After a rollicking ride through the group stages, we've entered the knockout rounds with a thirst for more drama.The Dutch navigated a tricky test against the USA on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 win, while Argentina made hard work of Australia, prevailing 2-1.
The two victors both looked to be in total control, then wobbled near the end before eventually sinking the two plucky underdogs.Ultimately, they got the job done.Now we turn our attentions to France v Poland and England v Senegal.England square up to Group A runners-up Senegal on Sunday night and though they will be dogged, if Gareth Southgate's men harbour any serious ambitions of going all the way in Qatar, this one should not cause them major problems.Before that the fancied French face Poland.
Didier Deschamps' men ended their group game with a 1-0 loss to Tunisia but qualification had already been sorted by then and if Kylian Mbappe remains in the groove, anything is possible.FIFA have been banging the drum about how this World Cup is setting new records; for the first time ever teams from all continents advanced to the round of 16.It was new ground for the Asian Football Confederation, with three teams (Australia, Japan and South Korea) reaching the knockouts, while the African teams, Senegal and Morocco, are also represented in the knockout stages for the second time.However come the end of the last-16 games it would be a surprise if the last eight isn't made up of the familiar European and South American powerhouses: Netherlands, England, France, Brazil, Argentina, Croatia, Spain and either Portugal or Switzerland, who face each other on Tuesday.It's tough at the top.