Argentina vs. Croatia final score, recap: Messi and company destroyed, on brink of elimination

Scource: https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/world-cup/news/argentina-vs-croatia-final-score-recap-messi-and-company-thrashed-in-danger-of-elimination/

Croatia became the fourth team to make it to the World Cup round of 16 and has left Argentina on the shocking brink of elimination after destroying the South Americans 3-0 on Thursday. A helpless Argentina did nothing in attack all game long, and Croatia scored on a shocking goalkeeper error before Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric put it away late.

Early in the second half, Argentina goalkeeper Willy Caballero gave the ball right to Ante Rebic, who made no mistake.

Rakitic finished on the counter to make it 3-0 to move to six points in the table. And now Argentina needs a draw or Nigeria win on Friday to feel like it has any chance of moving on.

As for Messi, he wasn't relied on as much as in the first match, but he just couldn't get going. Jorge Sampaoli made changes much too late, and they couldn't recover.

But Croatia deserves praise. They weren't great in the opener against Nigeria but defended well in this one and took advantage of Argentina's mistakes, rightfully clinching a spot in the next round.

Croatia will face Iceland in their final group stage match with nothing on the line. Argentina squares off with Nigeria, but their fate could be out of their hands depending on how Iceland fares tomorrow or in their final match. Both games on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and can be seen on fuboTV (Try for free).

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Panama end pointless as Tunisia surge to 2-1 win in Group G dead rubber

Source: https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/world-cup/world-cup-2018-panama-vs-tunisia-live-coverage/news-story/910bb81fa3e864233b9c4f3f456b6c3f TUNISIA captain Wahbi Khazri set up a second-half goal and then scored one of his own to help his side secure its first victory in a World Cup in four decades. The striker’s hard, rising shot in the 66th minute lifted Tunisia to a 2-1 triumph over Panama on Thursday night. It came 15 minutes after Khazri’s pinpoint square pass produced Fakhreddine Ben Youssef’s equalizer. Tunisia's Wahbi Khazri celebrates after scoring his side's second goal Panama had taken the lead in the 33rd minute through an own-goal when Jose Luis Rodriguez’s hard shot deflected off of a Tunisia player that sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. Panama's Alberto Quintero, right, Jose Luis Rodriguez, center, and Anibal Godoy celebrate their side's opening goal Both Group G teams were already eliminated going into the match. Tunisia ha...

Belgium Beats England, but Faces Tougher World Cup Bracket

source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/sports/world-cup/england-vs-belgium.html MOSCOW — Adnan Januzaj curled in a left-footed shot in the second half to give a second-string Belgium a 1-0 victory over a second-string England on Thursday. The win continued Belgium’s strong start to the World Cup — it joined Croatia and Uruguay as the only teams to win all three games in the group stage — but it set the Red Devils on a potentially far more difficult path in the knockouts. Belgium won the game in Kaliningrad despite making nine changes to its lineup, and amid a discussion about whether it might be better to finish second in the group instead of winning it. With its victory, Belgium won its third game at the World Cup but advanced to what most consider the tougher side of the knockout-round bracket , one that includes Brazil, Mexico, France, Argentina, Uruguay and Portugal. England, which made eight changes to its starting lineup in an effort to rest its star...

Colombia Emerges From the World Cup Chaos, Booting Senegal

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/sports/world-cup/colombia-vs-senegal.html Colombian players celebrate after Yerry Mina's goal in the second half. After all that, after all the qualification and buildup, after six hard-fought matches and injuries and hand-wringing, it all came down to yellow cards. Just like Japan, Senegal won once, tied once, and lost once — falling by 1-0 to Colombia on Thursday after giving up a goal to Yerry Mina — but it will be the Japanese advancing to the knockout phase by virtue of having only three yellow cards, while Senegal had five. [ Here’s how the World Cup tie-breaker system works ] Colombia, which was in the most precarious position of the three teams (Poland had already been eliminated), emerged from the chaos, and the disappointment of losing James Rodríguez early in the first half, at the top of the Group. But for Senegal, it is a painful end to what had been a promising run. They defeated Polan...

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