Here is everything that happened at the World Cup in these past two days. Four interesting matches are past us, with Man United’s players from Brazil and Portugal getting into the quarterfinals of the Qatar tournament.
Brazil Breathtakingly Get Past South Korea
We have already seen Man United players in the first four round of 16 matches did well to continue their run at the World Cup, but now is the time to take a look at the remaining four matches and how Manchester United players fared there. Brazil, obviously, continued their run towards the final stages of the competition, as the prime candidates to get their sixth World Cup win. Their round of 16 match against South Korea ended in a comfortable 4-1 victory, but it was also a reminder of the old, Joga Bonito days, of a team that captivated fans all over the world with their breathtaking football.
Similar was the case here, with Brazil getting to a 4-0 lead inside the first 36 minutes of the match. Goals were pouring from Vinicius, Neymar, Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta, while Man United were represented by the ever present Casemiro. The defensive midfielder did a great job in his usual role, playing full 90 minutes. Fred and Antony remained on the bench throughout, while Alex Telles previously ended his tournament with a knee injury.
Portugal Destroy Switzerland Without Ronaldo
There has been so much talk about Cristiano Ronaldo in the past few weeks, due to his several moves. First it was his scandalous interview, then there was his departure from Manchester United just before Portugal played their first World Cup match. With him being substituted in the group stage against South Korea, he was unhappy and uttered some bad words towards head coach Fernando Santos, which ultimately lead to a big surprise – Cristiano was benched for the round of 16 match against Switzerland.
And as all Man United fans would know from this season – this actually seemed to set the team free. Portugal obliterated Switzerland 6-1, with Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot starring. Goncalo Ramos, the striker who replaced Ronaldo, scored a hat-trick, while Bruno Fernandes assisted Pepe for Portugal’s second goal. Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao added the remaining two goals. Ronaldo did come on for the last 15 to 20 minutes, but his goal was rulled out for offside. Bruno Fernandes played 87 minutes, while Dalot remained on the pitch throughout.
Croatia Progress, Spain Go Home
In the remaining two round of 16 matches to be played on Monday and Tuesday, there were no winners after 120 minutes of play. First, it was Croatia who progressed on penalties, after being troubled by Japan. It ended 1-1 after both 90 and 120 minutes. But while most people probably expected Croatia to beat Japan, as the World Cup finalists in Russia 2018, the more interesting match occured on Tuesday.
Spain were eliminated on penalties, as Morocco did not give in against the ball-possession dominating Luis Enrique side. Spain failed to create much during the two hours of play, with disciplined Morocco negating them throughout. Ultimately, Spain-born Achraf Hakimi scored the winning penalty to knock Spain out, for Morocco’s greatest ever World Cup result.
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