the qualifiers, the stats, the best goal … the record of the round of 16

Unexpected equalization, by an unexpected striker, of an unforgettable strike. The young right side of the Blues Benjamin Pavard has caught up with his few placement errors (he is notably at fault on the second Argentine goal) with a missile brushed from the outside of the foot, body horizontally, from outside from the surface. The trajectory is so lifted that without the Argentine nets, the ball would still be spinning on itself.

The flop

Spain

World Champion 2010, undefeated for two years, Spain stood out A legitimate candidate for the final coronation for the last great competition of his conductor Andrés Iniesta. Failed: Roja was pitifully eliminated by the Russian selection, which not many people saw reaching the round of 16.

The surprise guest

Sweden

The Blagult, which does not stop surprise since the start of the qualifiers of the Euro zone (she met on her way France, the Netherlands and Italy) confirms in Russia his barraka: after being first out of the group of Germany, she released the Swiss selection, however 6 ^e in the FIFA rankings. All with a simple and square game plan: defend team, low and solidarity, and mark a misunderstanding against. Attention, there is Greece 2004 in this team.

The figure to remember

42.3%

Either the average ball possession of the eight teams qualified in the quarter-finals. After the surprise elimination of Germany in the group stage, possession football confirms its bad luck. Only three nations (Belgium, Croatia and England) had more ball than their opponent. But the good recipe was especially to let his opponent play with the ball to operate against, like France (39.8%), Uruguay and Sweden (32.7% both). Russia has even passed with 21.1% of possession, the never-seen, and a slap for the tiki taka Spanish.

The star player

Harry Kane

His Majesty's striker scored his sixth goal in just three games, also Gary Lineker's record in an entire competition. It is the best director of the tournament, ahead of the Belgian Romelu Lukaku (4) and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (4, but eliminated).

The comparison

8 against 1

The number of victories accumulated in the Cup of the world on both sides of the final painting. Uruguay (2), France (1), Brazil (5) and Belgium (0) are in the relieved part of the latter. On the other hand, the other half of the final table is essentially made up of teams with a clear record, such as Russia, Croatia and Sweden. Only England (a victory in 1966) is an exception

The final is still possible

Belgium-Croatia

The two best teams in the group stage are, with Russia, the only ones in the world. have never reached a World Cup final in their history, but they can still believe it. It will be a bit more complicated for Eden Hazard's Red Devils, opposed to Brazil in the quarterfinals, then to the winner of France-Uruguay in the half.

The meme

Neymar who rolls

Scorer and decisive virtual passer-by against Mexico, the star of Paris-Saint-Germain is raising the crowds. But especially to mock his ability to add to each (frequent) fault he suffered, rolling on the ground long seconds or minutes. Despite being the top scorer, he is already the best rider of the tournament.

The program

Friday 4 pm: Uruguay-France
Friday 8 pm: Brazil-Belgium
Saturday 4 pm: Russia-Croatia
Saturday 8 pm: Sweden-England