In this FIFA World Cup recap, Spain handles business, Portugal and Croatia have an epic match, and Switzerland turns Algeria into Swiss cheese.
Spain breezes past Austria
In what was their best performance of the tournament so far, Spain dispatched Austria with ease in a 3-0 win to advance to the Round of 16.
La Roja played with such calm and verticality in possession that it kept the Austrians constantly on their toes.
Mike Oyarzabal grabbed himself a brace, with Marc Cucurella assisting both goals, and Pedro Porro added a header in the 66th minute to give Spain its first knockout win in a World Cup since winning the entire thing in 2010, when they beat the Netherlands in the final 1-0 in extra time.
Portugal outlasts Croatia in thriller.
In the best game of the tournament so far, Portugal edges Croatia in a 2-1 belter of a match to move on to the next round.
In what is arguably the final time Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić will ever play in a World Cup, only one team’s journey could continue and the other’s had to end.
After a scoreless first half, Ivan Perišić broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute with a low strike past goalkeeper Diogo Costa to give the Kockasti the lead. Portugal were then awarded a penalty after Nikola Vlašić fouled Renato Veiga in the box, which Ronaldo slotted past Dominik Livaković to level the score for his first-ever knockout WC goal.
Martínez then pulled Ronaldo in the 81st minute with the game still level, and it paid off: substitute Gonçalo Ramos headed Portugal in front in the 94th minute off a Rafael Leão cross.
Croatia thought they’d salvaged it deep into stoppage time, but Josko Gvardiol’s would-be equalizer was overturned via VAR/ball-sensor technology, which confirmed a faint offside touch from Igor Matanović on the buildup to end their World Cup dream in heartbreak.
The Iberian Derby is up next for the Seleção, when they take on Spain in the Round of 16 on July 6.
Switzerland swiss-cheeses Algeria
For the first time since 1938, Switzerland wins itself a World Cup knockout, easily dismantling Algeria 2-0 and booking its place into the last 16.
Breel Embolo opened the scoring in the 10th minute off a mazy individual run and cutback from Johan Manzambi, who became the youngest player in over 60 years to record five goal contributions in a single World Cup tournament (20 years and 261 days old).
And 46 seconds into the second half, Dan Ndoye doubled the lead with a low driven shot near the edge of the box that went past Luca Zidane and into the back of the net.
Riyad Mahrez’s time with Algeria has come to an end, as he announced his retirement shortly after that match.
The Swiss now await the winner of Colombia vs Ghana in the last 16.
Delivered by Sean Paul
