In this FIFA World Cup recap, the Round of 32 comes to a close, with Egypt dramatically earning their first-ever knockout win, Cape Verde almost stunning the defending champions, and Colombia doing just about enough.
Penalty heroics lift Egypt past Australia
Egypt had to earn it the hard way, and after a 1-1 tie in 120 minutes of play, the Pharaohs outdueled Australia 4-2 on penalties to reach the Round of 16 for the first time.
Egypt got on the scoreboard first in the 13th minute when Karim Hafez launched a cross near the Aussies’ backpost, before Emam Ashour launched a powerful header past goalkeeper Patrick Beach to give the Egyptians the lead.
The Socceroos struggled to create many quality chances. Still, they found the equalizer in the 55th minute of the second half, when Aiden O’Neil launched a curling free-kick delivery near Egypt’s box, where Mohamed Hany rose and headed the ball in the top corner of his own net for his second own goal of the tournament.
After both teams failed to find a winner in regular and extra time, a penalty shootout came into play to determine a winner. But before that, with extra time waning, Australia’s manager decided to replace Beach with veteran goalkeeper Matthew Ryan for the shootout.
The Pharaohs led 3-2 after three rounds, with Aussie captain Harry Souttar shooting his spot kick over the bar and Egypt captain Mohamed Salah scoring with a cheeky panenka.
With the Socceroos needing to score to keep their hopes alive, up came 18-year-old Lucas Herrington to the plate, but his shot hit the crossbar. And a few minutes later, Hossam Abdelmaguid nailed down his kick toward the left side, sending Ryan the wrong way in the process, to give Egypt the win.
Argentina survives scare from Cape Verde
In the best game of the tournament so far, and one of the best knockout games in World Cup history, defending champions Argentina avoided an all-time upset at the hands of Cape Verde to come out 3-2 winners after extra time.
La Albiceleste got the party started in the 29th minute, when Lisandro Martínez launched a long pass near the Blue Sharks’ penalty box, where captain Lionel Messi brought the ball down mid-stride before lifting it past Vozinha to give the Argentines the lead with his seventh goal of the tournament.
The goal was Messi’s 20th World Cup goal, his eighth consecutive game scoring in the tournament and his 12th direct goal contribution in World Cup knockout matches, surpassing both Pelé and Kylian Mbappé.
After the goal, Argentina seemed content to hold on to their one-goal lead, but Cape Verde, who drew with Spain and Uruguay in the group stages, were not to be underestimated. And in the 59th minute, the Blue Sharks equalized with Deroy Durate launching a near-post shot at a difficult angle, but managed to squeeze it past both Martínez and Emiliano Martínez for the goal.
After 90 minutes, extra time was needed to see who would be moving on to face Egypt in the Round of 16.
La Albiceleste struck first only two minutes into ET, when Alexis Mac Allister flicked a corner kick from Messi to the near post, where Lisandro launched a left-footed shot past Vozinha and into the top corner to restore Argentina’s lead. But the Blue Sharks canceled it out once again in the 103rd minute, when Sidny Cabral received the ball on the left flank after a sequence started by Vozinha, before cutting inside and launching a curling shot that went past Emiliano and into the top corner to tie the game once again.
Argentina, who were now on the ropes, kept looking to take back the lead, but Vozinha held firm, making eight saves, including a couple off Messi. But the Argentines found the breakthrough they needed in the 111th minute, when Cristian Romero connected on a Messi corner kick with a glancing header, which then deflected off the arm of Diney Borges and past Vozinha to give the Argentines back the lead.
Cape Verde looked for an equalizer to potentially send the game to penalties, but after two hours of end-to-end, scarily believable football, Argentina avoided a World Cup shocker and moved on to face Egypt in the last 16.
The Blue Sharks may not have won the match, but they won the world’s hearts.
Early Arias strike enough to put Colombia past Ghana
Colombia’s opportunistic finishing at one end and organised defending at the other once again proves too much for their opponents, as the Cafeteros advance to the round of 16 for the third time in their history following a 1-0 win over Ghana.
Jhon Arias’ 14th-minute goal was enough for the Colombians to go through, connecting on a cross from Luis Suárez before hitting his shot past goalkeeper Lawernece Ati-Zigi for a first-time finish.
Despite the Black Stars limiting the Cafeteros to one goal, thanks in part to Ait-Zigi making seven saves, Ghana’s offense failed to find its mark, failing to find a shot on target in their eight attempts for an expected goals (xG) of 0.27 in comparison to Colombia’s 2.04 expected goals (xG) on 20 shots (eight on target).
The Cafeteros will now face Switzerland in the last 16 for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Delivered by Sean Paul
