Day 13
France topped Group C while Denmark secured qualification to the last 16 of the World Cup with a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday. Australia’s World Cup last-16 hopes were ended by a 2-0 defeat to Peru, who finished their tournament with a historic win.
Argentina squeezed into the World Cup last 16 after Marcos Rojo’s fine late volley gave them a 2-1 win over Nigeria in St Petersburg. Iceland’s World Cup dream was ended by Ivan Perisic’s late winner in a 2-1 defeat to Croatia, who themselves topped Group D.
Day 14
Germany finished bottom of Group F on the back of a 2-0 humiliation by South Korea, with the Asian side dumping the World Champions out through two goals in injury time.
Sweden qualified for the last 16 as group winners with a convincing 3-0 win over Mexico, who also made it through after Germany’s shock defeat.
Brazil’s slow start to the group continued in terms of performance, but their passage to the last 16 as Group E winners was sealed by goals in each half from Paulinho and Thiago Silva.
A 93rd-minute own goal denied Switzerland a win over Costa Rica in their final group game, but the point was enough to see them advance through to the last 16 from Group E as runners-up.
Day 15
Japan 0-1 Poland Japan edged through in Group H, becoming the first team ever to progress courtesy of the Fair Play rule. Two fewer bookings than Senegal, who had scored and conceded the same number of goals, saw them scrape across the line despite defeat to Poland. Colombia qualified for the knockout stage as group winners thanks to a 1-0 win over a Senegal side who crashed out in dramatic fashion.
England qualified as runners-up in Group G and booked a World Cup last-16 date with Colombia as Adnan Januzaj earned a 1-0 win for Belgium on a curious night in Kaliningrad.
Tunisia bowed out of the World Cup with a 2-1 win against Panama in the final Group G game, coming from behind to claim victory.
Both sides entered the game without a win in the tournament and Panama went ahead in the 33rd minute as Jose Luis Rodriguez’s shot deflected in off the body of Yassine Meriah.
Day 17
Mbappe eclipsed Lionel Messi as France reached the World Cup quarter-finals after a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina in Kazan. Edinson Cavani scored twice as Uruguay booked a quarter-final date with France and sent Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal home after a 2-1 win in Sochi.
Day 18
Igor Akinfeev was the hero as Russia reached the World Cup quarter-finals in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Spain. Ivan Rakitic was the matchwinner as Croatia beat Denmark 3-2 on penalties to book a World Cup quarter-final showdown with hosts Russia.
Day 19
Second-half goals from Neymar and Roberto Firmino saw Brazil beat Mexico 2-0 to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals in Samara on Tuesday. Belgium showed their fighting qualities as Nacer Chadli’s 94th-minute strike completed a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Japan in their World Cup last-16 clash in Rostov.