The first knockout stage was a feature film inserted into real time. Stoppage-time winners, penalty shootouts, ultimate comebacks, and giants of the tournament struggling.
It all started with the co-hosts Canada beating South Africa in the dying minutes to qualify for the Round of 16 with a 1-0 win. From that moment on, the Round of 32 became absolute cinema, and the drama continued. Ancelotti’s Brazil, despite struggling in the first half and trailing 1-0, came back against Japan with a Casemiro equalizer, and Martinelli’s stoppage-time winner sealed their spot in the next round.
Paraguay wins! (photo courtesy Buenos Aires Herald)
All this wasn’t enough; just a few hours later came the shock of the tournament: the favorites, Germany, were knocked out by Paraguay on penalties, ending a 5-decade unbeaten run for the Germans in World Cup penalties.
Germany wasn’t the only elite side to go down on penalties. The Netherlands also suffered a defeat to Morocco on penalties, though it wasn’t as much of a shock because of Morocco’s memorable run at the 2022 World Cup.
But the biggest twist of the Round of 32 was still to come. If there were an award for the most intense, dramatic, shocking, and unexpected comeback, it would go to Belgium’s turnaround against Senegal. With a 2-0 lead, Senegal had almost confirmed its spot in the next round, but Lukaku’s goal in the 86th minute and Tielemans’s equalizer turned everything upside down, forcing the game into extra time. Just before it could reach penalties, Tielemans won it for Belgium from the spot in extra-time stoppage time.
Portugal once again had an absolute banger of a gift for their fans. After a goalless first half, Croatia’s Perisic opened the score, but Ronaldo equalized from the spot just 15 minutes later. Goncalo Ramos then scored the winner, securing Portugal a place in the next round. It wasn’t over until the last minute, though, as Croatia did score an equalizer, only to be ruled out by VAR for offside. With this, Luka Modric’s last World Cup campaign came to an end.
Norway, the dark horse of the tournament, also advanced to the Round of 16 after Haaland clutched against the Ivory Coast in the 86th minute, canceling out Amad Diallo’s banger of an equalizer. Even after that, this round still refused to slow down. It continued with Tuchel’s England, who came back from 1-0 down against DR Congo to win 2-1 because of their captain, Harry Kane, scoring a brace in the final 15 minutes.
Amid all the chaos, Spain and France made it look easy, both winning 3-0 against Austria and Sweden, respectively. Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace, a Man of the Match performance by Lamine Yamal, and French captain Kylian Mbappé’s brace easily sealed their respective teams’ spots in the next stage.
Winning, yes, Argentina, but what a way to lose! (photo courtesy USA Today)
A fairytale and a shocker in the same match – Cabo Verde, World Cup debutants and the smallest nation by land area in the tournament, pushed the defending champions into extra time. The game between Argentina and Cabo Verde was absolutely breathtaking. After a 1-1 draw between the teams. The game went into extra time, where Martinez scored in the 92nd minute to take the lead, but Cabo was not done; they equalized 11 minutes later.
But an own goal by Diney saved Argentina and helped the defending champions progress to the next round. The story belonged to 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who made ten saves – five of them against Lionel Messi alone and turned Cape Verde’s debut into one of the tournament’s most heartwarming chapters.
Now, as the tournament enters the Round of 16, every match becomes bigger, every mistake more costly, and every victory a step closer to football’s ultimate prize.
The stage is set for another thrilling chapter of the FIFA World Cup.
Nice write up.