The knockout round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup gets underway on Saturday with a pair of matches taking place in Russia.
Action starts in Kazan as France takes on Argentina in a battle of two teams that need to prove more. France won Group C following their 0-0 draw against Denmark on Tuesday, but only scored three goals in the group stage. Youth leads the attacking front for Les Bleus as Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann are both expected to start. Argentina used a dramatic winner from Marcos Rojo to finish as runners-up in Group D, behind eventual winners Croatia. Leo Messi only had one goal in the group stage, but overall the Argentinians will need to be better in all aspects to avoid elimination.
The second match of the day sees attacking talent galore as Portgual battles Uruguay in Sochi. Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. finished second to Spain in Group B, thanks to a 1-1 draw vs. Iran on Monday. A late equalizer by the Iranians doomed Portugal to second place as now they look to knock out a stubborn Uruguayan side. Luis Suarez led the way for Uruguay in the group stage, scoring two goals in three matches. Defensively, Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin headline a 3backline who have yet to concede in this tournament.
The SBI Editorial Staff will be providing live commentary on Saturday’s matches and would like you to join the fun. Feel free to join us and comment along in the section below.
Enjoy the action.
this match is quite lively and fun. plenty of good play out there from both sides.
boisterous crowd, not too many fouls
drums are beating, the crowd is whistling. 24th minute.
cr7 gets a touch.
free kick uruguay! off an uruguay breakaway. from about 25 yards out.
on frame in the low right corner but not enough pace to beat the portugal keeper.
a big uruguay body easily wins an aerial dual. that’s what i’m talking about.
cr7 not really getting a lot of touches, is he?
shot uruguay! well defended goes harmlessly over the bar.
shot portugal! a header goes harmlessly wide in the 11th minute.
goal uruguay! holy crap! uruguay switch the field to the open mid who cuts inside and lets one rip why not and it totally WENT IN! it’s now uruguay 1-0 portugal in sochi!
8th minute
6th minute shot! cr7 tests the uruguay keeper with a low bending shot with a bit of pace.
uruguay works a give and go down the touch line like any american team would. corner uruguay.
i mean like any usa team would.
2nd minute cr skips like a fairy between two big uruguay players. it’s almost kind of funny.
and the match is under way in sochi!
christiano ronaldo is looking well and sporting a very tightly shaved haircut on the sides.
i think that means he’s focused like a laser beam today. expect an intense cr performance tonight!
and the players step out onto the field in fischt stadium in sochi.
the national anthems play.
i dunno, i realize that portugal is favored but if i’m france i think i might rather face portugal and their slightly better play than those huge, hulking uruguay players. size matters.
this uruguay-portugal match coming up next i think is really going to be dynamite.
france will face the winner of uruguay-portugal at 2 pm in the quarterfinal round match on july 6.
eh, larry?
Otamendi and Giroud both see yellows as teams come together following a clumsy foul by Otamendi. 93′
Sergio Aguero heads it in and Argentina are down 4-3 with a few minutes remaining. 93′
With two goals today and a won penalty, Mbappe is subbed off as Florian Thauvin comes on. 88′
hello Larry! i turned the game on late, so i’m watching from the beginning.
11th minute penalty! a really fast dangerous break by france, emergency defending by argentina and the last defender brings the Frenchman down just like the good book says not to do.
score! france 1-0 argentina the French player converts easily in the 12th minute
so this is the land of thierry henry? where all of the thierry henry’s come from? they are quite athletic and powerful and fast and skillful on the ball. impressive players.
argentina players seem to be not as impressive physically but take many tiny touches when dribbling and pass and dribble very skillfully.
31st minute france seem to be much more dangerous on the break, especially when #6 is on the break for france. he’s really fast!
34th minute. so far, a very enjoyable football match. the boisterous crowd happily sings and chants all the while.
goal argentina! a 41st minute stunner from far outside the box bending far upper 90 caught the france team sleeping. france 1-1 argentina!
the crowd, apparently in
supporting argentina, just got noticeably louder.
half time, france 1-1 argentina
goal argentina! a strike takes a deflection off an argentina player and the france keeper, already in mid-air diving the other way, had no chance.
france 1-2 argentina, loud happy crowd, 51st minute
danger! 57th minute, france #7 nearly robs the keeper and taps one in from close range! wow!
goal france! holy crap! a world class one timer-rocket bending upper 90 in the 57th minute from outside the box, wow!
it’s an all new ball game, france 2-2 argentina in the 59th minute.
the stadium looks packed. the crowd i think has never stopped singing from the opening whistle. wow, must be amazing in there!
goal france! just too many big france bodies inside the box when the low cross came in, one of those guys was bound to find net. 64th minute, france 3-2 argentina.
goal france again!! 69th minute: the france build from the back, the pass to midfield, the through ball, the onrushing forward runs onto it, the finish far post on the ground.
perfectly executed team goal from back to front, france 4-2 argentina and the singing from the crowd really makes me want to be there right now, it sounds awesome!
75th minute, this is where the match was when i turned it on. glad i watched from the beginning!
shot argentina! 85th minute, messi weakly kicks it straight to the france keeper. he wants that one back.
91st minute, argentina Trying a little bit harder, getting some corners and shots, but all were cleared away by france.
goal argentina! wow, amazing goal! the service from DOWNTOWN and the powerful header down near post beats the france keeper quite easily in the 91st minute. france 4-3 argentina.
three whistles means FULL TIME and france wins 4-3.
Thanks for joining!
Messi weaves his way to get a shot off but it lacks the power to beat Lloris. 85′
Nabil Fekir is replacing Griezmann. 83′
Meza is coming on for Pavon. Final change for Argentina. Matuidi off for France to be replaced by Tolisso. 75′
Argentina’s backline shredded again as Mbappe slots in his second. 4-2. 68′
Mbappe creates enough space and beats Armani from close range. 3-2 France. 64′
Pavard with a missile and France ties it up 2-2. 57′
Fazio and Armani with lack of communication as Griezmann almost slots into an empty net.56′
Messi’s effort goes towards goal and Mercado deflects it in. 2-1 Argentina. 48′
HT: France 1 – Argentina 1. Di Maria’s wonder strike has given the Argentinians life as they level it up. More to come.
Pogba shows some frustration as he bundles over Di Maria after the forward wins the ball back. 45′
Di Maria with a thunderous effort that beats Lloris to the top right corner. 1-1 41′
Pavard with a wild cross that is too high for Giroud. 39′
Messi is brought down in the box but it looked very soft. No call given. 36′
Giroud catches Otamendi with a foul as both players go down. 35′
Mercado with a good overlapping run but his cross is deflected out. No corner given. 27′
Griezmann is able to fight his way into the box but his cross is caught by Armani. 26′
A good pass in by Mascherano is read and caught by Lloris. 25′
Messi with some great tracking back to force Kante into a turnover. 23′
Banega gets enough room for a shot and Varane heads it out for a corner. 22′
Pogba blasts it high of the goal. 21′
Mbappe is picked out on a long ball by Pogba and the forward is brought down just outside of the box. Tagliafico sees yellow. 19′
France look very determined on the defensive side of the field. Not allowing Messi to beat them himself. 18′
Griezmann steps up and slots it into the left side. 1-0 France. 13′
Penalty France! Mbappe’s amazing run is ended as Marcos Rojo bundles him over inside of the box. 11′
Griezmann curls it off the crossbar. 9′
Mbappe draws the foul just outside of the box. FK coming. 7′
Messi clipped by Barcelona teammate Umtiti. 3′
We’re underway! 1′
20 minutes away from kickoff in Kazan as France battles Argentina in this morning’s opener in the Round of 16.