The World Cup knockout stage is finally ready to begin after 72 group matches trimmed the expanded 48-team field down to 32.
Pre-tournament favourites Argentina, France, Spain and England all progressed, but there was also room for a few surprise stories.
Cape Verde reached the knockout stage in their first-ever World Cup after drawing all three group matches. DR Congo also made history by reaching the last 32 for the first time, more than 50 years after their only previous appearance at the finals as Zaire.
Argentina will face Cape Verde on Friday, while DR Congo take on England on Wednesday.
African nations enjoyed one of their strongest World Cup campaigns, as nine of the continent's 10 teams reached the knockout stage.
Europe has 13 teams left in the tournament, South America has five, while Asia is represented by two. Co-hosts Mexico, the United States and Canada are the only North American sides still standing.
Uruguay were the highest-ranked team to miss out after failing to progress from the group stage.
Iran also suffered late heartbreak. Team Melli were seconds away from qualification before Austria's stoppage-time equaliser against Algeria pushed the North Africans into the final qualifying third-place spot.
Only Argentina, France and Mexico won all three of their group matches.
One of the standout last-32 matches sees the Netherlands face Morocco on Monday. The Dutch scored 10 goals during the group stage, while Morocco continued the impressive form that took them to the World Cup semi-finals four years ago.
The race for the Golden Boot is also heating up. Lionel Messi leads the standings on six goals, ahead of Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Erling Haaland, who have all scored four.
England captain Harry Kane is among a group of 10 players on three goals.
Kazakhstan has concluded its first election to the new unicameral Kurultai, with turnout reaching 74.19 per cent, as vote counting begins following...
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo as health authoriti...
U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed...
Iran on Saturday denounced U.S. plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic's economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners including China.
A large-scale drone attack has hit Russia's Samara region, damaging facilities and disrupting operations at an Ozon logistics complex, according to regional authorities and the company.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected calls for a wartime election, arguing that holding a vote while Russia's full-scale invasion continues would divide the country and undermine national unity.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was not ready to make what he called the "right deal" with Washington as tensions persisted over the war and the Strait of Hormuz.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 22nd of August, covering the latest developments.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo as health authorities race to contain what has become the country's largest Ebola outbreak on record.
Kazakhstanis went to the polls on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election held under the country’s new constitutional system, which replaces the former two-chamber parliament with a single 145-seat legislature known as the Kurultai.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected calls for a wartime election, arguing that holding a vote while Russia's full-scale invasion continues would divide the country and undermine national unity.
Syria expects negotiations with Israel over a security agreement to resume soon despite deep mistrust between the two sides, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in an interview with Reuters, urging Israel to seize an "historic opportunity" as the door for diplomacy is open.
India's Coast Guard and Navy continued search-and-rescue operations off the eastern coast on Sunday after a Panama-flagged cargo vessel carrying 24 crew sank, with two Chinese nationals rescued, a senior official said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment