On June 28, Moscow time, with the end of the 1-2 match between Panama and Tunisia, the 2018 Russia World Cup group stage came to an end, and all top 16 were announced.
Quarterfinals schedule:
Uruguay:Portugal
France:Argentina
Brazil:Mexico
Belgium:Japan
Spain:Russia
Croatia:China
Sweden:Switzerland
Colombia:England
In the final matches of the three groups E, H, and G, there were also two weird matches.
For example, Japan 0-1 Poland.
In the final stage of the game, Japan and Senegal had the same 4 points, the same goal difference of 0, and the same number of goals scored 4. Even the outcome was 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, which could only be determined by the number of red and yellow cards.
Decided to be second in the group.
So in the last ten minutes of the match against Poland, Japan, which rotated half of the team, had no hope of scoring a goal. In order not to concede the ball or receive red or yellow cards, they began a long backcourt move.
In the end, Japan just relied on the advantage of having fewer red and yellow cards to advance to second place in the group. They used vivid games to explain to fans around the world a tactical strategy called "escape is shameful, but useful."
The match between England and Belgium in Group G also made fans from all over the world stab their butts with a knife and collectively opened their eyes.
After the game, the game was hailed by the Chinese media as one of the most memorable matches in the World Cup.
Not only because England and Belgium took turns playing happy football, but also because the goal of both sides in this game was not to win, but to lose to the other side and let the other side die.
Before the start of the game, Belgium and England were tied with 6 points, so whoever wins this game will be placed in the top half and will face Japan in the round of 16. The loser will be placed in the bottom half and will face Colombia.
But this is not what Belgium and England are considering. Japan and Colombia are not strong opponents for them.
What they are considering is that if they are placed in the top half, they will 200% meet five-star Brazil in the quarter-finals.
Even if they defeat Brazil, in the next semi-finals they will still face a super strong team crawling out of the corpses of France, Uruguay, Portugal and third-rate blue Argentina.
If they are placed in the second half, they will have a lot to fight against. They will face the winner of Switzerland and Sweden in the quarter-finals, and then face Spain or Croatia in the semi-finals.
Therefore, Belgium and England, both of whom did not want to enter the top half, staged an ultimate showdown of happy football.
In the end, because Belgium was too strong, they defeated England 1-0 thanks to Januzajin's goal and moved into the top half, which was a disaster.
…
At 18:00 on June 30th, Moscow time, a strong dialogue between France and Argentina kicked off the brutal round of 16 knockout rounds of the World Cup.
According to FIFA's official pre-match predictions, the global viewership of this game may reach 400 million, but it still cannot shake the global ratings of the Chinese team's three group matches, which averaged 600 million viewers per game.
This also shocked FIFA at the enthusiasm of the Chinese people for the World Cup, which was simply terrifying.
This year, China entered the World Cup, and it was not just the Chinese team that benefited, FIFA almost went crazy with joy.
Thanks to the worldwide craze for the World Cup in China, the ratings of almost every World Cup game are much higher than in previous years, and almost all of this is contributed by the Chinese people.
The only thing that makes FIFA feel regretful is that China does not apply to host the World Cup, otherwise they would like to directly put the hosting rights into China's hands.
At the hotel where the Chinese team was staying in Moscow, after the afternoon training session, Lippi summoned all the players to watch the game.
The group stage and the knockout round can actually be said to be two forms of competition.
Some powerful football countries may dare to hide their incompetence in the group stage, but in the knockout rounds, no one dares to do this. If there is a slight mistake, they will lose the whole game.
So Lippi wants his group of World Cup rookies to experience the cruelty and intensity of the World Cup knockout rounds.
In particular, Mo Yang, the tactical core of the Chinese team, must have a clear understanding and mental preparation for the intensity of the knockout rounds. Otherwise, if he plays it as a group stage, he will probably be beaten to the point where he cannot find his way around.
Like many fans, Mo Yang also believes that this will be a high-tech and tactical showdown with conservative tactics.
However, the reality surprised Mo Yang.
After the start of the game, Argentina's performance was still a bit confused, and it was still difficult to find the state of the game.
On the contrary, it was France, they quickly entered the state and their offensive was very strong.
France's game was played at a dizzying pace, showing the world the true strength of the favorites.
France and France in the group stage were like two teams. The completely different competitive state in the group stage left Zheng Zhi and others speechless.
It also made Hao Junmin and others realize that this is the real French team, and they are really lucky to be able to draw 2:3 with France.
In the 8th minute of the game, France won a free kick in an excellent position within 25 meters to the right of the top of the arc.
Griezmann kicked the ball out and the ball hit the crossbar hard.
This crash also started the clarion call for the French attack.
Just two minutes later, when France was defending in the backcourt, Mbappe, who was at the top of the center arc and the middle area of the center circle, caught a stopping error by Argentine midfielder Banega and directly started to rush ahead of Banega.
He and Tagliafico caught up with the ball before closing the defense and ran away.
The eye-popping speed sent fans all over the world racing with adrenaline.
Mbappe, who started the solo mode, made the chasing Argentine players collectively despair. Even Rojo, who had returned to defend in advance, was forcefully eaten alive by Mbappe in front of the right rib area at the top of the arc with his speed.
This also resulted in Rojo having to push the turtle, who could run faster than a rabbit, into the penalty area and give France a penalty kick.
"Why do you always look at me? Am I slower than him?"
This time, Mo Yang and Bai Lele were sitting in the back row. Seeing Zheng Zhi and others frequently looking back at him, Bai Lele, with his arms folded, rolled his eyes, "I feel like I'm faster than him!"
"cut!"
Feng Xiaoting and others all raised their middle fingers at Bai Lele and laughed loudly. This shameless guy is obviously on par with others.
After this goal, although no more goals were scored, the game was still fierce.
It was not until the 40th minute that the confused Argentina finally found the right direction after not posing much of a threat for more than 30 minutes.
When Argentina was attacking, there was a sudden cross from the wing and Di Maria was unmarked in front of the top of the arc.
Then the angel came and equalized the score with a powerful, deep, and tricky long-range shot. This was also Argentina's first shot on target in this game.
Not long after the second half started, Messi, who was passing and shooting, assisted Mercado to take the lead.
In less than ten minutes, French full-back Pavard used a shocking instep banana ball to bring the score back.
After this goal, the French team's competitive state reached its peak, and Argentina was once again confused. At the same time, the game also turned into a personal exhibition match for Mbappe, allowing the 19-year-old young French player to embark on the first step on the road to superstardom.
A step.
At the 68th minute of the game, Mbappe saw Mbappe speeding up the right rib and scoring twice with ease, rewriting the score to 4-2. Everyone knew that the game was over and felt sorry for Argentina.
Although Argentina got a goal back through Aguero in the next game, they failed to create a miracle.
After the game, Zheng Zhi and others once again looked back at Bai Lele to comment. Hao Junmin, Wu Xi and others shook their heads from time to time, with very obvious expressions of disgust and mischief on their faces.
"What are you looking at me doing again! Can I score more goals this season than him?" Bai Lele read everyone's expressions and jumped in anger.
"But you also missed 11 shots that Madison and Hernandez created for you!" Mo Yang, who was on the side, grinned and shot.
When Bai Lele heard this, he immediately closed himself up, and then turned his eyes directly to Wu Lei.
"Hey! You brat, what do you mean by that look in your eyes!" Wu Lei was so angry that he took off his shoes and threw them at Bai Lele.
"Hahaha……"
Suddenly everyone was brought into the ocean of joy by Bai Lele.
