The final round of 16 games in the FIFA World Cup took place on Tuesday.
It all started at Atlanta Stadium with Lionel Messi and Argentina facing Mohamed Salah and Egypt. Then, it was off to BC Place in Vancouver, where Granit Xhaka and Switzerland battled Luis Diaz and Colombia.
Let’s go over the day’s wild World Cup action.
Argentina vs Egypt: A crazy comeback
Argentina were heavily favoured to win this game. But anything can happen in sports, especially at the World Cup.
It took 15 minutes for Egypt to get on the scoresheet. Marwen Ateya crossed the ball into the crowded box. But Yasser Ibrahim leaped over Lisandro Martinez and headed the ball past Emiliano Martinez. The reigning World Champions had their backs against the wall.
Argentina, of course, have the talent to tie the game. They pushed for the equalizer, but the Egyptian goal made them lose their rhythm.
Of course, Messi had to put Argentina on his back as he has for many years. The Inter Miami superstar had numerous chances to tie the game in the first half. He ended up missing a penalty and hitting the post with a free kick.
For Egypt, their goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir was dialled in. For instance, he made this incredible save of Julian Alvarez.
Argentina were throwing everything at Egypt. But the Pharaohs’ counterattack was swift and deadly. Haissem Hassan has been one of Egypt’s best players at this World Cup with his speed and passing. It looked like he gave Egypt the goal lead, but a VAR check determined there was a foul in the buildup. Hmm…
About seven minutes later, Egypt did get their second goal. This one did count. Salah sped down the pitch and found Hassan and Mostafa Ziko finished. Egypt and their fans were in dreamland. It looked like we were going to see one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
But hold on, Argentina were not finished. Lionel Scaloni’s men did not want to go home. They had to rely on their magic man. Messi crossed the ball into the box, and Tottenham’s Cristian Romero sent the header into the net. Game on.
Argentina went into overdrive, while Egypt were hanging on for dear life. You couldn’t get your eyes off the screen.
Lautaro Martinez crossed the ball in the box, and Egypt couldn’t clear. Lisandro Martinez found the loose ball and found Messi. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner blasted the ball into the net, and we had a tie game. Shobeiri couldn’t handle the shot cleanly as it went off his hands and into the net.
This game looked like it was going to extra time and possibly penalties. After Egypt were threatening, Lautaro Martinez crossed the ball, and it found the head of Enzo Fernandez. The Chelsea midfielder won the game for the Albiceleste. They scored three goals in 13 minutes to knock out Egypt.
The Egyptian players and staff were not happy. It looked like Salah was tripped in the box before Fernandez’s goal. The trip looks obvious here, but it was not called or looked at by VAR. Or was this a dive by Salah? Hmm…
And…exhale. This was a game for the ages. We also saw one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history. Phew.
Switzerland vs Colombia: Swiss prevail on penalties
After the madness in Atlanta, it was off to Vancouver. This was the final World Cup game in Canada. England’s win against Mexico in Mexico City the other day was the last World Cup game in Mexico. That meant games from this point will all be in the US.
The Colombians were coming off a dominant display over Ghana, and the Swiss also dominated Algeria in their Round of 32 game. The winner of this game would face Argentina.
It was clear there were more Colombian fans than Swiss fans inside BC Place. There were patches of red, but it felt like a sea of yellow.
Colombia were on the front foot in the first half as they had more chances. Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel came up big with this save off Gustavo Puerta. That was the only shot on target by Colombia in the first half.
It was clear Switzerland was missing Johan Manzambi. The 20-year-old was not playing in this game due to an unknown injury. The Swiss were not as dynamic on the counterattack without him. Manzambi’s speed was a huge factor in Switzerland’s wins over Algeria, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Swiss defended well, and Granit Xhaka was dictating the Swiss’ transitions in the midfield. They only had two shots in the first half, but they managed to get Camilo Vargas to make saves on both of them.
It continued to be a cagey and physical match in the second half. Both sides had spells of possession.
Switzerland had a chance to take the lead early in the second half. Substitute Djibril Sow slipped on his shot, and the ball went into the stands.
The Swiss front three of Breel Embolo, Dan Ndoye and Fabien Rieder were leading the attack. But the Colombian backline did their jobs, and Switzerland were not as threatening in the final third.
For the Colombians, Diaz and Luis Suarez lead the way. It looked like Suarez blasted the ball into the net, but for whatever reason, she shot it well wide. Suarez blamed the grass for his missed shot. Maybe he would’ve scored that on the usual BC Place turf?
Both teams were trying to tactically outclass each other. But neither side wanted to make a mistake. This battle in Vancouver needed extra time.
Eight minutes into the first extra time period, Colombia was a whisker away from opening the scoring. They had the momentum. Jhon Lucumi’s header hit the bar. It looked like Kobel might have gotten a touch too.
Switzerland had their chances too. Substitute Zeki Amdouni was robbed by Vargas. It was offside, but that doesn’t take away the save by the goalkeeper of Atlas.
It seems like a theme of this game was that both teams had trouble hitting the net. Maybe both teams really want the BC Lions to come back to BC Place. In the second frame of extra time, Xhaka skied it over the bar.
Juan Quintero and Jaminton Campaz both flubbed their lines and hit the ball over the bar. Campaz was gifted a glorious oppurtunity after Xhaka carelessly gave the ball away.
So it was off to the dreaded penalty kicks.
Quintero and Xhaka scored the first two spot kicks for their countries. Veteran Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez hit the crossbar.
Amdouni converted for the Swiss, and so did Campaz for the Colombians. Manuel Akanji had the chance to retake the lead for Switzerland, but he skied it over the bar. A horrible penalty.
Kobel then made a great save off Cucho Hernandez.
After Cedric Itten scored for Switzerland and Diaz scored for Colombia, Ruben Vargas had a chance to send the Swiss to the quarterfinals. The Sevilla midfielder was dealing with an injury as well, but he came on right when extra time began.
Vargas made no mistake.
Switzerland won all three of their games in Vancouver and were now heading to Kansas City to face Argentina. That game is on Saturday, June 11.
Stat of the day
Fernandez’s winning goal for Argentina was the 3000th goal in World Cup history.
Masterclass of the day
Messi just keeps making history.
Disasterclass of the day
Suarez wasn’t as good as the Uruguayan guy who has the same name.
Fan moment of the day
Credit to Colombia’s fans, they made it feel like BC Place was their home. Unfortunately, instead of a trip to Kansas City, they are all going back home.
Tweet of the day
With the Argentina and Egypt game being played in the home of the Atlanta Falcons, Tom Brady’s Tweet was very fitting.
Wrap-up
The quarterfinals are set. Argentina will play Switzerland. England will play Norway. France will take on Morocco, and Spain will take on Belgium. All but two of the remaining nations are European.
The World Cup takes a break on Wednesday, but France takes on Morocco on Thursday. That game takes place at Boston Stadium, and kickoff is at 1:00 pm Pacific.
Let the World Cup madness continue.
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