World Cup 2026 Knockout Stage Round of 16 Recap
Canada vs. Morocco 0-3
Canada threatened Morocco with fast paced attack from the start. Morocco took dominance in ball possession but had difficulty going forward because of Canada's pressuring and counters. The first half ended in a stalemate. Morocco started off more pacey in the second half. They got a free kick outside the box and they did a promised play where they succeeded in scoring in the 50th minute. Canada could press but their finishing move was frustrating since they were too careful and didn't try shooting. When they went forward, it was just hoping luck would be on their side. Their passing play didn't flow as well as it did in first half. In the 81st minute, Morocco's forward movement flowed well that opened up Canada's defence and the result was a goal. Everybody was rushed; Canada wanted to score while Morocco was busy defending and wanting to counter. While Canada was busy going forward, they let the back line open again and Morocco countered to add another goal on the score board in the last moments of stop-itch time, adding insult to injury.
Paraguay vs. France 0-1
France calmly controlled with possession, and Paraguay sat back in defence and waited for counters. France wasn't finishing well enough so the first half ended scoreless. After the 66th minute, the scoreless drought finally ended as France was awarded penalty to which Mbappe scored. Paraguay's defence deadlock made it difficult for France to score anymore so the game ended with just the penalty goal.
Brazil vs. Norway 1-2
It was an exciting match as it was attack versus attack. Brazil got a penalty kick chance early on but Norway blocked it. Norway was fierce at first but as Brazil was lethal in counter-attack, they were careful in passing play. Norway's mistake was an opportunity for Brazil. Norway had the majority of the possession. Endrick came in to change the mood for Brazil and he did make their attack more lively but Norway's goalie protected the net well. In the 79th minute, Haaland finally had a proper chance and he successfully connected a cross with a header for Norway to go up one. At the 89th minute, Haaland made an audacious strike towards the bottom right corner from outside the box and it actually went it. At the end of stop-itch time, Brazil was questionably awarded a penalty kick to which Neymar scored as futile consolation. Ultimately, Haaland was the hero of the day.
Mexico vs. England 2-3
Mexico's passing play looked more effective than that of England so the former had more possession. England had difficulty penetrating so they threatened with the flanks. Indeed England was lethal in the flanks as Saka made a cross that was connected with a header to get their first goal. England then scored immediately afterwards that started from kickoff as they went forward like a bulldozer. Before the 42nd minute, luck was on Mexico's side as they got a free kick outside the box and scored. Mexico's hopes were up and that energized their attack. End of first half was Mexico bombarding England with attacks. In the second half, both teams scored from penalty kicks. There was a questionable red card call against England to what was seemingly a ball touch first incident. Mexico tried their best to equalize but failed due to poor finishing.
Portugal vs. Spain 0-1
Both teams played a similar passing play style but Spain retained possession better. Both also had close chances to score but the first half was a stalemate without goals. In the second half, Spain went forward well, dominated possession and had a few shooting opportunities but the finish was lackluster. When Portugal went forward, they were stuck on the flanks and there wasn't enough support up front to pass to so they couldn't make plays or got intercepted. At the 90th minute, Portugal's defence finally cracked as Spain took a quick free kick outside the box then penetrated the centre with a nice through pass to score in a one-to-one situation between striker and keeper. The final minutes were spent by Portugal trying to equalize but to no avail; so close, yet so far.
USA vs. Belgium 1-4
Before the 9th minute, Belgium took advantage of the unfocused American defence and scored. The US was rushed and thus lacked composure with the ball. They nevertheless knocked on the door. In the 30th minute, US got a free kick just outside the box and it was directly kicked in for them to equalize. Immediately after kickoff, Belgium got their lead back from a great cross and header. The States kept possession and tried to equalize again but to no avail. It was a nail-biting first half. In second half, USA's mentality broke down and they played their worst ever game of the tournament as their defence made mistakes time and time again giving Belgium goal freebies.
Argentina vs. Egypt 3-2
Argentina was defensive and Egypt was offensive. Egypt had more possession so they were able to make more goal opportunities to which they scored from a good cross and a header connection in the 14th minute. Argentina went into offence mode. Few minutes later, Argentina luckily got a penalty kick chance where Messi kicked but was blocked. Argentina kept trying but had difficulty penetrating through their opponent's defence. The second half started with Argentina taking over possession and trying to make scoring opportunities especially with Messi as the centre of attention but to no avail. Meanwhile before the 58th minute, when Egypt was in counter-attack, Argentina couldn't stop them and allowed the back line to be open so they could score. Unfortunately, there was a foul upon the commencement of the counter so the goal did not count which was a relief for Argentina. When Argentina lost the ball, they were in danger by the fast-reacting Egyptians. Before the 67th minute, Egypt's counter-attack succeeded in taking advantage of the open space at the back and they scored their second goal. Messi's dribbling was futile today as it was blocked off by Egypt's defence. Argentina continued to keep possession and before the 79th minute, a good cross was made from outside the box and that was connected with a header to bring up their spirits. At the 83rd minute, Messi magic happened again as the team didn't give up, went forward and Messi rebounded the ball to tie up the game. It instantly went from hopeless to hopeful for Argentina and the momentum went on their side. Just before 2 minutes of stop-itch time, Argentina finally led in score from a good counter-attack movement. It was an unexpectedly riveting finale to the game.
Switzerland vs. Colombia 0-0 (PSO 4-3)
Both teams seldom had scoring chances that either were blocked or missed so it was a stalemate in the first and second halves. Extra time went by without any changes so it was time for penalty shootout.
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | O | X | O | X | O |
| Switzerland | O | O | X | O | O |
Colombia went first. The first kickers scored. The second Colombia kicker aimed the centre and hit the top post so no goal. Swiss kicker on the other hand calmly succeeded. The third Colombian kicker scored despite the keeper guessing right. Swiss on the other hand made a home run. The fourth Colombian kicker got blocked. Swiss went for the middle and scored. It was up to the final fifth kicker. Colombia first scored. The Swiss kicker scoring would garantee victory and he did so it was jubilations for Switzerland.
Comments
Post a Comment