World Cup 2018: Day 8 as it happened - Messi and Argentina on brink of early exit

Right, that's another World Cup day in the books. France and Croatia both secured their places in the last-16 with wins over Peru and Argentina respectively, while Denmark and Australia shared the spoils in the day's first game.

Friday kicks off with Brazil and Costa Rica (kick-off 4pm UAE time), followed by Nigeria v Iceland at 7pm and Serbia v Switzerland and 10pm.

See you all tomorrow!

Undoubtedly the most remarkable result of the 2018 World Cup so far as a Luka Modric-inspired Croatia destroy Lionel Messi's Argentina.

The 3-0 win, with goals from Ante Rebic, Modric, and Ivan Rakitic send Croatia through to the last-16. For Argentina, though, their World Cup fate is no longer in their hands. Should Iceland beat Nigeria on Friday, a draw between Croatia and Iceland will send Argentina home.

The National's John McAuley, over in Russia throughout the tournament, was inside the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium to witness Croatia's masterclass. Enjoy his match report below:

Modric magic sends Croatia through to last-16 as Argentina face early World Cup exit

Before the final game of the day, be sure to read Richard Jolly's report from France's win over Peru that saw Kylian Mbappe create history. Enjoy below:

Mbappe the history-maker for France as Peru exit World Cup with plenty of admirers

The second game of Day 7 is fast approaching, so before kick-off, familiarise yourself with the starting XIs for France v Peru:

Right, on to Match 2 today...Here are the teams for #FRAPER! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/wUNoPu9498

Before we move on to the next World Cup match of the day, the other Group C match between France and Peru (kick-off 7pm UAE), have a read of the Denmark v Australia match report:

Denmark held by Australia in Group C as