His biggest night world Cup it was – until next – yesterday. The night when the kids grew taller, the night when the giants of football fell to their knees. First Morocco and then Japan have written one of the most brilliant pages in their football history as they enter the “16” competitions as the first in their groups, leaving behind Croatia and Spain respectively and knocking out Belgium and Germany from the World Cup. who were aiming for at least the semi-finals.

Especially for the 5th group, the Japanese punished the Spaniards for their arrogance and achieved a 2-1 victory with a sediment. At the same time, Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2, but that wasn’t enough for them as they wanted a draw in the other group match. In fact, at some point along the way, Japan and Costa Rica qualified, further adding to the tension.

In Group 6, Morocco beat Canada 2-1 to take first place, while a 0-0 draw between Croatia and Belgium left the Red Devils on the sidelines, also marking the end of an era of a great group of players. not win a title.

Naturally, the presence of Stephanie Frapar stood out in yesterday’s games, becoming the first female referee to blow the whistle at a World Cup match. The definition of the 38-year-old Frenchwoman is for FIFA a response to what she is credited with for awarding the tournament to Qatar, as well as Infantino to his own critics for what he said at the start of the World. A cup. For the president of the federation, the presence of Frapar at the match between Costa Rica and Germany seems to be a signal of equality in football as well, as female referees have been excluded from major competitions.

Incredible “qualifying” changes in the group… of terror – Impressive Morocco in 6th place, Belgium remained on the sidelines.

The group stage of the World Cup ends today with four more matches. Cameroon – Brazil and Serbia – Switzerland play for the 7th group, and Ghana – Uruguay and South Korea – Portugal play for the 8th group. Since Brazil has already qualified, the “battle” will be between the other three teams. Switzerland go on with a win and a draw unless Cameroon beats Selesao. The Serbs only want a win, while Cameroon wants their own win and a draw or Switzerland’s defeat in another match.

Portugal have already reached the last group, and Ghana will take second place if they beat Uruguay, although they can be “comfortable” even with a draw. As for Celeste and South Korea, they only want a victory, which may not be enough in case of a draw.

Thus, six of the eight pairs of “16”: the Netherlands – the United States (3/12), Argentina – Australia (3/12), France – Poland (4/12), England – Senegal (4/12), Japan – Croatia (5/12) and Morocco – Spain (6/12).