It was a matchday of chaos as five-time champions Brazil marched to the round of 16 courtesy of an extra-time last-minute strike from Gabriel Martinelli, while heavyweights like four-time champions Germany and the Netherlands faced premature and shocking exits from the tournament to Paraguay and Morocco respectively.
2010 quarterfinalists Paraguay and 2022 semifinalists Morocco will get a chance to outdo their best finishes, but these come at the expense of top-ranked teams like the Netherlands (8) and Germany (10). For the first time ever, two top-ten nations have been knocked out in the first round of the knockout stage.
-Brazil vs Japan (2-1)
The Samurai Blue started off on a strong note defensively and continuously denied Brazil their early chances. Kaishu Sano produced a stunning bottom corner strike from the edge of the box in the 29th minute, taking Japan to a 1-0 lead at half-time.
In the 56th minute, Casemiro headed home for an equaliser, but goalkeeper Zion Suzuki denied Vinicius Jr a goal. Six minutes into the extra six minutes, Bruno Guimares fed Martinelli, who wasted no time in delivering a clinical finish and Brazil a shot at the quarterfinals.
Brazil’s sensational win over Japan in their round of 32 match marked the first time since the 1978 FIFA World Cup that the five-time champions secured a win in a knockout match despite trailing at half-time.
As per Opta Analyst, Casemiro (aged 34 years and 126 days) is the second-oldest goal-scorer for Brazil in the FIFA World Cup, behind Bebeto against Denmark in 1998 (34 years and 137 days).
As per Opta Analyst, only Pele in the 1970 FIFA World Cup recorded more assists for the Men in Canary Yellow, with Bruno Guimaraes, slowly inching towards the numbers of the Brazil icon with four assists in the ongoing edition.
-Germany vs Paraguay (1-1) [3-4 on penalties]
Germany’s post 2014 FIFA World Cup downfall continued as they crashed out in the round of 32 after being ousted in the group stage in their previous two editions. They suffered their first-ever FIFA World Cup elimination in a penalty shootout, having won each of their previous four shootouts at the tournament.
It was also only their second defeat on penalties at a major international tournament, the first coming against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final (5-3), as per OptaJoe.
Germany once again conceded an early lead, with Julio Ensico (42nd minute) striking for Paraguay; however, Kai Havertz levelled the scores just 12 minutes later.
Scores were level at 1-1 heading into the extra time, and Germany thought they had secured a place in the Round of 16 when Tah headed home from a corner in the 101st minute of extra time.
However, following a VAR review, referee Jalal Jayed disallowed the goal after ruling that Germany defender Waldemar Anton had impeded Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill in the build-up.
The match went to penalties, where Paraguay came out on top 4-3, continuing the four-time world champions’ woes at the big tournaments after the 2014 FIFA World Cup win. It was Jose Canale who hammered the match-winning kick.
Germany has a long-standing clean sheet problem, having conceded in each of their last 10 FIFA World Cup matches, their worst-ever run without a clean sheet in their FIFA WC history. Their previous clean sheet came during the 1-0 win over Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final.
Manuel Neuer, who took back his international retirement and made a comeback in Germany colours after an acclaimed goalkeeping display with Bayern Munich, has struggled to make a massive impact, being unable to keep a clean sheet even against debutants Curacao in their campaign opener. Germany eventually won the match 7-1, but Curacao’s quick equaliser had sent tensions in the German camp.
Trailing early on against Ivory Coast and succumbing 2-1 to Ecuador despite Leroy Sane’s second-minute strike also other points where goalkeeping left more to be desired.
It was also only their second defeat on penalties at a major international tournament, the first coming against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final (5-3), as per OptaJoe. The result also ranks among the biggest knockout upsets in modern World Cup history. Germany entered the tournament ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings, while Paraguay were 41st, a gap of 31 places.
-Netherlands 1-1 Morocco [2-3 on penalties]
The stalemate was long, but Cody Gakpo, battling a highly personal loss, responded with a 72nd-minute strike. Gakpo, who had just lost his unborn child to a miscarriage, scored a highly important goal in the face of personal adversity. However, on the brink of the full-time whistle, Issa Diop spoiled the party with an equaliser.
After another half hour of no goals, things headed to penalties, with Bart Verbruggen repelling one and Yassine Bounou stopping two. Ismael Saibari, who had scored in all of Morocco’s group stage matches so far, hit the decisive penalty to continue Morocco’s deep run.
Now, Gakpo has six FIFA World Cup goals, tied with legends Dennis Bergkamp, Wesley Sneijder, Rob Rensenbrink, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie. The all-time leading goal-scorer for the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup is Johnny Rep with seven. Gakpo’s heroics, however, were not enough to save his team from elimination.
In the next fixture in Round 16, Morocco will face Canada on July 4. Winners of Round 32 will decide who will face Brazil and Paraguay in Round 16 fixtures.
