Group E

France 7pts, Switzerland 6pts, Ecuador 4pts, Honduras 0pt

Unlike group D, the two Europeans in this group made it to the knock out stage. France finished top of group E after defeating Honduras 3-0 in their opening game and Switzerland 5-2 in the next game. They played out a goalles draw with Ecuador to finish without losing with Benzema scoring 4 goals in the group, albeit missing a penalty against Switzerland.

Indiscipline caused Ecuador a place in the last 16, the only South American side not to qualify in this world cup. Honduras came first from the rear with no points after scoring one goal and conceding 8 goals.

Group F

Argentina 9pts, Nigeria 4pts, Bosnia and Herzegovina 3pts, Iran 1pt

Lionel Messi scored in each of the 3 games for the Argentines as they defeated their counter-pact from other continents. The South Americans had to fight hard to get all of their victories: a 2-1 win over Bosnia, a 1-0 win over Iran and a 3-2 win over Nigeria.

Nigeria started with a goalless draw over Iran, the 1st of the tournament. But the Eagles sat up and defeated Bosnia by a lone goal thanks to Osaze Odemwingwe and a last minute save by Vincent Enyeama. Ahmed Musa scored a brace against Argentina, cancelling out Messi’s brace but the Eagles could not hold on as they lost by 3-2. Bosnia got a 3-1 victory in their last game against Iran.

Group G

Germany 7pts, USA 4pts, Portugal 4pts, Ghana 1pt

The German Machines ripped Portugal to pieces with Thomas Muller the commander-in-chief. The Bayern Forward grabbed the first hattrick of the tournament in Germany’s 4-0 win over Portugal. The Portuguese had World footballer of the year, Ronaldo, but he was reduced to a mere onlooker. The Germans finished tops with 7pts only sharing points with Ghana thanks to a late goal by Klose in their 2-2 draw. Muller sealed qualifications for Joachim Low’s side with a 1-0 win over USA coached by Jurgen Klinsman.

USA beat Ghana and drew with Portugal to finish with 4pts, same as the Iberians. But a superior goal difference gave USA the upper hand to advance from the group. Portugal did get 3pts from Ghana but their first loss to Germany was too much for Ronaldo and his colleagues to recover especially with the absence of Pepe who got a foolish red card in their opening game. For Ghana, it is a case of chances not taken. They needed to beat Portugal but failed.

Group H

Belgium 9pts, Algeria 4pts, Russia 2pts, South Korea 1pt

Islam Slimani was the hero as Algeria held Russia to a 1-1 draw to progress at the expense of Fabio Capello’s Siberian Army. The North Africans had taken Korea to the cleaners in their previous game after losing 2-1 to Group winners Belgium.

Belgium oozing with European stars took maximum points from the group. They defeated Algeria 2-1, before a 1-0 victory over Russia. They rounded their group with a 1-0 win over Korea.

Last 16

16 teams have left the tournament, 16 teams are left. 8 would leave next. who would the 8 be?

BRAZIL vs CHILE
COLOMBIA vs URUGUAY
NETHERLANDS vs MEXICO
COSTA RICA vs GREECE
FRANCE vs NIGERIA
ARGENTINA vs SWITZERLAND
GERMANY vs ALGERIA
BELGIUM vs USA

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