Iconic

Australia - Egypt 1 - 1 (2 - 4 pen.)

Didn't watch this game (couldn't, really), but I thought Egypt was gonna win easily in 90 minutes. I discounted the Aussies pretty hard, but they did come to this World Cup to play. Beating Turkey is remarkable, and yaking Egypt to penalties makes for an honorable World Cup exit for them. See you in 4 years, Oz!

Argentina - Cape Verde 3-2

The most anticipated game of the round of 32 did not disappoint. Of course, we were all rooting for Cape Verde, but the big upset ws not to be. It is annoying when glory is all you take from a game of football, but this is what the tiny nation of Cape Verde will have to contend with.

Still, beyond the Hollywood drama and in pure footballing terms, they are faultless. Pushing the world champions to extra time and levelling them twice is not for everyone, and it's certainly more than just capitulating, which is what teams playing Argentina so far have done.

Messi's first goal was divine. The run, the stop, the shot, everything was perfection. Compare to an attempted Lautaro Martinez stop in a similar position in the second half. It pains me to praise Messi, but I really don't have a choice. I'm actually wondering how many great moments like these I've missed for being a Messi hater for the past 17 years? 

Vozinha is definetly one of this World Cup's heroes, but he could do nothing for the first goal. He did a lot in the game anyway, includign blocking Messi one a few occasions, shots that most keepers would have let in. It's amazing that he's out of contract, but this tournament surely must've won him another year or two on a good contract somewhere in Europe, even if as a back-up goalkeeper. And that would be fully deserved!

I have criticised Cape Verde before for relying too much on individual executions and not playing like a team enough. They did a lot better in this regard last night, but my God, it will be the individual executions that stand out.

The first equaliser is a shot along the face of goal, through Lucha Martinez's legs and stretching Emi Martinez all of his length to no avail. Lukaku and Ronaldo scored similar in this tournament, and that's good company to be in. It bothers me somewhat that it was a United defender who let in the shot, but Lucha Martinez made up for it by scoring Argentina's second, 2 minutes into extra time. And that should've done it, really. Alright Cape Verde, you pushed the World Champions into extra time, 2-1 is an honourable scoreline, let life take its natural course.

Well, Sidny Cabral thought differently. What a brilliant execution for Cape Verde's second equalizer! The kind that only works one time in a hundred, and it would certainly be a contender for goal of the tournament if it wasn't of course for Messi's first goal.

In the end Argentina did win, good, decent goal from a corner with Messi curling the cross in, and a fought out header that neither the defenders nor the keeper could do much about. If I was more into conspiracy theories, I'd say it worked out almost too neatly for the film.

Argentina through, to Cape Verde be the glory, and if Argentina wins the tournament it would be only the second time in history when a team has won it back to back. Plus, Italy in '34 and '38... maybe we shouldn't talk about that. Although word is that the team was good too.

Colombia - Ghana 1-0

In all honesty, I was hopeful, but I expected Argentina to beat Cape Verde, with a thrashing not being completely out of the equation. But Colombia - Ghana is where it's at, and it is what the World Cup is about: two exciting, evenly match teams, battling it out for glory and for the chance to take on one of the giants.

I found it hard to call, but I was leaning slightly towards Colombia. Colmbia have the experience and the football tradition on their side, while Ghana are one of the new footballing powers of the world, have the 2010 elimination at the hand of Uruguay to revenge and get over, and an enormous amount of worldwide sympathy which I don't fully understand (something about the black star?).

In the end, it was an ok game, but fairly anticlimactic for the expectations, and especially when compared to the earlier one. Incredibly one sided, I barely remember Ghana attacking at all, and the keeper is their most proeminent figure in the game. Colombia's goal came early, 14 minutes in, and the Africans had more than 70 minutes to do something about it, but they never seemed willing. Which is probably a sign they were never able. 

Insult to injury, Jhon Arias was completely unbothered when he scored from inside the box, for some reason Yikenikyi completed switches off.

I thought Luis's Diaz goal was phenomenal, the speed and the precision with which Bayern's striker hits the ball is outwordly, but he was clearly off-side and the ref did good to cancel the goal. Shame though.

And then... this was it. Colombia goes through and Ghana has nothing to say about it. I'm sorry for Carlos Queiros, there is a lot of love for him within the United fandom and last night's performance does not speak well for him.

This Colombian team looks a lot less glamorous than others (including the 1994 one with Asprilla, Valencia and Rincon), but a lot more solid and mature. And this is the type of team that brought them the best result - QF in Brazil in 2014. This will probably be equalled this time round - if they beat Switzerland they'll face Argentina in the quarters. I'm rooting for them, I really enjoyed their games so far, especially the 0-0 draw with Portugal. And they have something else on their side. 

Alright, with the round of 32 now over, time for another prediction round? I got 5/12 groups right, which is... ok, I suppose? For the rfound of 16 I'm going with:

Morocco to beat Canada

France to beat Paraguay

Brazil to beat Norway

Mexico to beat England

Spain to beat Portugal

USA to beat Belgium

Argentina to beat Egypt

Colombia to beat Switzerland

Which would result in France v Spain and Brazil v Argentina in the semis. Yep, it's a deja vu, France v Argentina in the final.

Late drama

England - Congo DR 2 - 1

Clearly one for the underdog, it wasn't even my anti-English sentiment that made me happy about Congo taking the lead. They had a couple more chances before half time, and it didn't really look like England was gonna trouble them.

But, of course, pressure intensified somewhat in the second half. A few saves from Mpasi, but it felt like Congo can still fob England off. Well, they couldn't. As soon as the first Harry Kane goal went in, it became a case of Congo needing to hold on until the end. England is not really a team to amp up the pressure, but they did so on this occasion. It was mostly driven by Harry Kane, and it feels right that it was him again who scored the winning goal, 5 minutes from time.

Also, because I saw some debate on the internet: was there a penalty on Mpasi stopping Harry Kane? Easy one. Clearly not. It doesn't matter in the end, but it would have become a national injustice had England gone out. And... it was a correct decision not to award a penalty.

Heartbreak for Congo, who had a great tournament, and they played really well against England, but it is massively important to know how to deal with advantage against a better team. It worked for Paraguay against Germany, it didn't work for Congo. Easy for me to say, but not much more to do now, but wait for the next time.

Belgium - Senegal 3 - 2

Speaking of game management, it did look like Senegal took a sheet out of that book. Cruising comfortably against Belgium, 2-0 at half time and being the more attacking team. Flirting very closely with 3-0 on a couple of occasions in the second half. Them all of a sudden...

BAM BAM! Super-gol from Lukaku, and a keeper goal to draw it level. 86' and 89', 2-2. Lukaku's goal can be forgiven, it's a brilliant execution from Belgium's best player this tournament. It is baffling to me that Lukaku doesn't start for Belgium, he carried them almost single-handedly so far and he'd be in the league with Haaland, Ronaldo or Harry Kane is they'd make place for him in the starting line-up.

The second goal was very much a keeper mistake, coming out but missing the ball, thus leaving Tielemans to send it into the open net. It will be very much a case of FMM Prunea in Senegal in the coming years. But yeah, 5 minutes slip-up and all the good work done in the first 80 minutes of the game stands for nowt.

Belgium did not deserve to go into extra time, but sometimes they squeezed through, and the rest is history. Penalty in the 120+5 minute, and the latest goal ever at a World Cup sends Senegal home. Was it a penalty? Well... kind of. It wasn't given on field, and VAR said it's worth another look. There was contact, the defender touches Tielemans' foot, but by that time the ball has gone. Reason enough for a penalty, but, had it not been a foul, that would have been a ball of no consequence. And, it being the 120th minute of a World Cup knock-out game, I feel more consideration should be given to the idea that the game should be decided by the action on the pitch rather than by official decisions. 

With all the evidence considered, I would not have given a penalty. But the ref did, and Tielemans made it 3-2 with virtually no time for Senegal to do anything about it. More than heartbreak, Senegal will feel hard done by, and not without reason if you ask me. Plus, it further enforces the narrative of FIFA having an agenda against African countries. Not a stretch to believe this to be true.

USA - Bosnia 2-0

This being the late game, like all late games, I've struggled with. So seen very little of it, and only scattered bits, and now I wonder if it isn't by design that we only get big drama for the prime time games. But 2-0 USA, with the second goal scored while haivng played in 10 for 20 minutes, does not say a flattering story about Bosnia. They slogged through the group and capsized in front of half-decent opposition. Not a great story for a team that left Italy home.

Spain - Austria 3-0 

Once again, a game without much of a story. Spain dominating beginning to end with Austria never looking like they stand a change of progressing. Comfortable win for a Spanish team that hasn't yet been properly tested. They will now face Portugal, who is at the opposite end of the spectrum, having been put through the grinder a few times already. That will be am amazing game. 

Portugal - Croatia 2-1

What a game! I have said before the torunament, Portugal are my favourites, and I genuinely believed they can win it. I'm a lot less sure now, but they have delivered some of the best games in the tournament so far, and this one was certainly the most dramatic.

I had lost count of the amount of goals cancelled, and it decided by a VAR call once again in the dying moments. Perisic opened the scoring, only for Ronaldo to have two goals cancelled for offside on either side of the penalty he levelled from. Penalty that, once again, was not given on field, but came from a VAR review.

Then Portugal scores from a cross in the 90'+4' minute. Uncontested by technology, for once. Deep into injury time, Croatia scores again, which is a bit of a house specialty. Then VAR called it off. Debate about offside, and apparently IT WAS offside, but only decided by the sensor inside the ball, explained by FIFA and based on data that is not publicly available.

Talk about hard done-by. To be fair, had the goal had stood, game would have gone to penalties, and that's as much a lottery, as this VAR malarkey. Only that's more out in the open.

But I feel for Croatia, I really do. People slagging them off as a past-it team, all of the 'Modric's last stand' bullshit that's been going on for more than 5 years now, and yet they really did pull some performances! I thought they're past it myself after the England game, but it turns out that was the outlier. If I was to be conspirational I could even say that was a write-ff, knowing they only need 4 points from games against Panama and Ghana. They are tough motherfuckers, always fearsome as an opponent, and they are right to feel done-by. The match with Portugal was pretty even, either of the team could have won it, despite the very different styles of play. It was Portugal on this one occasion, but Croatia will be back. The idea that they're going home while Belgium, for instance, is still in the torunament - pretty hard to digest.

Switzerland  - Algeria 2-0

Another late game, another failed attempt to watch it, though the result was a bit of a given from the off. Algeria only qualified because they had Jordan in their group, one of the weakest teams of the torunament, and because they held Austria to that crazy 3-3 draw that I didn't see. But they couldn't have hoped for much more, even if Switzerland is probably one of the easier draws they could've had. The buck will stop here for Switzerland too, they are to play either Columbia (most likely) or Ghana, and wither of those is favourite ahead of them. 

Round of 32 will be completed today with Egypt beating Australia, Colombia and Ghana offering us a very entertaining and evenly matched game and... how amazing would be if Cape Verde goes through? Vozinha vs Messi is the ultimate David v Goliath fight, and I know who I'll be rooting for.

Anyone for tennis?

Ivory Coast - Norway 1-2

This is a match I really wanted to see. Ivory Coast it can be opportunistic, solid and mature in a game, taking advantage of the snatched last-minute win against Ecuador to qualify without emotions despite losing to Germany. And that loss was not a match written off, they had the lead over Germany for quite a bit, and were only defeated by an injury time goal.

Norway, on the other side, are as scary as a Viking raid, and definitely one of the sensations of this World Cup. It must've been a great clash but, with tickets to Wimbledon in the inbox, watching the football was always gonna be a tall order. Wavrinka - Berettini was also a great game, but in regards to Ivory Coast - Norway, I'll have to settle for watching an empty scoreline and regret not having seen what was presumably a great goal from Amad.

France - Sweden 3-0

Ramenez

One of the more unbalanced games of the round of 32, though the impression is, pretty much all the games France will play in will be unbalanced. I did watch the second half on my phone in a taxi, but with 2-0 at half time, it promised little excitement. Saw a great goal by Mbappe (another one), and the Frenchman together with Messi have now left Mirko Klose's record of most goals scored at World Cups in the dust. Klose took 4 tournaments to get to 16, Messi is now on 19, with Mbappe closely trailing at 18, and having time on his side.

France is playing really well, Deschams has done a great job getting them to play like a team, with a chemistry that is almost club-level and certainly unmatched at this World Cup so far. They look more and more like favourites to win it, and yet Paraguay will still put them through the grinder. Try and hold Mbappe, though Mbappe is unholdable.

Mexico - Ecuador 2-0

It annoyed me that the game was postponed by an hour, I was getting ready to see it. But an extra hour after a long day - couldn't make it.

Mexico were slight favourites, lest we forget Ecuador beat Germany, but the victory was fairly categorical. And the Mexicans are creating the aura of invincibility at the Azteca which will serve them well. They have england next, so definetly a chance to move one more round.

Right-o, off to watch another host - USA. Which I think will go past Bosnia, only just.

Schaisse!

Brazil - Japan 2-1

Now this looks more like a World Cup, doesn't it?

It was expected fro Brazil - Japan to be a good game, and it was. Of course, Celecao were slight favourites, but everyone knew it's not a clear cut game. Japan scoring 5 minutes before half time and going in with an advantage only enforced that. I was travelling in the beginning of the second half and only saw highlights, but Brazil's attacks in the beginning of the second half looked furious. So again, no wonder they scored. Casemiro. I'm glad for him, and he'll always be a part of our folklore now, but you have to feel for Japan. Case was knocking on the door a few minutes before, and his perfectly placed headers are merciless.

Still, Japan were at least equal to Brazil all the way to the end. Martinelli's 95th minute goal was very fortuituos, but even after, the Japanese were pushing towards the Brazilian goal and they ended the game on the front foot.

One of those games in which no team deserves to lose, but it had to be one. I have to say, I have greatly enjoyed watching this Japonese team, perhaps even more so than Brazil, and would've loved to see them play at least one more game, but the draw was unlucky. Japan go home, but they've done themselves proud!

Germany - Paraguay 1-1 (3-4 pen.)

Now, this was a bit unexpected. Understatement of the century. After having just squished through a group from 3rd with 4 points, the expectation was that Germany would have a field day. We have, however, learned, as far back as the days of Chilavert, that if there's one thing Paraguayans do well, it's defending.

Even so, their goal was magnificently well constructed, with the German defense nowhere to be found, not in the pass to the covering winger, not to mark Enciso who got a free header from the middle of the box. Again, 1-0 at half time for the underdog, and the Germans came out blazing in the second half. They did score, weird goal but they all count.

As for the cancelled goal in the extra time: always a foul! The keeper was impeded to follow the ball, and was on the ground as Tah was getting ready to pounce. Do not touch the keeper in the 6y box, I tought this much is clear.

Orlando Gill, Paraguayan hero

And then, the more the Germans attacked as the game was getting close to penalties, the more the Paraguayan keeper's confidence grew. Bit of a bad idea if you ask me.

First penalty shoot-out of the tournament, and what an eventful one it was! Germany missing the first, Paraguay blowing to chances to win, only for the first round of 5 to end 3-3. But then Tah, sends one high over the bar, and Paraguay closes it, sending Germany packing.

Great underdog story, and Paraguay did not really deserve it, but my God did they defend solid! France is up next for them, and it took 114 minutes of play and a great strike from Laurent Blanc back in 1998 to beat them, but things might be different this time around. Against Mbappe, there's no defence.

Netherlands - Morocco 1-1 (2-3 pen.)

Morocoo eliminating Netherlands, if I'm honest, I don't even know if it's that much of a surprise. Again, 2 am game with a lot on my mind and a lot on my plate, try as I might I fell asleep throughout. Woke up in time to see the Moroccan goal, such a well hit header!

But Morocco is such a solid team, it's ridiculous. They have Canada on Saturday, and they should be brushing the hosts aside easily.

Done with groups

Panama - England 0-2

Croatia - Ghana 2-1

Colombia - Portugal 0-0

Congo - Uzbekistan 3-1

Jordan - Argentina 1-3

Algeria - Austria 3-3

This is it, the last 3 groups have been settled on a fairly uneventful Saturday. England has won their group, in a blatant disregard of my prediction. I have to say, after the Croatia game I thought the streets were fairly well behaved. The Ghana game was a damp squid, but already after the Panama game vandalism on the London Underground began to seep in.

If they must beat Congo, I hope it will be a squeaky bum, penalty after 0-0 affair, and I believe England can get past either Mexico or Ecuador, but they will lose to Netherlands in the quarters.

I'm glad to see Croatia came into their senses, they finish the group second and will play Portugal. I feel like Portugal will edge it, even if only because of the extra intensity.

Speaking of, Portugal - Colombia was a highly entertaining game, I'd venture to say it's the most entertaining 0-0 I remember maybe since the Champions League final in 2006, Arsenal - Barcelona. I didn't see Congo - Uzbekistan, when Uzbekistan scored first I thought we might be in for a more interesting end to this group, but the natural order was soon restored, and Congo goes forward as a well placed 3rd.

Argentina dared start without Messi, and he still scored! I thought this would be the more interesting games, but Jordan did not present serious opposition to Argentina, even without Messi. Algeria - Austria went a bit off the rails with a 3-3 draw, but how was I to know?

Canada - South Africa 0-1

The first of the knock-out games was a damp squid affair, exactly as I expected it to be. As it was slowly crawling towards the end of the 90, I prayed that one team scores so that we don't have to witness another half an hour of it. Canada did, pretty much at the death, so it saved us the pain. 

Also, only game of the day, felt a bit like a day off. Brazil - Japan (about to start) will be much more interesting of an affair.

Messi, Haaland, Mbappe (Mhm)

Senegal - Iraq 5-0

Norway - France 1-4

Uruguay - Spain 0-1

Cape Verde - Saudi Arabia 0-0

New Zealand - Belgium 1-5

Egypt - Iran 1-1

The day when Messi, Mbappe and Haaland all play is less exciting when they play each other isn't it?

Well, Haaland didn't even play. And I lowkey despise resting your best player to go as further as possible in the tournamentat the expense of the 3 points. It's basically an admission from manager Solbakken that he didn't care if they lose against France, which is akin to cheating. Not honouring the game, in any way, and the game have a tendency to punish you when you do that. So I'm now hoping Ivory Coat to beat Norway in the knockout round.

It did promise to be a very good game, Norway - France and, well, it wasn't. Treating it like a friendly certainly didn't help. Because of a chatter fella who kept me at the theatre much longer than I should have, I only saw the second half, and by then it was 3-1, and the game as good as done. Even so, a substantially weaker Norway side almost managed to pull back from 2 down against France,m or it would have if Larsen would have scored from the spot early in the second half. 3-2 with a whole half to play would've been interesting. But that was such a piss-poor, half-arsed excuse of a penalty kick that certainly doesn't justify the overinflated ticket prices the amazing Norwegian supporters paid for tickets.

France's 4-1 goal was good, but inconsequential. Them scoring 10 in the first 3 games is a much clear indication of intent, and I'm kind of ready to call France to go into the last 4.

The other game of the group, I was hoping it wouldn't, but it was a rout. Highest scoring victory from an African team ever at a World Cup, a nice peculiar little stat. Iraq would've maybe deserved better, but beyond pure football qualities, this tournament will be remembered as one marred by Islamophobia, and I fully support the Iranian captain complaining about how they've been treated in the world's only fundamentalist Christian autocracy.

In Group H, I thought - funnily enough - that Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia would be the more interesting game. Even funnier - I was right, it was the more interesting game, though not by much. Either Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia would have qualified with a win, assuming of course, Spain would beat Uruguay. Yet I'm not sure either team played for a win. More understandably for Cape Verde than Saudi Arabia, though the West Africans were the more attacking team. They deserved to win I thought, though I'm sure they'll take qualification no matter how. Saudi Arabia is a team with a long World Cup tradition, with some notable results, such as beating Germany in 1994, and have one of the strongest domestic leagues in Asia. They really should be doing better. Cape Verde is probably the biggest fairy tale at this World Cup so far. I think they lack a lot of maturity, they play like a collection of individuals rather than a team, they can't pass to save their life, and it's only so much you can rely on Vozinha. But somehow, through sheer power of will and a super-disciplined defense, they managed to get to the knock-out stages, which is a massive over-achievement. They will play Argentina, which I'm afraid will be a brutal awakening to reality, like a hammer to the face. Or, who knows, the dream might not yet be over. I know of another team who played Argentina from an underdog position in the first knock-out stage in 1994, and that worked out well.

Spain - Uruguay was a Spain win, as everyone predicted, btu it was hard to know just how drab it was gonna be as a game. Even the one goal was a weak shot that was fumbled by Muslera. He was such a legend in his prime, reaching the semi-final in 2010 and challenging for the World Cup, and now this? In the immortal words of Jamie Carragher, you have to leave football before football leaves you, and I feel like for Muslera that ship has sailed.

The whole Uruguayan team covered themselves in shameat this World Cup, unable to score against Saudi Arabia or to beat Cape Verde, and just quietly surrendering in the last chance game against Spain. I'm disappointed in Bielsa too, whose praises everyone kept singing for a while there, and I never quite understood why. Suarez and Forlan would've played better than these guys. Shame. Obviously I have sympathies for Pellistri and... yeah, even Ugarte, and Araujo looks like a decent player, so maybe the fault does lie with Bielsa?

And again, barely made it to the end of the Cape Verde game, so the 4 am was out of the question. I would've watched Egypt-Iran, and I'm surprised Egypt didn't win. Belgium are the most undeserving group winners, and annoyingly, they might even squeeze past South Korea in the knock-outs. Egypt not winning also means Iran qualifies to the detriment of Scotland. And I am sorry for Scotland, they made a good name for themselves in America, but you can't JUST beat Haiti 1-0 and hope that's enough to qualify you. They can hope that Algeria loses by two to Austria, mmm, ok, doable, but then also Croatia needs to lose to Ghana by 3. Fat chance.

Escucha me!

Ecuador - Germany 2-1

Curacao - Ivory Coast 0-2

Tunisia - Netherlands 1-3

Japan - Sweden 1-1

Turkey - USA 3-2

Paraguay - Australia 0-0

I did try and watch Curacao - Ivory Coast, hoping, but expecting a miracle. Once Ivory Coast when 2-0 up, I abandoned hope and, especially with Ecuador - Germany tied on 1 at half time, I switched to that

Plata o plombo

game. Much more exciting indeed. Germany felt a bit toohless, though it's also true that they'd won the group regardless. Ecuador did really well not to be afraid, first of all, then pushing for the goal. It was spectacular, yet bizzare. A keeper like Neuer would not let an attacker hit the ball from in front of him like than in a million attempts. This was the milionth and one, probably, and well done to Plata for snatching it. He played well throughout, I'd be surprised if we don't see him in Europe next season.

Of course, in the last 20 minutes or so Ecuador had to withstand a bit of heavy attacking, but they didn't lose their cool, stayed disciplined and somehow managed to see it through. This is a historical result for them, and I reiterate they were really unlucky to lose to Ivory Coast with that late goal. Then again, how come they didn't beat Curacao? All in all, qualification for them from the 3rd spot and they'll probably get England. Hard, but doable. TBH, Croatia would be a more difficult game.

Apparently I got this group right, but at the end of it I gained a lot more sympathy for Ecuador and Curacao who, despite finishing 4th, leave the tournament with a goal and a point, which is a really good account of themselves. Come back stronger, Curacao!

Group F went as expected. I did expect Japan to beat Sweden though, and they were the better team, though they played maybe a bit too prudent. It was a spectacular game, and Sweden's attack, with Gyokeres, Isak and Elanga is truly scary. But to this, Japan opposed imepccable discipline and relentless energy. Only two goals, but both spectacular, and again, it makes me wonder why United let Elanga go so easily, he's an insanely good attacker. Didn't watch any of the Netherlands game, but with a goal after two minutes and 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, there wasn't much history to it. Netherlands feel like a one-trick pony, with goals coming from low crosses in front of goal, and if Morocco manages to block those, they'd struggle. But Netherlands - Morocco promises to be a really good game, as does Brazil - Japan. Brazil are certainly favourites, but they should not take victory for granted. I was really impressed with Japan so far.

And then group D, I didn't stay awake to watch much of Tukey - USA, but I did wake up in the 85th minute at 2-2. I appreciated how positive the game was, and Turkey managing to score in the very last minute, 90+7, but to what end? Where was this fighting spirit so far? They might well be the only team in 4th place with 3 points, while watching Australia and Paraguay qualify after what I imagine was a drab 0-0. Certainly one of the disappointments of the tournament Turkey, I saw then as group winners, but can you blame me?

Looking forward to Norway - France tonight, a case of unstoppable force hitting the unmovable object, Senegal - Iraq will be hard fougt, but Senegal will get it, I'll be rooting for Cape Verde, they can totally beat Saudi Arabia and qualify from second place, which will be amazing. Even a draw might be enough, as Spain will beat Uruguay.

And I'll probably not stay awake for group G at 4 am, but Egypt and Belgium will go through.