FIFA World Cup 2018: Argentina joins Peru, Denmark in final 16 after a difficult game

RUSSIA: Four major matches were played today in the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup. Iceland’s team, taking part in the FIFA World Cup for the first time, clashed with Croatia in a key match at the Rostov Arena. On the other hand, Australia faced the South American country Peru in their last group-level match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

While Denmark had come to the FIFA World Cup with the intention to make a place in the pre-quarterfinals in their final group match against France. The match between France and Denmark was played at 7.30 pm at Luzhniki Stadium. In the crucial Group-D match, Argentina had a showdown with Nigeria at St Petersburg Stadium.

Croatia played the first match of the day at Rostov Arena, defeating Iceland 2-1 and ending the group stage with the first place. Iceland’s defeat crushed the country’s hopes of making it to the Final-16. The team had made a wonderful start by drawing with Argentina at 1-1 in the first match.

This had raised hopes of Iceland fans about the team entering the Final-16. However, this would have become possible only if Iceland had defeated Croatia and Argentina would have defeated Nigeria by a minor margin. While Argentina won its match with Nigeria by 2-1, Iceland lost the match to Croatia.

At the same time, Peru shattered Australia’s dream of reaching the pre-quarterfinals of the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup. Peru defeated Australia 2-0 in the Group-C match played at Fishst Stadium on Tuesday. To enter the next round, Australia needed to win this match with a large margin, along with praying for France to emerge victorious over Denmark.

However, Denmark entered the FIFA World Cup Final-16 in the Group-C match at Luzhniki Stadium by playing a goalless draw with France on Tuesday. This is the first goalless draw match of this World Cup. After Tuesday’s match, Denmark now has 5 points and has become the second team to reach the final-16 from its group. France had already qualified to the Final-16; the draw with Denmark left the team with 7 points.

In the fourth and final match of the day, Argentina scored a precarious goal in the 86th minute by Marcos Rosso, defeating Nigeria 2-1 and making its way into the Final-16. This is Argentina’s first win in this World Cup. In the first match, Lionel Messi’s team played a 1-1 draw with Iceland, while in the second match, the team got defeated 3-0 by Croatia. This had led to a crisis on part of the Argentinian contingent. However, the odds favored Messi and his team on Tuesday, as Croatia beat Iceland and Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1.

You can watch the FIFA World Cup 2018 matches in English on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD, and in Hindi on Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3 HD. Live streaming is available on Sony Liv.