Matchday 27 of the World Cup saw the Round of 16 come to an end with two thrilling games which included some late game drama, as Argentina managed to come back with 3 goals in the span of 15 minutes, while Switzerland defeated Colombia to secure its spot in the next round in a nailbiting penalty shootout.
Egypt looked set to create one of the biggest upsets of this World Cup by having Argentina against the ropes through the final minutes of encounter. The reigining champions would come out on top
after a late game recovery.
In the other match of the day, Colombia and Switzerland fought an extremely balanced battle with the teams needing to go all the way, where the alpine squad beat the Cafeteros in a tense penalty shootout.
Here’s the recap of the conclusion of the Round of 16 of the World Cup!
Argentina pulls off a miraculous comeback against Egypt
The last day of the Round of 16 started with titleholders Argentina facing Egypt, with both teams seeking to book their way into the quarterfinals. The Egyptians struck first in the 15th minute when defender Yasser Ibrahim headed his effort in from a cross by Marwan Attia.
Argentina had a chance to knot the game a couple of minutes later when Egypt winger Haissem Hassan tripped Argentina left-back Nicolás Tagliafico with a late tackle in the 19th minute. Lionel Messi took the shot from the penalty spot, but goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir correctly guessed and dove to his left side, denying Messi’s attempt. Shobeir made another important save in the 28th minute, blocking a close-range header from Alexis Mac Allister after a cross from Rodrigo De Paul, keeping the Pharaohs ahead.
Argentina continued to dominate the game on possession, having the initiative and creating chances on the attack. However, Shobeir started to become a factor in the 40th minute by blocking a shot by Julián Álvarez after a one-touch cross from Tagliafico. The Egypt keeper raised the alarms for his team, complaining of his shoulder after landing his save awkwardly; he was able to remain in the game, though. Egypt went into halftime ahead.
Argentina went into the second half looking for the equalizer, but its attempts were not clear enough; a couple of long-range attemps went either over the crossbar or were managed easily by Egypt’s keeper Shobeir.
In the 58th minute, Egypt seemed to had increased the lead after an exceptional run by Hassan, who combined with Mohamed Salah, himself making a perfect through-ball for Mostafa Ziko, who buried the ball into the net. However, the whole thing was disallowed after the VAR ruled that there had been a foul in the build-up play. 5 minutes later, Salah combined with Hassan in a counter, who dribbled to the final line and sent a perfect ground level cross for Ziko to make the 2-0 in the 67th minute.
Egypt proceeded to step back while Argentina sent all the artillery forward, seeking to come back into the game. The Argentines did just that in the 79th minute, when Messi sent an early cross into the box and the Egypt defense was caught off-guard, and Cristian Romero managed to head the ball in completely unmarked; the Argentine center-back did not even need to jump to make contact. Four minutes later, Messi sent a cross from the right wing, and after a series of rebounds in Egypt’s box, Gonzalo Montiel set the ball back to Messi, who found the ball on a silver platter and sent a powerful shot which struck the crossbar before slotting in Egypt’s goal. The comeback has halfway done.
Finally, in the 90+2 minute, Argentina found itself on the counter after an unsuccesfull attempt from the African team. Julián Álvarez recovered the ball in his own box after challenging Salah. The whole Egyptian team demanded a penalty call, but the referee dismissed their complaints. Álvarez sent a lobbed pass to the right wing where Lautaro Martínez found the ball and sent a precise cross for Enzo Fernández to send home, Egypt’s defense caught completely off-guard in the counter.
As much as Egypt tried to recover, they did not find the equalizer, and Argentina achieved the comeback, securing its spot in the quarterfinals.
Switzerland survives Colombia in a nerve-racking penalty shootout
Colombia and Switzerland closed the Round of 16 with a tense game where the defensive soundness of the Nati was the prime factor to war off the onslaught of the Colombian team. For most of the game, the Cafeteros relied on individual sparks to create chances, but they were not dangerous enough, and the Swiss were able to fend off the Colombians.
The match saw both teams create chances, but ultimately lack the final touch for either one to take the lead. The game went on with both teams seeming to be more concerned about making a mistake than taking the initiative to go forward. The regular time ended with the clash leveled, and the teams eventually reached the ultimate instance: the penalty shootout, taking the final game of the Round of 16 into a nerve-racking definition, keeping nationals and neutral fans alike on the edge of their seat.
The first round of the penalty shootout went without incident, as both Colombia’s Juan Fernando Quintero and Switzerland’s captain Granit Xhaka fulfilled their duties and slotted their shots in.
In the second round, though, Colombia’s center-back Davidson Sánchez hit the crossbar, putting the Cafeteros at a disadvantage. Luck seemed to be on Colombia’s side in two separate instances for the next round, however, as Jaminton Campaz’ shot managed to squeeze through Swiss keeper Gregor Kobel’s underside, while full-back Manuel Akanji skied his attempt, leveling the score.
Next, Kobel became the hero in the 4th round as he correctly guessed the direction of Chucho Hernández’ shot, while Cedric Itten blasted a rocket through the middle, getting Switzerland the lead. Finally, although attacker Luis Díaz slotted his shot in, Swiss winger Rubén Vargas did not miss his shot, managing to get the Alpines to the quarterfinals.
Both teams, Argentina and Switzerland, will face each other in the search for a spot in the semifinals of the World Cup on Saturday, July 11.
That’s it for the recap of the last day of games of the Round of 16 of the World Cup. The quarterfinals will start with France facing Morocco at Boston Stadium. The game is scheduled for Thursday, July 9.
