World Cup 2018: Team of the round of 16
We have had a thrilling start to the knockout stages in the most exciting World Cup we have had for a number of years. We’ve had eight matches in the round of 16, all of which have thrown up a story or two.
France knocked out Argentina in the tie of the round, with Kylian Mbappe the star of the show, scoring twice. Later on, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Lionel Messi in leaving Russia early, when Portugal were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay.
Spain were the shock casualties of the round, going out on penalties to hosts Russia, who despite all the pre-tournament doubts and criticism, reached the quarter finals for the first time since 1970. In that quarter final they will play Croatia, who also won on penalties, beating Denmark in a dramatic shootout.
Brazil are still favourites for the title with the bookies, and they eased to the quarter finals with a win over Mexico, who it looks liked peaked too early with their surprise win over Germany in their opening game. They set up a mouth-watering tie with Belgium, who snatched a last-minute victory over Japan, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
Sweden progressed past the round of 16 for the first time since 1994 with a 1-0 win over Switzerland, in what was perhaps the least exciting of the ties. Sweden’s opponents in the quarter finals will be England, who finally ended their penalty shootout hoodoo with a win over Colombia, with Jordan Pickford the hero.
There were some standout individual performances in the round of 16, and these were the players who put in the best ones.
Goalkeeper
Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark)
Sadly, his nation’s game with Croatia was the final one Schmeichel will play at this tournament, but he certainly made his mark with a superb performance. He sent the game to penalties, denying Luka Modric in the final minutes of extra time.
He made an impact in the shootout as well. He saved from Milan Badelj, and later Josip Pivaric, but it wasn’t enough to keep his side in the tournament.