79’)

AUS

Australia

Australia - Peru

Perú

PER

0-2 (0-1)

AUSTRALIA

Ryan

Risdon, Sainsbury, Milligan, Behich

Leckie, Jedinak (c), Rogic (Irvine 72’), Mooy, Kruse (Arzani 58’)

Juric (Cahill 53’)

COACH: Bert van Marwijk

PERU

Gallese

Advíncula, Ch. Ramos, Santamaría, Trauco

Carrillo (Cartagena 79’), Tapia (Hurtado 63’), Cueva, Yotún (Aquino 46’), Flores

Guerrero (c)

COACH: Ricardo Gareca

GAME SUMMARY

In a game where only Australia had a prospect to qualify for the knockout rounds, it was Peru who grabbed a 2-0 win to leave Russia with heads held high. André Carrillo and Paolo Guerrero found the back of the net for the South American side to earn a victory on the way out of their first World Cup appearance since 1982. Peru’s opener by way of Carrillo’s brilliant volley wasn’t expected, as the Socceroos dominated the key chances in the first 15 minutes. The Watford winger received the ball in open space on the right side of the field and struck his volley into the bottom-left side of the net. Australia continued to threaten in the final third, with Celtic’s Tom Rogic being the driving force, but nothing came of their advances in the opening 45 minutes. Instead of leveling the contest and making the situation in Group C more interesting, Bert van Marwijk’s side conceded a second goal to Peru, who struck through Guerrero. The Peruvian striker connected with a deflected shot in the middle of the box to knock home his first World Cup goal past Matty Ryan. Australia attempted to find a goal by bringing on former New York Red Bulls midfielder Tim Cahill and young phenom Daniel Arzani, but nothing come to fruition.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 26-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 64.468

REFEREE: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)

GOALS: 0-1 (Messi 14’); 1-1 (Moses [p.] 51’); 1-2 (Rojo 86’)

BOOKED: Balogun (32’), Mikel (90+’) / Mascherano (49’), Banega (64’), Messi (90+’)

NIG

Nigeria

Nigeria - Argentina

Argentina

ARG

1-2 (0-1)

NIGERIA

Francis

Balogun, Troost-Ekong, Omeruo (Iwobi 90’)

Moses, Etebo, Mikel (c), Ndidi, Idowu

Musa (Nwankwo 90+’), Iheanacho (Ighalo 46’)

COACH: Gernot Rohr

ARGENTINA

Armani

Mercado, Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico (Agüero 80’)

Enzo Pérez (Pavón 61’), Mascherano, Banega, Di María (Meza 72’)

Messi (c), Higuaín

COACH: Jorge Sampaoli

GAME SUMMARY

Marcos Rojo was the hero for Argentina, as his late goal qualified La Albiceleste for the knockout rounds and eliminated Nigeria. Lionel Messi’s finish in the first half was canceled out by a Victor Moses’ penalty kick, putting Argentina on the brink of elimination. However, an 86th minute goal from the Manchester United defender sealed the Argentine qualification.

 

Sampaoli’s side struggled to create against Nigeria’s backline until Messi stepped up with his first goal of the tournament early in the first half on a magnificent ball from Éver Banega. The Barcelona star took a perfect touch and finished, giving Argentina the lead while easing some nerves. Those nerves came right on back in the second half as Javier Mascherano was called for a penalty kick for a foul on a corner kick. Moses buried the shot from the spot, leveling the match at one apiece. Chasing a goal, Argentina had no attacking ideas as the second half continued. Nigeria, meanwhile, nearly had a chance as a ball struck the hand of Rojo. However, after going to VAR, it was determined that the handball was not deliberate. With just ten minutes remaining, Gonzalo Higuaín was given yet another chance to score a big goal for his country, but once again failed to put his shot on target as Argentina couldn’t muster the goal needed. It had to be a defender, though, who came up with the goods late. Rojo’s goal propelled Argentina to the Round of 16 and avoided a growing confrontation between players, coach and fans.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Rostov Arena (Rostov-na-Donu)

DATE: 26-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.472

REFEREE: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (SPA)

GOALS: 0-1 (Badelj 53’); 1-1 (G. Sigurðsson [p.] 76’); 1-2 (Perišić 90’)

BOOKED: Hallfreðsson (59’), Finnbogason (64’), Sævarsson (84’) / Pjaca (14’), Jedvaj (83’)

ICE

Ísland

Iceland - Croatia

Hrvatska

CRO

1-2 (0-0)

ICELAND

Halldórsson

Sævarsson, Ingason, R. Sigurðsson (Sigurðarson 70’), Magnússon

Guðmundsson, Gunnarsson(c), G.Sigurðsson, Hallfreðsson, Bjarnason (Traust. 90’)

Finnbogason (Guðmundsson 85’)

COACH: Heimir Hallgrímsson

CROATIA

L. Kalinić

Jedvaj, Ćorluka, Ćaleta-Car, Pivarić

Pjaca (Lovren 70’), Modrić (c) (Bradarić 65’), Kovačić (Rakitić 81’), Badelj, Perišić

Kramarić

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

GAME SUMMARY

Croatia completed their impressive group stage with yet another victory against Iceland, even though they lined up many reserves. A late goal by Ivan Perišić handed the Croats their third win in as many games and put an end to the aspirations of first-timers Iceland. After a cagey first half, Croatia finally opened the scoring in the 53rd minute. as Milan Badelj latched onto a loose ball at the top of the penalty area and bounced a shot into the net. Iceland would return to the front foot after that as their desperation grew. They got their equalizer thanks to a mistake from Dejan Lovren in the 75th minute. The Liverpool defender handled in the box and gave Gylfi Sigurðsson the chance to level from the spot. The Everton midfielder buried his attempt and gave Iceland some hope that they might yet advance. But that was merely false hope, as Perišić’s winner came at the end of regular time thanks to a mistake by Iceland in their own half, which the Inter Milan winger capitalized on to slot home calmly after a nice run.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Kazan Arena (Kazan’)

DATE: 27-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.835

REFEREE: Mark Geiger (USA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Kim Young-gwon 90+’); 2-0 (Son Heung-min 90+’)

BOOKED: Jung Woo-young (9’), Lee Jae-sung (23’), Moon Sun-min (48’), Son Heung-min (65’)

SKR

한국

South Korea - Germany

Deutschland

GER

2-0 (0-0)

SOUTH KOREA

Cho Hyun-woo

Lee Yong, Yoon Young-sun, Kim Young-gwon, Hong Chul

Lee Jae-sung, Jung Woo-young, Jang Hyun-soo, Moon Sun-min (Choo Se-jong 69’)

Koo Ja-chul (Hwang Hee-chan 56’ (Ko Yo-han 79’)), Son Heung-min (c)

COACH: Shin Tae-yong

GERMANY

Neuer (c)

Kimmich, Hummels, Süle, Hector (Brandt 78’)

Goretzka (Müller 63’), Khedira (Gómez 58’), Özil, Kroos, Reus

Werner

COACH: Joachim Löw

GAME SUMMARY

South Korea achieved the unthinkable and defeated Germany 2-0, so for the third consecutive World Cup, the defending champions crashed out in the group stage. A goal from Kim Young-gwon in the 93rd minute gave the Taeguk Warriors the unlikeliest of victories that knocked Germany out of the World Cup at the end of the group stage for the first time in their illustrious history. A second goal from Son Heung-min into an empty net a few minutes later sealed the 2-0 result. The first Korean dagger came off a stoppage time corner and was initially ruled offside. Mark Geiger decided to have a second look at the decision and ruled Kim Young-gwon was onside, sending the Korean players into ecstasy.

 

Germany had their chances at a winning goal. They held three quarters of the possession and launched 17 shots at the Korean goal, with only six finding the target, but none of them got past Cho Hyun-woo. In two of the best German opportunities, Mario Gómez rose to a header in the 67th minute, but put his shot right on Cho Hyun-woo, then in the 87th minute Mats Hummels got an open header off a Mesut Özil cross, but his shot went way over the bar. Towards the end of the game, however, South Korea looked more likely to score in the counter than Germany did with their massive possession advantage, and they ended up bagging a pair in stoppage time.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Tsentral’nyj Stadion (Ekaterinburg)

DATE: 27-06-2018 (19:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 33.061

REFEREE: Néstor Pitana (ARG)

GOALS: 0-1 (Augustinsson 50’); 0-2 (Granqvist [p.] 62’); 0-3 (Álvarez [o.g.] 74’)

BOOKED: Gallardo (1’), Héctor Moreno (61’), Layún (86’) / Larsson (26’), Lustig (88’)

MEX

México

Mexico - Sweden

Sverige

SWE

0-3 (0-0)

MEXICO

Ochoa

Álvarez, Salcedo, Héctor Moreno, Gallardo (Fabián 65’)

Layún (Peralta 89’), Guardado (c) (Corona 75’), Vela, Herrera, Lozano

“Chicharito” Hernández

COACH: Juan Carlos Osorio

SWEDEN

Olsen

Lustig, Lindelöf, Granqvist (c), Augustinsson

Claesson, Larsson (Svensson 57’), Ekdal (Hiljemark 80’), Forsberg

Berg (Kiese Thelin 68’), Toivonen

COACH: Janne Andersson

GAME SUMMARY

In a surprising turn of events, Sweden clinched top position in Group F after a 3-0 win over Mexico, who had had two standout performances in their opening games but fell flat in a big way against the Swedes. However, El Tri found a way to survive thanks to an unlikely result in the other group game. Mexican goalkeeper Memo Ochoa made a number of key saves, including a big stop of a free kick just moments into the match. The most controversial moment of the first half came midway through as VAR determined that there was no handball on an incident that saw the ball strike Javier “Chicharito” Hernández’s hand and chest. In the second half, though, Sweden poured it on as Mexico struggled in a big way for the first time in Russia.

 

After spending most of the first half generating the better chances, Sweden finally broke through in the 50th minute as Ludwig Augustinsson took advantage of a deflected shot to finish the rebound past a helpless Memo Ochoa. The second Swedish goal came 12 minutes later from the penalty spot: Héctor Moreno was called for a foul in the box and captain Andreas Granqvist buried his shot, doubling Sweden’s lead. The Europeans added a third off of an unfortunate own goal as Edson Álvarez cleared a cross off his own hand and in to push the scoreline to 3-0.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Otkrytie Arena (Moskva)

DATE: 27-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.190

REFEREE: Alireza Faghani (IRN)

GOALS: 0-1 (Paulinho 36’); 0-2 (Thiago Silva 68’)

BOOKED: Ljajić (33’), Matić (48’), Mitrović (70’)

SER

Србија

Serbia - Brazil

Brasil

BRA

0-2 (0-1)

SERBIA

Stojković

Rukavina, Milenković, Veljković, Kolarov (c)

Tadić, Matić, Ljajić (Živković 75’), Milinković-Savić, Kostić (Radonjić 82’)

Mitrović (Jović 89’)

COACH: Mladen Krstajić

BRAZIL

Alisson

Fágner, Thiago Silva, Miranda (c), Marcelo (Filipe Luís 10’)

Willian, Paulinho (Fernandinho 66’), Coutinho (R. Augusto 80’), Casemiro, Neymar

Gabriel Jesus

COACH: Adenor Bacchi “Tite”

GAME SUMMARY

Brazil advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup as Group E winners with a 2-0 win over Serbia. After a shaky start, La Canarinha seems to be hitting their stride as the decisive stage of the tournament approaches. Paulinho and Thiago Silva provided the goals in a match that also eliminated Serbia from the competition. Brazil was handed an early scare in the 10th minute, as Marcelo exited the field with a back spasm. Paulinho opened the scoring in the 36th minute, as he used a cheeky toe-poke to lift the ball over the outstretched arms of Vladimir Stojković. In the 68th minute, Thiago Silva rose above a collection of players in the box to put Brazil ahead by two goals. Serbia had a few chances throughout the contest, but wasn’t able to beat Alisson, who picked up his second clean sheet of the tournament.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Nizhnij Novgorod (Nizhnij Novgorod)

DATE: 27-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.319

REFEREE: Clément Turpin (FRA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Džemaili 31’); 1-1 (Waston 56’); 2-1 (Drmić 88’); 2-2 (Sommer [o.g.] 90+’)

BOOKED: Lichtsteiner (37’), Zakaria (75’), Schär (83’) / Gamboa (11’), Campbell (29’), Waston (89’)

[Incidents: Bryan Ruiz missed a penalty shot (min. 90+), but the deflected ball coming from the crossbar went in after hitting Yann Sommer’s back.]

SWI

Schweiz / Suisse

Switzerland - Costa Rica

Costa Rica

CRC

2-2 (1-0)

SWITZERLAND

Sommer

Lichtsteiner (c), Schär, Akanji, Rodríguez

Shaqiri (Lang 81’), Behrami (Zakaria 60’), Džemaili, Xhaka, Embolo

Gavranović (Drmić 69’)

COACH: Vladimir Petković

COSTA RICA

Keylor Navas

Gamboa (Ian Smith 90+’), Acosta, Giancarlo González, Waston, Oviedo

Colindres (Wallace 81’), Borges, Guzmán (Azofeifa 90+’), Bryan Ruiz (c)

Campbell

COACH: Óscar Ramírez

GAME SUMMARY

A 2-2 draw was enough for Switzerland to qualify as group runners-up for the knockout rounds of the World Cup. Josip Drmić thought he had the game winning goal in the 88th minute, but a stoppage time penalty allowed Bryan Ruiz to equalize in bizarre fashion for Los Ticos. The Swiss went in front thanks to Blerim Džemaili’s emphatic finish in the 31st minute. He did well to get to a well placed Breel Embolo pass before smashing it into a gaping net. Costa Rica’s lone goal of the World Cup came courtesy of defender Kendall Waston, as he rose to a Joel Campbell corner in the 56th minute to give the Central Americans something to hang their hats on from this tournament. With just two minutes of regulation time remaining, Drmić scored on a low rolling shot, but Costa Rica wouldn’t give up despite coming into the game out of contention. Joel Campbell won a penalty in the second minute of stoppage time, allowing Bryan Ruiz to step to the spot and bank his shot off the crossbar and off Yann Sommer’s backside into the net to tie the score.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Volgograd Arena (Volgograd)

DATE: 28-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.189

REFEREE: Janny Sikazwe (ZAM)

GOALS: 0-1 (Bednarek 59’)

BOOKED: Makino (66’)

[Incidents: For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the number of yellow cards decided a tie-break: levelled in points, goal difference and goals scored, Japan qualified ahead of Senegal as they only received four yellow cards (-4 fair play points) whereas the Senegalese collected six (-6 points).]

JAP

日本

Japan - Poland

Polska

POL

0-1 (0-0)

JAPAN

Kawashima (c)

H. Sakai, Yoshida, Makino, Nagatomo

G. Sakai, Yamaguchi, Okazaki (Osako 47’), Shibasaki, Usami (Inui 65’)

Muto (Hasebe 82’)

COACH: Akira Nishino

POLAND

Fabiański

Bereszyński, Glik, Bednarek

Kurzawa (Peszko 79’), Krychowiak, Góralski, Jędrzejczyk

Zieliński (Teodorczyk 79’), Lewandowski (c), Grosicki

COACH: Adam Nawałka

GAME SUMMARY

Despite losing 0-1 against Poland, Japan qualified for the knockout round in a bizarre way: after finishing the group stage tied in everything with Senegal (points, goal average and goals scored), the Blue Samurais bettered the African team on fair play points: Japan -4, Senegal -6. Poland looked the better side throughout the contest and almost scored late in the first half, but goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima came up with one of the top saves of the tournament, as he used one hand to keep the ball off the line. Jan Bednarek scored the only tally of the contest for the European side in the 59th minute, as his boot connected with a free kick, which sent a shot into the right side of the net. Once word got to Japan that Colombia had scored to take a 1-0 lead over Senegal, the match came to a stand still, as the Japanese tried to avoid any disciplinary action which could compromise their fair play advantage over the African team, and the two sides, Japan and Poland, essentially stopped playing for the final ten minutes, handing passes over to each other in midfield. For good or bad, this is the one aspect of football that the VAR cannot change.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Cosmos Arena (Samara)

DATE: 28-06-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.970

REFEREE: Milorad Mažić (SER)

GOALS: 0-1 (Mina 74’)

BOOKED: Niang (51’) / Mojica (45’)

[Incidents: For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the number of yellow cards decided a tie-break: levelled in points, goal difference and goals scored, Japan qualified ahead of Senegal as they only received four yellow cards (-4 fair play points) whereas the Senegalese collected six (-6 points).]

SEN

Sénégal

Senegal - Colombia

Colombia

COL

0-1 (0-0)

SENEGAL

Kh. N’Diaye

Gassama, Sané, Koulibaly, Sabaly (Wagué 74’)

Sarr, Kouyaté (c), Guèye, Mané

Keita (Konaté 80’), Niang (Sakho 86’)

COACH: Aliou Cissé

COLOMBIA

Ospina

Arias, Dávinson Sánchez, Mina, Mojica

Juan Cuadrado, Uribe (Lerma 83’), Quintero, C. Sánchez, James R. (Muriel 31’)

Falcao (c) (Borja 89’)

COACH: José Pékerman

GAME SUMMARY

Colombia bounced back from their opening defeat against Japan and clinched top position in Group H after winning Senegal 1-0. The African team, on the opposite, were eliminated on fair play points, as the had collected two more yellow cards than the Japanese. The first half saw Senegal dictate a majority of the play despite remaining cautiously disciplined in their attacking pushes. Colombia, meanwhile, was rocked by injuries as James Rodríguez was knocked out of the match early with a thigh issue. The unavoidable VAR did come into play in the first half, though, as Sadio Mané was tackled by Dávinson Sánchez in the box. Originally seen as a penalty, VAR deemed the tackle clean, leaving the first half scoreless. After 74 scoreless minutes, Colombia finally broke through on a goal from Yerry Mina, who skied about the Senegal defense on a corner kick. The defender headed the ball straight into the ground, bouncing a shot into the roof of the net to give Colombia the lead.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Stadion Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad)

DATE: 28-06-2018 (20:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 33.973

REFEREE: Damir Skomina (SVN)

GOALS: 0-1 (Januzaj 51’)

BOOKED: Tielemans (19’), Dendoncker (33’)

ENG

England

England - Belgium

België / Belgique

BEL

0-1 (0-0)

ENGLAND

Pickford

Jones, Stones (Maguire 46’), Cahill

Alexander-Arnold (Welbeck 79’), Loftus-Cheek, Dier (c), Delph, Rose

Rashford, Vardy

COACH: Gareth Southgate

BELGIUM

Courtois (c)

Dendoncker, Boyata, Vermaelen (Kompany 74’)

Chadli, Fellaini, Dembélé, Th. Hazard

Januzaj (Mertens 86’), Batshuayi, Tielemans

COACH: Roberto Martínez

GAME SUMMARY

With little more than pride at stake―as both teams were already qualified and their future rivals were still to be known―England and Belgium produced a conservative, yet thrilling match between two teams featuring plenty of talent. A second-half strike from Adnan Januzaj was all the Red Devils needed to claim the top spot in Group G with a 1-0 triumph. The Real Sociedad forward curled a left-footed effort past Jordan Pickford which sealed the win for Roberto Martínez’s side. In the 66th minute, Marcus Rashford’s breakaway was silenced as Thibaut Courtois pushed wide the effort for a corner. With many starters on the bench (among them top scorer Harry Kane), England only produced two shots on goal.

 

GROUP STAGE

STADIUM: Mordovija Arena (Saransk)

DATE: 28-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 37.168

REFEREE: Nawaf Shukralla (BHR)

GOALS: 1-0 (Meriah [o.g.] 33’); 1-1 (F. Ben Youssef 51’); 1-2 (Khazri 66’)

BOOKED: Ávila (78’), Gómez (80’), Tejada (90+’) / Sassi (44’), Badri (71’), Chaâlali (90+’)

PAN

Panamá

Panama - Tunisia

تونس

TUN

1-2 (1-0)

PANAMA

Penedo

Machado, R. Torres (c) (Tejada 56’), Escobar, Ovalle

Bárcenas, Godoy, Gómez, Ávila (Arroyo 81’), Rodríguez

G. Torres (Cummings 46’)

COACH: Hernán Gómez

TUNISIA

Mathlouthi (c)

Naguez, Bedoui, Meriah, Haddadi

Sassi (Badri 46’), Skhiri, Chaâlali

F. Ben Youssef, Khazri (Srarfi 89’), Sliti (Khalil 77’)

COACH: Nabil Maâloul

GAME SUMMARY

Tunisia had something to celebrate on their way out of Russia after a second-half surge allowed them to defeat Panama, with both teams already eliminated prior to kickoff. Goals from Fakhreddine Ben Youssef and Wahbi Khazri helped the Tunisians turn around a first-half deficit and edge the Panamanians 2-1. An own goal by defender Yassine Meriah gave the CONCACAF side a lead in the 33rd minute after Panama could not break through earlier. The lead did not last long into the second-half, as Fakhreddine Ben Youssef slotted in Khazri’s low driven cross to level things in the 51st minute. Khazri called his own number later in the half and hit paydirt in the 66th minute to snatch the lead. Goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi made two saves the rest of the way to preserve the victory for Tunisia.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Kazan Arena (Kazan’)

DATE: 30-06-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.873

REFEREE: Alireza Faghani (IRN)

GOALS: 1-0 (Griezmann [p.] 13’); 1-1 (Di María 41’); 1-2 (Mercado 48’); 2-2 (Pavard 57’); 3-2 (Mbappé 64’); 4-2 (Mbappé 68’); 4-3 (Agüero 90+’)

BOOKED: Matuidi (72’), Pavard (73’), Giroud (90+’) / Rojo (11’), Tagliafico (19’), Mascherano (43’), Banega (50’), Otamendi (90+’)

FRA

France

France - Argentina

Argentina

ARG

4-3 (1-1)

FRANCE

Lloris (c)

Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas

Mbappé (Thauvin 89’), Kanté, Pogba, Matuidi (Tolisso 75’)

Griezmann (Fekir 83’), Giroud

COACH: Didier Deschamps

ARGENTINA

Armani

Mercado, Otamendi, Rojo (Fazio 46’), Tagliafico

Enzo Pérez (Agüero 66’), Mascherano, Banega

Pavón (Meza 75’), Messi (c), Di María

COACH: Jorge Sampaoli

GAME SUMMARY

France and Argentina provided a thriller to open the knockout stage of the World Cup. Les Bleus won 4-3 at the end of 90 minutes of exciting play with a couple of superb goals. Teenage sensation Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in four minutes to send France charging into the World Cup quarterfinals. The 19-year-old forward’s electric pace caused Argentina problems all afternoon and his twin strikes helped France overturn a 2-1 deficit, thus becoming the first teenager since Pelé in the 1958 final to score two goals in one World Cup match. On the opposite side, Leo Messi was once again missing at his best when Argentina needed him most. While Mbappé was the most influential player on the pitch, Argentina’s Ángel di María and France full back Benjamin Pavard fought out a private contest for the best goal of the tournament with two magnificent long-range strikes. Di María’s goal canceled out Antoine Griezmann’s early penalty to put Argentina on equal terms just before the break, while Pavard leveled up the score at 2-2 after Argentina had gone ahead through Gabriel Mercado.

 

Mbappé’s pace was a constant threat for the Argentinian defense early on. Nine minutes into the game, Mascherano brought him down in his first surge towards the box. Griezmann crashed the subsequent free kick off the bar from 25 meters, but France only had to wait a couple of minutes to break the deadlock. Mbappé set off on another driving run from well inside his own half and Marcos Rojo, well beaten for pace, bundled him to the floor inside the area. Griezmann’s strike from the spot was not as clean as his free kick, but goalkeeper Franco Armani went the wrong way. France looked like doubling their lead after 19 minutes when Mbappé set off to chase a Paul Pogba ball and Nicolás Tagliafico hauled him down. The referee decided it was a free kick on the edge of the box, however, and even if Pogba blasted high over the bar, Argentina looked shell-shocked at Mbappé’s early onslaught. Four minutes before the break, though, and much against the run of play, Argentina was level as Di María received a pass from the left, took one touch to tee up the ball and hit an instant shot into the top-left corner of the net from 40 meters.

 

Three minutes into the second half the Albiceleste found themselves ahead, when Messi curled a shot hopefully towards Hugo Lloris in the France goal and right back Mercado reacted instinctively to deflect the ball into the net. The Argentina fans were by now in full voice, but their joy did not last long before France restored parity after 57 minutes, Pavard pouncing on an over-cooked cross some 20 meters out and lashing it on the half-volley into the net. Mbappé’s first goal came seven minutes later when he snared a loose ball, took one touch to race past his marker and lashed it home with his left foot through Armani’s dive. His second came after 68 minutes at the end of a beautifully flowing French move with Olivier Giroud providing the subtlest of touches to lay the ball into Mbappé’s path and the teenager finishing right-footed with some elan. Argentina continued to fight over the last 20 minutes but “Kun” Agüero’s header from Messi’s cross in stoppage time was too little, too late.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Olimpijskij Stadion Fisht” (Sochi)

DATE: 30-06-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.287

REFEREE: César Arturo Ramos (MEX)

GOALS: 1-0 (Cavani 7’); 1-1 (Pepe 55’); 2-1 (Cavani 62’)

BOOKED: Cristiano Ronaldo (90+’)

URU

Uruguay

Uruguay - Portugal

Portugal

POR

2-1 (1-0)

URUGUAY

Muslera

Cáceres, Giménez, Godín (c), Laxalt

Nández (Carlos Sánchez 81’), Torreira, Vecino, Bentancur (C. Rodríguez 63’)

Suárez, Cavani (Stuani 74’)

COACH: Óscar Tabárez

PORTUGAL

Rui Patrício

Ricardo, Pepe, José Fonte, Raphaël Guerreiro

B. Silva, W. Carvalho, Adrien Silva (Quaresma 65’), J. Mário (M. Fernandes 84’)

Gonçalo Guedes (André Silva 74’), Cristiano Ronaldo (c)

COACH: Fernando Santos

GAME SUMMARY

Uruguay booked their place in the quarterfinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after defeating European champions Portugal 2-1 in Sochi. The deadly duo of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez gave the Portuguese defense a torrid time, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo failed to have any meaningful possession to pose any real danger to the Uruguayan backline. Portugal’s captain cut a frustrated figure during the entire match and could not add to his four goals in the first two matches. Fernando Santos’ side dominated possession (61 percent), played more than double the number of passes as Uruguay and had 20 attempts compared to six from their opponents, but their attack did not have enough bite to break through the steely Uruguay defense.

 

Only seven minutes into the game, Cavani switched play with a long cross to Suárez and continued his run to head home a pinpoint deep cross from the Barcelona forward and give Uruguay a 1-0 lead. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonçalo Guedes each had efforts saved by Fernando Muslera in the first-half, while Suárez was also repelled by Rui Patrício from long-range. Ten minutes into the second half, Portugal defender Pepe made the South Americans pay for sitting back on their lead when he leapt unmarked to head in a corner kick from Raphaël Guerreiro to level the match at 1-1. That was the first goal the twice World Cup champions had conceded in the tournament in Russia, but another moment of brilliance from Cavani put them back ahead seven minutes later. The Paris St. Germain forward curled in a first-time right-foot shot from Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass to beat Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patrício before limping off injured in the 74th minute as the Uruguay defense dug in to hold on to their lead. Bernardo Silva missed a golden chance in the 69th minute, soaring an effort over after Muslera dropped a cross.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 1-07-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Björn Kuipers (NED)

GOALS: 1-0 (Ignashevich [o.g.] 12’); 1-1 (Dzjuba [p.] 41’)

BOOKED: Piqué (40’) / Kutepov (54’), Zobnin (71’)

PK: 1-0 (Iniesta); 1-1 (Smolov) / 2-1 (Piqué); 2-2 (Ignashevich) / 2-2 (Koke [saved]); 2-3 (Golovin) / 3-3 (Sergio Ramos); 3-4 (Cheryshev) / 3-4 (Iago Aspas [saved])

SPA

España

Spain - Russia

Россия

RUS

1-1 (1-1;1-1) (pk: 3-4)

SPAIN

De Gea

Nacho (Carvajal 70’), Piqué, Sergio Ramos (c), Jordi Alba

Silva (Iniesta 67’), Koke, Isco, Busquets, Asensio (Rodrigo 104’)

Diego Costa (Iago Aspas 80’)

COACH: Fernando Hierro

RUSSIA

Akinfeev (c)

Mário Fernandes, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Kudrjashov, Zhirkov (Granat 46’)

Samedov (Cheryshev 61’), Zobnin, Kuzjaev (Erokhin 97’)

Dzjuba (Smolov 65’), Golovin

COACH: Stanislav Cherchesov

GAME SUMMARY

From the penalty spot, the same place where Spain started their glorious era in 2008 against Italy, La Roja closed a cycle after losing against hosts Russia at the end of a terribly poor and boring game. No one could have predicted this tragic final a month before the tournament, when Spain had been unbeaten for the last two years and they seemed to be recovering the good play and feeling the had in 2010. The outcome, expected as it was (given the display of the Spanish team in this tournament and the many problems that plagued them), was especially painful given the rival and the circumstances in which it happened: the 1,137 passes given by Spain, a record in the World Cup, will serve as a reminder of just how useless and harmless ball possession can be when a team doesn’t use it for the purpose of creating danger in the opposite area, which the Spanish players failed to do for all the match. Just an orderly Russian defense was enough to keep Spanish attacks at bay. The very predictable and desperating Spanish interpassing in midfield continued even in injury time of regulation and extra time, when any other team will be willing to score a last chance before time is out. The outcome of the penalty kick-out, with Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea showing an alarming lack of confidence and bodily language since the first game against Portugal, came as no surprise for anyone: the same two kicks that his Russian counterpart Igor’ Akinfeev saved with his hand and leg, the Manchester United keeper allowed to get in. In all the Spanish team, only two players, Isco (throughout the tournament) and Iago Aspas (in some moments) were at their usual level. The rest of them were but a shadow of their usual display during the season. Too little for a team who wants to regain the crown of world champions.

 

As for the game itself? Nothing much to tell: 120 soporific minutes of a highly predictable and slow Spanish “attack” against a disciplined Russian defense, who didn’t even have to sweat. The penalty kick-out came as a natural result of this state of affairs, and just a look at the face and bodily language of Spanish goalkeeper De Gea was enough to know which team would qualify for the next round. Spain, who have never beaten a host at World Cups or Euros, went ahead after 12 minutes when Sergej Ignashevich bundled into Sergio Ramos at the far post, knocking a free kick in with his heel for the 10th own goal of the tournament. The 2010 world champions controlled the game with their slick passing, but failed to add to their lead as the Russians defended with discipline. The hosts also were toothless up front until Gerard Piqué’s inexplicable handball (not once, but twice did the Barcelona defender raise his ams over his head, like jumping a wave in the beach) gave them a chance to level with a penalty in the 41st minute. Forward Artjom Dzjuba buried it for his third goal of the tournament to awaken the subdued crowd. Despite 75 percent possession and more than 1,000 passes, Spain’s famed tiki-taka got them nowhere and they had to wait until the 85th minute to test Akinfeev with a low drive from substitute Andrés Iniesta. Having long run out of steam and with several players cramping, Russia were reduced to desperately defending in extra time. Akinfeev came to the rescue once again to deny Rodrigo after his fine sprint, before becoming a national hero by saving two spot kicks from Koke and Iago Aspas and send the hosts into the last eight… and many Russians fans to the streets to celebrate an unexpected victory.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Stadion Nizhnij Novgorod (Nizhnij Novgorod)

DATE: 1-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 40.851

REFEREE: Néstor Pitana (ARG)

GOALS: 0-1 (M. Jørgensen 1’); 1-1 (Mandžukić 4’)

BOOKED: M. Jørgensen (115’)

[Incidents: Modrić missed a penalty shot (min. 116), saved by Schmeichel.]

PK: 0-0 (Eriksen [saved]); 0-0 (Badelj [saved]) / 0-1 (Kjær); 1-1 (Kramarić) / 1-2 (Krohn-Dehli); 2-2 (Modrić) / 2-2 (Schöne [saved]); 2-2 (Pivarić [saved]) / 2-2 (N. Jørgensen [saved]); 3-2 (Rakitić)

CRO

Hrvatska

Croatia - Denmark

Danmark

DEN

1-1 (1-1;1-1) (pk: 3-2)

CROATIA

Subašić

Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinić (Pivarić 81’)

Rebić, Rakitić, Modrić (c), Brozović (Kovačić 71’), Perišić (Kramarić 97’)

Mandžukić (Badelj 108’)

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

DENMARK

Schmeichel

Knudsen, Kjær (c), M. Jørgensen, Dalsgaard

Christensen (Schöne 46’), Delaney (Krohn-Dehli 98’), Eriksen

Yurary Poulsen, Cornelius (N. Jørgensen 66’), Braithwaite (Sisto 106’)

COACH: Åge Hareide

GAME SUMMARY

Croatia edged past Denmark in a penalty shoot-out to book their place in the quarterfinals. The Croats, who came back after conceding a goal in the first minute, squandered a golden chance to wrap up the match four minutes from the end of extra time, when Luka Modrić was denied from the penalty spot by a brilliant save from Kasper Schmeichel. The Danish goalkeeper was again superb in the penalty shoot-out, denying Milan Badelj and Josip Pivarić, but his Croatian counterpart Danijel Subašić was even better, saving three out of five kicks―only the second goalkeeper to do so in World Cup history after Portugal’s Ricardo against England in 2006.

 

The game between Croatia and Denmark started with two chaotic goals and finished with high drama, but in between was banal and pedestrian. Mathias Jørgensen took only 57 seconds to breach the Croatia defense at the end of a long throw-in by Jonas Knudsen, stabbing at the ball with his left foot as he took it off teammate Thomas Delaney to score the quickest goal of the tournament. The lead lasted only three minutes and there was an element of comedy to the equalizer. A kick across the Danish defense was firmly cleared by Henrik Dalsgaard but straight into the face of teammate Andreas Christensen, creating a pinball effect that saw the ball fall to Mario Mandžukić, who then expertly turned it into the net from just meters out. After the wild first five minutes, the match turned into a stalemate, with few significant chances created by both sides as the dominant midfielders took over. Croatia had a chance to go through without penalties in the 116th minute, when Modrić played a perfect ball to Ante Rebić, who was taken down by Mathias Jørgensen in the box. The Real Madrid midfielder stepped to the spot, but as he sent his shot to the right Schmeichel guessed correctly and smothered the ball within his body.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Cosmos Arena (Samara)

DATE: 2-07-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.970

REFEREE: Gianluca Rocchi (ITA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Neymar 51’); 2-0 (Firmino 88’)

BOOKED: Filipe Luís (43’), Casemiro (59’) / Álvarez (38’), Herrera (55’), Salcedo (77’), Guardado (90+’)

BRA

Brasil

Brazil - Mexico

México

MEX

2-0 (0-0)

BRAZIL

Alisson

Fágner, Thiago Silva (c), Miranda, Filipe Luís

Willian (Marquinhos 90+’), Paulinho (Fernandinho 80’), Coutinho (Firmino 86’), Casemiro

Gabriel Jesus, Neymar

COACH: Adenor Bacchi “Tite”

MEXICO

Ochoa

Álvarez (Jonathan 55’), Ayala, Salcedo, Gallardo

Herrera, Márquez (c) (Layún 46’), Guardado

Vela, “Chicharito” Hernández (Jiménez 60’), Lozano

COACH: Juan Carlos Osorio

GAME SUMMARY

Brazil qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the seventh consecutive tournament thanks to goals from Neymar da Silva and Roberto Firmino, whereas Mexico, quite paradoxically, ended their participation in the round of 16 for the seventh straight time. Neymar barged his way into the World Cup limelight with a goal, an assist and another helping of histrionics as Brazil roared into the quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory. The only bad news for the Canarinha is the absence of defensive midfielder Carlos Casemiro in the next round after picking up his second booking.

 

The first half started in favor of El Tri as they turned up the pressure early with Brazil soaking it up. With veteran captain Rafa Márquez in the line-up, Mexico was composed but aggressive, dominating the wings early while picking on Fágner Conserva, who was replacing the injured Marcelo Vieira. As the half wore on, though, Brazil grew into the game, testing Mexican keeper Memo Ochoa with a number of shots before halftime. Following a back-and-forth first half, Brazil finally broke through six minutes into the second. Willian Borges provided the assist, firing a pass across the six-yard box to Neymar, who tapped in on the back post for his second goal of the tournament. Early in the second half, Mexico was forced into using all three substitutes as Márquez’s age, Edson Álvarez’s yellow card and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández’s injury forced Juan Carlos Osorio’s hand before the 60th minute. Near the end of regulation, Neymar provided the assist on the insurance goal as Firmino tapped in on the back post this time to seal the win.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Rostov Arena (Rostov-na-Donu)

DATE: 2-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 41.466

REFEREE: Malang Diédhiou (SEN)

GOALS: 0-1 (Haraguchi 48’); 0-2 (Inui 52’); 1-2 (Vertonghen 69’); 2-2 (Fellaini 74’); 3-2 (Chadli 90+’)

BOOKED: Shibasaki (40’)

BEL

België / Belgique

Belgium - Japan

日本

JAP

3-2 (0-0)

BELGIUM

Courtois

Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen

Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco (Chadli 65’)

Mertens (Fellaini 65’), Lukaku, E. Hazard (c)

COACH: Roberto Martínez

JAPAN

Kawashima

H. Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo

Haraguchi (Honda 81’), Hasebe (c), Kagawa, Shibasaki (Yamaguchi 81’), Inui

Osako

COACH: Akira Nishino

GAME SUMMARY

Belgium qualified for the quarterfinals in a dramatic fashion, after overturning a 2-0 deficit against Japan and scoring the winning goal in injury time. The distraught Japanese, who went 2-0 up with goals by Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui early in the second half, fell to the turf after Nacer Chadli poked the ball home from Thomas Meunier’s cross four minutes into added time at the Rostov Arena. Much-fancied Belgium, who had taken a conservative approach to the game, got back into contention with late goals by Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini before Chadli struck at the end of a perfect counterattack wich was a demonstration of coach Robert Martínez’s tactical mastery.

 

With center back Vincent Kompany back in the line-up for the first time since picking up a groin strain in a warm-up game, Belgium had looked safe at the back but uninspired up front during a first period when they were on top but toothless. Both teams fought a tight midfield battle but their forwards froze in the area and Belgium’s wide players, Meunier and Yannick Carrasco, did not take risks going forward, effectively turning a 3-4-3 formation into a more conservative 5-2-3 system. Japan got closest to a goal in a dull first half when Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois let the ball slip from his hands and between his legs but recovered before it crossed the line. The Japanese were ahead soon after the break, though, when Haraguchi beat the offside trap and ran into the area to beat Courtois with a cross-shot in the 48th minute. Belgium responded but Eden Hazard’s shot rattled the post. Japan then doubled their tally in the 52nd minute when Inui picked up the ball 25 meters out and fired a missile into the back of the net. The Red Devils were still struggling but they pulled a goal back after 69 minutes when Vertonghen looped a header from a high clearance back across goal into the far top corner. The momentum had shifted and in the 74th minute Eden Hazard’s cross was met by Fellaini, who equalized from close range with a powerful header within 10 minutes of coming on. Belgium continued to push forward and both Chadli and Lukaku forced Japan keeper Eiji Kawashima into spectacular saves with powerful headers four minutes from the end. Keisuke Honda’s 30-meter free kick was parried away by Courtois in stoppage time before the keeper launched the ball to Kevin de Bruyne to make a beeline upfield before finding Meunier, whose cross was met by Chadli for the winner.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 3-07-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 64.042

REFEREE: Damir Skomina (SVN)

GOALS: 1-0 (Forsberg 66’)

BOOKED: Lustig (31’) / Behrami (61’), Xhaka (68’), Lang (RC 90+’)

[Incidents: Lang was sent off (min. 90+).]

SWE

Sverige

Sweden - Switzerland

Schweiz / Suisse

SWI

1-0 (0-0)

SWEDEN

Olsen

Lustig (Krafth 82’), Lindelöf, Granqvist (c), Augustinsson

Claesson, Svensson, Ekdal, Forsberg (Olsson 82’)

Berg (Kiese Thelin 90+’), Toivonen

COACH: Janne Andersson

SWITZERLAND

Sommer

Lang, Djourou, Akanji, Rodríguez

Shaqiri, Behrami (c), Džemaili (Seferović 73’), Xhaka, Zuber (Embolo 73’)

Drmić

COACH: Vladimir Petković

GAME SUMMARY

A goal from Emil Forsberg was enough for Sweden to grind out a narrow win over Switzerland at the end of a dull game and qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in 24 years. Both teams were wasteful in possession and guilty of the sort of poor finishing and unimaginative midfield play that had boos and whistles ringing around Krestovskij Stadium from as early as the 25th minute. Switzerland came into the match as the side with arguably the greater wealth of attacking talent, but their four shots on target over the 90 minutes told the story of this match. Sweden had one attempt less on target, with the only difference being that one effort took a heavy deflection and wrong-footed Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer to send the Swedes into the next round.

 

As they have done for the entire tournament, Sweden was happy to pack midfield and shepherd the Swiss down the wings, surrendering possession while looking to pinch a goal on the counter. Marcus Berg forced a fine save from Sommer in the 27th minute and Albin Ekdal squandered an excellent chance when he volleyed over the bar (instead of attempting a diving header) from 12 meters after getting on the end of a cross from Mikael Lustig. At the other end, Blerim Džemaili wasted Switzerland’s best chance when he fired over from 12 meters, while Xherdan Shaqiri had an awful day, sending long balls from the wing sailing over the heads of his teammates with alarming regularity.

 

The teams went into the interval goalless and the second half started in a similarly stultifying manner, with the game looking like it was inching inevitably towards extra-time and potentially a penalty shoot-out. Midway the period, Sweden jumped ahead on a deflection. Forsberg’s shot from the top of the box, directed straight at Sommer, was deflected by Manuel Akanji past his stranded keeper. In the aftermath of the Swedish goal, Switzerland sparked into life and turned on the pressure, but struggled to break down a resolute defense that made 33 clearances and nine blocks in total, while completing fewer than half the number of passes that their opponents did. Deep into extra-time, Sweden broke through the Swiss cordon when substitute Martin Olsson was released into space and Michael Lang brought him down just outside the box. The referee gave Lang a red card and at first awarded a penalty to the Swedes, but changed his mind after consulting the VAR and instead called for a free kick. Sommer saved Ola Toivonen’s effort, and the game ended seconds later.

 

1/8 FINAL

STADIUM: Otkrytie Arena (Moskva)

DATE: 3-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.190

REFEREE: Mark Geiger (USA)

GOALS: 0-1 (Kane [p.] 57’); 1-1 (Mina 90+’)

BOOKED: Barrios (41’), Arias (52’), Carlos Sánchez (54’), Falcao (63’), Bacca (64’), Juan Cuadrado (118’) / Henderson (56’), Lingard (69’)

PK: 1-0 (Falcao); 1-1 (Kane) / 2-1 (Juan Cuadrado); 2-2 (Rashford) / 3-2 (Muriel); 3-2 (Henderson [saved]) / 3-2 (Uribe [out]); 3-3 (Trippier) / 3-3 (Bacca [saved]); 3-4 (Dier)

COL

Colombia

Colombia - England

England

ENG

1-1 (0-0;1-1) (pk: 3-4)

COLOMBIA

Ospina

Arias (Zapata 116’), Mina, Dávinson Sánchez, Mojica

Barrios, Carlos Sánchez (Uribe 79’), Lerma (Bacca 61’)

Juan Cuadrado, Falcao (c), Quintero (Muriel 88’)

COACH: José Pékerman

ENGLAND

Pickford

Walker (Rashford 113’), Stones, Maguire

Trippier, Alli (Dier 81’), Henderson, Lingard, Young (Rose 102’)

Sterling (Vardy 88’), Kane (c)

COACH: Gareth Southgate

GAME SUMMARY

England finally ended the penalty shoot-out curse that had plagued them since Italy 1990 by beating Colombia 4-3 from the spot, after the South Americans had equalized in the 93rd minute. Beginning with their 1990 semifinal heartache against West Germany, England had previously lost all three World Cup shoot-outs and three out of four in the European Championship, and they looked on course for another nightmare when midfielder Jordan Henderson saw his spot-kick saved by David Ospina. However, Colombia’s Mateus Uribe hit the bar and England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved from Carlos Bacca, leaving Eric Dier to score the decisive penalty and earn a quarterfinal spot.

 

England had looked set to be going through with few dramas when tournament leading scorer Harry Kane smashed in a 57th-minute penalty, his sixth goal at the finals. Colombia continued to fight though, but when Juan Cuadrado blazed horribly over the bar with ten minutes left in what was Colombia’s first substantial chance, it looked all over for Los Cafeteros. However, José Pékerman’s side had still one last fiery sting in the tail, and three minutes into stoppage time Yerry Mina’s header from a corner kick was deflected in off Kieran Trippier to level the score. It was the first Colombian coner of the match, preceded by Pickford’s superb save to touch wide what could have been the goal of the tournament from Uribe. England substitute Dier missed the best chance of the extra period when he headed over, but he made up for it in emphatic style at the end of the penalty shoot-out.

 

1/4 FINAL

STADIUM: Stadion Nizhnij Novgorod (Nizhnij Novgorod)

DATE: 6-07-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 43.319

REFEREE: Néstor Pitana (ARG)

GOALS: 0-1 (Varane 40’); 0-2 (Griezmann 61’)

BOOKED: Bentancur (38’), Cristian Rodríguez (69’) / Lucas (33’), Mbappé (69’)

URU

Uruguay

Uruguay - France

France

FRA

0-2 (0-1)

URUGUAY

Muslera

Cáceres, Giménez, Godín (c), Laxalt

Nández (Urretaviscaya 73’), Torreira, Vecino, Bentancur (C. Rodríguez 59’)

Suárez, Stuani (Maxi Gómez 59’)

COACH: Óscar Tabárez

FRANCE

Lloris (c)

Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas

Mbappé (Dembélé 88’), Pogba, Kanté, Tolisso (N’Zonzi 80’)

Griezmann (Fekir 90+’), Giroud

COACH: Didier Deschamps

GAME SUMMARY

France are one step closer to glory after a 2-0 win against Uruguay in the World Cup quarterfinals. Raphaël Varane’s glancing header and a Fernando Muslera blunder that gifted Antoine Griezmann a soft goal rewarded the French dominance against a toothless and punchless Uruguay (no pun intended), who went into the game without key striker Edinson Cavani, ruled out with a calf injury. The impact of the missing PSG striker on the Uruguayan attack was noticeable. Without Cavani, who scored twice in the round of 16 win against Portugal, Uruguay’s moves forward lacked a focal point, and Luis Suárez found less space and openings against a well-drilled French defense. The South Americans battled but their talented generation of players, including the defensive rock Diego Godín, look like ending their international careers without the World Cup success they have threatened to deliver. France rarely sparkled, but they didn’t need to move through too many gears, and they go into the semifinals without any major weak points and appearing capable of taking on anyone of the survivors in this tournament.

 

France forward Kylian Mbappé, who had ripped apart Argentina in the previous round with his directness and pace, wasted a good opportunity to open the scoring in the 15th minute when Olivier Giroud headed across the box to him but the 19-year-old’s looping header was off-target. While both sides traded spells of possession and half-chances, France finally broke through on a set piece goal in the 40th minute. Following a foul from Rodrigo Betancur, Griezmann stepped up and played a free kick into the box, where Varane sprinted clear of his marker to meet the cross with a perfectly angled header. Moments later, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris ensured his side went in at the break with the advantage, producing a brilliant one-handed save to keep out a Martín Cáceres header, then covering enough space near the post to also deny Diego Godín in his follow-up shot.

 

France sat on their lead during the second half against a Uruguayan team who was clearly missing the reference of Cavani up front and was unable to penetrate the disciplined French backline. In the 61st minute, Les Bleus added to their lead following a horrendous error from Muslera. Griezmann knuckled a shot from well outside of the box and the effort left the Uruguay goalkeeper flat-footed on his line. What followed next was a combination of a diabolical air twist of the ball as it approached Muslera and an ill-chosen attempt to palm it away, which resulted in the ball looping over Muslera and into the net. Down 2-0 and with no attacking resources, Uruguay was effectively out of the game, and not even a melee after Mbappé went down claiming he had been struck and was confronted by a furious Godín about his playacting could revive the match.

 

1/4 FINAL

STADIUM: Kazan Arena (Kazan’)

DATE: 6-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 42.873

REFEREE: Milorad Mažić (SER)

GOALS: 0-1 (Fernandinho [o.g.] 13’); 0-2 (De Bruyne 31’); 1-2 (Renato Augusto 76’)

BOOKED: Fernandinho (85’), Fágner (90’) / Alderweireld (47’), Meunier (71’)

BRA

Brasil

Brazil - Belgium

België / Belgique

BEL

1-2 (0-2)

BRAZIL

Alisson

Fágner, Thiago Silva, Miranda (c), Marcelo

Willian (Firmino 46’), Paulinho (R. Augusto 73’), Coutinho, Fernandinho, Neymar

Gabriel Jesus (Douglas Costa 58’)

COACH: Adenor Bacchi “Tite”

BELGIUM

Courtois

Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen

Meunier, Fellaini, Witsel, Chadli (Vermaelen 83’)

De Bruyne, Lukaku (Tielemans 87’), E. Hazard (c)

COACH: Roberto Martínez

GAME SUMMARY

An own goal by Fernandinho and a wonderful strike from Kevin de Bruyne powered Belgium to their first World Cup semifinal since 1986 after surviving a 2-1 thriller against Brazil. The most anticipated game of the World Cup lived up to the hype, and it had all the elements that make up a competitive football game: goals, quality, excitement and non-stop attacking flow. The Red Devils struck early and then held off a late Brazil fightback to send the five-times champions tumbling out of the World Cup in yet another major disappointment since La Canarinha changed their traditional jogo bonito for a more defensive style, despite the best efforts of talismanic forward Neymar, who followed the steps of Argentina’s Leo Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo early on. For all his quality and skills, the PSG striker will leave the tournament with only two goals and a damaged reputation due to his diving antics. On the other side, Belgium’s latest “golden generation” guaranteed an all-European semifinals of the World Cup, and for the first time not featuring one of Brazil, Argentina or Germany.

 

Roared on by the vast majority of the crowd at the Kazan Arena, the Brazilians took on their usual dominant display, trying to peg back their rivals. However, it was Belgium who got on the board in the 13th minute, when Vincent Kompany’s header off a Nacer Chadli corner kick glanced off Fernandinho’s shoulder and past Alisson. Not used to being behind in the score, and despite having still 77 minutes ahead, Brazil launched a furious siege on the Belgian goal, at the risk of leaving plenty of space in midfield for the dangerous counterattacks of speedy De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, and by now the absence of Casemiro was beginning to tell, as the concrete wall buildt around the Real Madrid defensive midfielder was turning into a plasterboard. The second goal from the Red Devils came after the half-hour mark following yet another brilliant Belgium counter. Lukaku took the ball with his back to goal, turned into space and stormed up the pitch past Fernandinho before releasing De Bruyne on his right for the playmaker to rifle the ball into the net from the edge of the box. Man of the Match De Bruyne, playing in a more advanced role than he had in Belgium’s previous four matches, was at the heart of his team’s best work, managing the transition from rearguard defense to attack with vision, pace and accuracy. Despite conceding two goals for the first time in 26 matches under Tite, Brazil kept their composure. The Seleção continued to dominate possession during the second half and carved out chance after chance, especially after Renato Augusto headed home Philippe Coutinho’s cross to give Brazil renewed hope some three minutes after replacing Paulinho. For all their pressure, however, La Canarinha could not capitalize on several golden opportunities to equalize in the final 15 minutes, as the Brazilian attackers were denied by the Belgian backline, a superb Thibaut Courtois or their own eagerness.

 

1/4 FINAL

STADIUM: Cosmos Arena (Samara)

DATE: 7-07-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 39.991

REFEREE: Björn Kuipers (NED)

GOALS: 0-1 (Maguire 30’); 0-2 (Alli 59’)

BOOKED: Guidetti (87’), Larsson (90+’) / Maguire (87’)

SWE

Sverige

Sweden - England

England

ENG

0-2 (0-1)

SWEDEN

Olsen

Krafth (Jansson 85’), Lindelöf, Granqvist (c), Augustinsson

Claesson, Larsson, Ekdal, Forsberg (Olsson 65’)

Berg, Toivonen (Guidetti 65’)

COACH: Janne Andersson

ENGLAND

Pickford

Walker, Stones, Maguire

Trippier, Alli (Delph 77’), Henderson (Dier 85’), Lingard, Young

Sterling (Rashford 90+’), Kane (c)

COACH: Gareth Southgate

GAME SUMMARY

England defied almost three decades of disappointment and booked a place in the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990 after downing a dogged but toothless Sweden 2-0 in Samara thanks to two headers from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli. Contrary to other national teams who failed in Russia after “betraying” their traditional style of play (Germany and Brazil) or being unable to reproduce it (Spain), the Three Lions have been faithful throughout the tournament to the traits of British football: speed and powerful aerial game. England was set on its way when Maguire rose imperiously to head home from a corner and Alli added the killer blow after the break. Sweden was quite limited up front, and in the few occasions created by its attackers goalkeeper Jordan Pickford produced three superb saves to shut them out.

 

Sweden had reached the quarterfinals by making life hard for supposedly superior opponents, and soon after kick-off England looked incapable of stringing passes together against their hardworking opponents. It was predictable in many ways, therefore, that the deadlock had to be broken from a set piece. England had labored without reward before Ashley Young lined up a corner on the left and his curled effort was met by Maguire charging forward with conviction and barging Emil Forsberg out of his way to power a header down into the net. That was England’s eighth set-piece goal at this World Cup, and it came just handy, as Harry Kane was having a quiet game and attacking mate Raheem Sterling provided more ammunition to his doubters when he was twice left alone to bear down on Sweden keeper Robin Olsen just before halftime. His blushes were saved by the linesman’s flag as he fluffed the first chance, but moments later Sterling ran through again, this time trying to round the keeper, only to be denied once more. England was almost made to pay straight after the interval and would have been pegged back if Pickford had not produced a top-drawer save to keep out a Marcus Berg header. The importance of the keeper’s contribution was swiftly underlined with England doubling their lead in the 59th minute as Jesse Lingard’s teasing cross into the box was met by Alli unmarked at the far post to head powerfully past Olsen. Pickford was again called into action to keep a clean sheet for England, first saving superbly from Viktor Claesson, then tipping a shot from Berg over the bar.

 

1/4 FINAL

STADIUM: Olimpijskij Stadion Fisht” (Sochi)

DATE: 7-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 44.287

REFEREE: Sandro Meira Ricci (BRA)

GOALS: 1-0 (Cheryshev 31’); 1-1 (Kramarić 39’); 1-2 (Vida 101’); 2-2 (Mário Fernandes 115’)

BOOKED: Gazinskij (109’) / Lovren (35’), Strinić (38’), Vida (101’), Pivarić (114’)

PK: 0-0 (Smolov [saved]); 0-1 (Brozović) / 1-1 (Dzagoev); 1-1 (Kovačić [saved]) / 1-1 (Mário Fernandes [out]); 1-2 (Modrić) / 2-2 (Ignashevich); 2-3 (Vida) / 3-3 (Kuzjaev); 3-4 (Rakitić)

RUS

Россия

Russia - Croatia

Hrvatska

CRO

2-2 (1-1;1-1) (pk: 3-4)

RUSSIA

Akinfeev (c)

Mário Fernandes, Kutepov, Ignashevich, Kudrjashov

Samedov(Erokhin 54’), Zobnin, Golovin(Dzagoev 102’), Kuzjaev, Cheryshev(Smolov 67’)

Dzjuba (Gazinskij 79’)

COACH: Stanislav Cherchesov

CROATIA

Subašić

Vrsaljko (Ćorluka 97’), Lovren, Vida, Strinić (Pivarić 74’)

Rebić, Rakitić, Kramarić (Kovačić 88’), Modrić (c), Perišić (Brozović 63’)

Mandžukić

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

GAME SUMMARY

Twenty years later, Croatia qualified for the semifinals of the World Cup after edging past Russia in yet another penalty shoot-out. The hosts’ dream ended after another gallant performance in front of their fanatical fans which again belied their lowly ranking. Having knocked out Spain on penalties in the previous round, Russia, 70th in the FIFA ranking, again defied the odds to take 20th ranked Croatia to a shoot-out with a 2-2 draw after extra-time, but on this occasion their marksmanship deserted them. As usual, the local team went down fighting in front of a raucous crowd as Mário Fernandes headed a dramatic equalizer with five minutes of extra-time left, only for the Brazilian-born player to turn villain as he missed the third Russian shoot-out kick, leaving the role of hero to Ivan Rakitić, who calmly netted his shot to secure for Croatia a showdown with England in the semifinals. Credit also goes to goalkeeper Danijel Subašić, who made a pair of saves in the shoot-out despite being injured.

 

Croatia dominated possession over the 120 minutes but were let down by poor final passes and were vulnerable to Russia’s aerial game. After a lively opening, the intensity of the game dropped off, with sessions of head tennis in midfield, but it was Russia’s more rustic approach which paid dividends first as they went ahead out of the blue, in stunning style, when Denis Cheryshev collected the ball near the halfway line, exchanged passes with Artjom Dzjuba and curled a superb 25-meter shot past the transfixed Subašić. Slack defending allowed Croatia to level eight minutes later. Striker Mario Mandžukić ran unchallenged into the penalty area and chipped a low ball back into the center, where the unmarked Andrej Kramarić scored with a glancing header. Croatia were agonizingly close to taking the lead on the hour when Russia’s defense failed to clear the ball and Ivan Perišić’s shot hit the inside of the post and rebounded harmlessly across the face of the goal. Zlatko Dalić’s side did finally go ahead in the first half of extra-time when defender Domagoj Vida met a corner with a weak downward header which found its way through two sets of legs and rolled into the net. To their eternal credit, Russia still did not give in and hit back again when Alan Dzagoev floated a free kick into the area and Mário Fernandes powered home a header to force a shoot-out. Fjodor Smolov saw Russia’s first penalty saved by Subašić and, although home keeper Igor’ Akinfeev kept out a Mateo Kovačić kick, the hosts’ fate was sealed when Mário Fernandes missed his shot.

 

1/2 FINAL

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 10-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 64.286

REFEREE: Andrés Cunha (URU)

GOALS: 1-0 (Umtiti 51’)

BOOKED: Kanté (87’), Mbappé (90+’) / Eden Hazard (63’), Alderweireld (71’), Vertonghen (90+’)

FRA

France

France - Belgium

België / Belgique

BEL

1-0 (0-0)

FRANCE

Lloris (c)

Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas

Mbappé, Pogba, Kanté, Matuidi (Tolisso 86’)

Griezmann, Giroud (N’Zonzi 85’)

COACH: Didier Deschamps

BELGIUM

Courtois

Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen

Chadli(Batshuayi 90+’), Dembélé(Mertens 60’), Witsel, Fellaini(Carrasco 80’), De Bruyne

Lukaku, E. Hazard (c)

COACH: Roberto Martínez

GAME SUMMARY

France qualified for their third World Cup Final at the end of an enthralling, highly tactical semifinal with Belgium, in which Samuel Umtiti’s 51st minute header from an Antoine Griezmann corner was the difference that separated two equally attacking-prone teams. Once again, in a familiar outcome in the Russian tournament, a set piece proved decisive. It had been suggested before the game that France needed to step up a level in quality to get past the talented Belgians, and they did just that even if their disciplined, professional performance hardly set the pulses racing. However, Les Bleus still produced the impression that they have another gear to move into if necessary.

 

Right from the onset, Belgium took control of midfield, whereas France was content to sit deep and eliminate the threat of counterattacks from Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne. But it was by no means a purely negative approach as the French offered their own danger on the break, perfectly illustrated when Paul Pogba’s delivery sent Kylian Mbappé racing toward goal and Belgium were thankful their keeper Thibaut Courtois was alert to snuff out the danger. The first real opening came in the 16th minute when De Bruyne hooked the ball into the path of Eden Hazard, whose shot was just wide of Hugo Lloris’s far post. The Chelsea midfielder was dangerous again moments later when he cut in from the left and unleashed a rasping drive which clipped off the back of Raphaël Varane and just over the bar. From a Belgium corner, Toby Alderweireld tested Lloris with a smart shot on the turn, but as the half progressed France began to create more. Olivier Giroud flashed a header just wide and Mbappé set up Benjamin Pavard, whose low shot was kept out by the outstretched leg of Courtois.

 

It was a fascinating first half and all that was missing was a goal, but one came soon after the break. From a Griezmann’s corner, Umtiti beat Marouane Fellaini at the near post and powered a header home to put France ahead. Roberto Martínez brought on Dries Mertens for Moussa Dembélé in an attempt to liven up Belgium’s attack, but France were now focused purely on frustrating the creative pair Eden Hazard-De Bruyne. With N’Golo Kanté marshalling the effort, Didier Deschamps’ men were on them like a flash, snuffing out the slightest opportunity for the Belgian attacking duo to probe the French defense. Belgium controlled much of the ball for the remainder of the match, but strong defensive contributions from Umtiti, Paul Pogba, and pretty much the entire French squad kept Belgium off the scoreboard. Goalkeeper Lloris played a role as well. Although he made several excellent saves throughout the match, none was better than a quick reaction diving on Toby Alderweireld midway through the second half. The nearest Belgium came to a leveler was a header from Fellaini which flashed just wide and a fierce strike from distance by Axel Witsel which the impressive Lloris parried away.

 

1/2 FINAL

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 11-07-2018 (21:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)

GOALS: 0-1 (Trippier 5’); 1-1 (Perišić 68’); 2-1 (Mandžukić 109’)

BOOKED: Mandžukić (48’), Rebić (96’) / Walker (54’)

CRO

Hrvatska

Croatia - England

England

ENG

2-1 (0-1;1-1)

CROATIA

Subašić

Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinić (Pivarić 95’)

Rebić (Kramarić 101’), Rakitić, Modrić (c) (Badelj 119’), Brozović, Perišić

Mandžukić (Ćorluka 115’)

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

ENGLAND

Pickford

Walker (Vardy 112’), Stones, Maguire

Trippier, Alli, Henderson (Dier 97’), Lingard, Young (Rose 91’)

Sterling (Rashford 74’), Kane (c)

COACH: Gareth Southgate

GAME SUMMARY

Croatia, with a population of four million people, became the smallest country to reach a World Cup final after a come-from-behind 2-1 win over England. Despite trailing 0-1 for most of the game after an early Kieran Trippier opener following yet another English goal from a set piece, Ivan Perišić’s second-half equalizer forced extra-time, where Mario Mandžukić was the Croatian hero with a winner which prevented a seemingly unavoidable penalty kick-out (which Croatia had survived in the two previous rounds). Zlatko Dalić’s men are to be commended for their extraordinary resilience, as few teams could come from behind to beat a highly physical side like England after the energy expenditure of those two games against Denmark and Russia, in which the Croatians also trailed and fought back (something that not even Brazil could achieve in this tournament). England, hoping for a first final appearance since winning their sole World Cup trophy in 1966, failed to capitalize on their lead (an almost certain victory guarantee in the Russian tournament) and showed a lack of experience in decisive spells of the game, when a second goal would have been a fatal blow for their rivals. Raheem Sterling (as usual) and captain Harry Kane were the offensive force that the Three Lions missed most in this game.

 

England leaped into the driver’s seat in the fifth minute, when Trippier beautifully curled a free kick from 23 meters out into the top part of the goal. The Tottenham Hotspur defender caught Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subašić flat-footed and handed the Three Lions a welcome advantage in the early stages. However, Gareth Southgate’s men were unable to bury the Croatians after a totally dominant first half. As the second half began, Croatia began to push forward more and threaten the English defense with a plethora of crosses. Just as this strategy began to feel like an empty one with no results coming, Perišić beat Kyle Walker to a cross and equalized the contest in the 68th minute. It was a different game from then on, with Croatia suddenly playing with accuracy and purpose as England lost momentum and poise, though an off-color Kane missed a chance to win it in stoppage time when he headed wide from a free kick.

 

A pair of massive denials, one on each end, kept the game tied through the first half of extra-time. Šime Vrsaljko nodded John Stones’ header off the line for Croatia and Pickford rushed off his line to deny Mandžukić’s close-range effort. Croatia ramped up the pressure in the second half of extra-time, and it paid off in the 109th minute, when Mandžukić connected with Perišić’s assist and slotted the game-winning goal into the right part of the net past Pickford. Croatia will now have the chance to avenge the defeat against France in the semifinal of the 1998 World Cup. On the other side of the emotional balance, England will face a third-place playoff with Belgium having exceeded many people’s expectations ahead of the Russian tournament, but aware that they let what might prove to be the best chance in a generation to end what is now 52 years of World Cup disappointment.

 

PLACES 3-4

STADIUM: Stadion Krestovskij (Sankt-Peterburg)

DATE: 14-07-2018 (17:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 64.406

REFEREE: Alireza Faghani (IRN)

GOALS: 1-0 (Meunier 4’); 2-0 (E. Hazard 82’)

BOOKED: Witsel (90+’) / Stones (52’), Maguire (76’)

BEL

België / Belgique

Belgium - England

England

ENG

2-0 (1-0)

BELGIUM

Courtois

Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen

Meunier, Tielemans (Dembélé 78’), Witsel, Chadli (Vermaelen 39’)

De Bruyne, Lukaku (Mertens 60’), E. Hazard (c)

COACH: Roberto Martínez

ENGLAND

Pickford

Jones, Stones, Maguire

Trippier, Loftus-Cheek (Alli 84’), Dier, Delph, Rose (Lingard 46’)

Sterling (Rashford 46’), Kane (c)

COACH: Gareth Southgate

GAME SUMMARY

Belgium’s golden generation clinched third place in the Russian World Cup after defeating England 2-0. Goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard secured the best classification ever of the Red Devils in the competition (improving their previous best performance of a fourth-place finish in 1986). As for the Three Lions, although their overall performance in Russia surpassed the general expectations ahead of the tournament, the fourth place will be little consolation after a second straight loss. England were on top for most of the second half, but with captain Harry Kane looking tired, Belgium's greater sharpness in the final third proved decisive.

 

While England manager Gareth Southgate made five changes to the side which lost to Croatia, Belgium boss Roberto Martínez made just two switches: Meunier (returned from suspension) and Youri Tielemans (given a start ahead of Maroune Fellaini in midfield) backed the strong frontline of Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard. Meunier kicked things off early for Belgium in the fourth minute, slotting in Nacer Chadli’s cross past Jordan Pickford. The goal from the PSG right-back meant that Belgium have had ten different goalscorers at this World Cup―equalling the record set by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006. De Bruyne should have made it 2-0 in the 12th minute when the ball found him at the back post after a slip-up from John Stones, but his poorly struck shot was easily dealt with by Pickford. Kane, the tournament's top scorer with six goals, had an opportunity when set up by Raheem Sterling in the 24th minute, but was off-balance as he screwed his shot wide. Thibaut Courtois’ day got off quickly as the Chelsea goalkeeper made two key saves in the opening half to deny Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

 

Southgate brought on Marcus Rashford for Sterling and Jesse Lingard for Danny Rose at the break and the change worked well, with England well on top in the second half. Eric Dier’s nifty run in the 70th minute was a great chance to level the score, but his chipped ball past Courtois was cleared off the line by Toby Alderweireld. Dier and Harry Maguire both headed wide from promising positions, while at the other end Meunier went close to a second goal with a powerful volley that Pickford did well to save. However, the Everton guardian could not keep Eden Hazard‘s clinical finish at the end of a counterattack two minutes later.

 

FINAL

STADIUM: Luzhniki (Moskva)

DATE: 15-07-2018 (18:00 h)

ATTENDANCE: 78.011

REFEREE: Néstor Pitana (ARG)

GOALS: 1-0 (Mandžukić [o.g.] 18’); 1-1 (Perišić 28’); 2-1 (Griezmann [p.] 38’); 3-1 (Pogba 59’); 4-1 (Mbappé 65’); 4-2 (Mandžukić 69’)

BOOKED: Kanté (27’), Lucas (41’) / Vrsaljko (90+’)

[Incidents: For the first time in the history of the World Cup, a penalty kick was awarded after a VAR review. In minute 53, four members of the anti-Kremlin protesting group “Pussy Riot” invaded the pitch.]

FRA

France

France - Croatia

Hrvatska

CRO

4-2 (2-1)

FRANCE

Lloris (c)

Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Lucas

Mbappé, Pogba, Kanté (N’Zonzi 55’), Matuidi (Tolisso 73’)

Griezmann, Giroud (Fekir 81’)

COACH: Didier Deschamps

CROATIA

Subašić

Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinić (Pjaca 81’)

Rebić (Kramarić 71’), Rakitić, Modrić (c), Brozović, Perišić

Mandžukić

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

GAME SUMMARY

France added a second World Cup star to their badge after muscling out Croatia 4-2 in one of the most entertaining and action-packed finals for decades. It was also the highest-scoring decider since England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra-time in 1966 and the highest in normal time since Brazil defeated Sweden 5-2 60 years ago. An own goal from Mario Mandžukić, an Antoine Griezmann penalty—the turning point of the game, awarded after a controversial VAR review—and second-half strikes by Paul Pogba and teenage sensation Kylian Mbappé were just too much for the indefatigable Croatians, who this time couldn’t produce their classic comeback in the Russian tournament. Two years after suffering a major heartbreak on home soil in the European Championship, a young generation of French players didn’t leave the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia empty-handed.

 

Croatia started full of energy but fell behind when Mandžukić, who scored the extra-time winner against England in the semifinal, became the first player to score an own goal in a World Cup final when a Griezmann’s free kick skidded in off his head in the 18th minute. It was the 12th own goal of the tournament, another record of the Russian tournament. As in the previous four knock-out games, Croatia found a way back after conceding a goal. Ivan Perišić, who got the equalizer against England, was on hand to level ten minutes later, smashing in a low shot after Šime Vrsaljko had headed Luka Modrić’s free kick across the box. What came next was another example of a recurrent flaw of VAR technology in the Russian tournament: focusing only on specific penalty incidents in the area and neglecting the context and the build-up. Perišić (rather unintentionally and instinctively) handled the ball off a corner kick, but following a mass French protest Argentine referee Néstor Pitana conducted a protracted VAR review and awarded the 22nd penalty of the tournament (another record). However, similar Croatian protests in the first French goal, preceded by a “Neymar-style” diving of Griezmann (with his foot looking for the defender’s leg instead of the opposite) just outside the box and a Pogba influential offside at the time of Mandžukić’s header, were not enough to raise a VAR review. Griezmann stepped to the spot and calmly handed Les Bleus a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime, even though Croatia had outplayed France and dominated the first half in ball possession and scoring chances.

 

Croatia were on top again after the break, continually winning their one-on-one duels in the air and in every tackle and forging forward in the French box with plenty of variety, but France held firm with their steel backline. On the hour mark, and once again much against the run of play, Didier Deschamps’s men made it 3-1 after Mbappé and Griezmann combined to set up Pogba on the edge of the box. The midfielder’s right-footed shot was blocked, but he coolly curved the rebound in with his left. Six minutes later, Lucas Hernández tore down the left to set up Mbappé to drill a low shot beyond keeper Danijel Subašić. After three successive extra-time knock-out games, the chances of Croatia coming back again looked impossible, but they were thrown a lifeline by French captain Hugo Lloris, who tried to dribble round Mandžukić “Karius-style” only for the striker to tap the ball into the unguarded net. Zlatko Dalić’s men continued to press, with player of the tournament Luka Modrić industrious to the end, but their energy was sapped and France safely held out.

 

 

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