Netherlands and Argentina in the quarterfinals

11:15 p.m

This blog is closing.

9:56 p.m .: Argentina also lives up to the role of favorites

(sda) Argentina is in the World Cup quarterfinals. The South Americans beat Australia 2-1 thanks in part to a goal from Lionel Messi. Argentina meets the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Friday.

In order for there to be tension in the final minutes of this long unequal round of 16, the ball had to take strange paths. Australia’s Craig Goodwin’s shot landed in Emiliano Martinez’s goal via the back of an Argentine. The keeper of the “Albiceleste” had not had to survive a moment of shock up to this 77th minute.

Then the Australians woke up. Full-back Aziz Behich of Scottish club Dundee United almost made it 2-2 shortly after the goal with a solo that would have made Messi proud. The only 18-year-old Garang Kuol also had the chance to equalize almost with the final whistle.

However, the outsider’s remarkable upsurge cannot hide the fact that Argentina almost always had the game under control – also because Lionel Messi is playing at the highest level these days. The 35-year-old, who has not always lived up to his reputation at his previous four World Cups, looks liberated and focused in 2022.

Against Australia he scored his third goal of the tournament, the first ever at a World Cup in the crucial phase. He completed a well-built attack with an unstoppable low shot in the penalty area in the 35th minute. It was his 94th goal in his 169th international match and his 789th goal in his 1000th match as a professional.

Australia’s goalie Matthew Ryan then offered the 2-0 to young striker Julian Alvarez with a mistake in the 57th minute on a silver platter.

Argentina 2-1 Australia (1-0).
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan. – 45 032 spectators. – Referee: Marciniak (POL). – Goals: 35. Messi 1-0. 57. Alvarez 2-0. 77. Fernandez (own goal) 2-1.
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Molina (Montiel 80), Romero, Otamendi, Acuña (Tagliafico 72); de Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister (80th Palacios); Gomez (Lisandro Martinez 50), Messi, Alvarez (Lautaro Martinez 71).-
Australia: Ryan; Degenek (73rd Karacic), Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Leckie (72nd Kuol), Mooy, Irvine, Baccus (58th Hrustic); McGree (58th Goodwin), Duke (73rd Maclaren).
Remarks: Argentina without Di Maria. Australia complete. Bookings: 15. Irvine. 38. Degenek.

5:53 p.m .: The Dutch are the first quarter-finalists

(sda) The Netherlands are the first team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar after beating the USA 3-1. At the Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan, Memphis Depay and Daley Blind scored the goals for a 2-0 half-time lead, while Denzel Dumfries scored ten minutes from time to make it 3-1 and decide “Oranje”. In between, Haji Wright had shortened for the young Americans.

For the Americans, Chelsea playmaker Christian Pulisic recovered in time after his pelvic injury in the game against Iran, but the outsider lacked offensive power and class for a long time. Dortmund’s 20-year-old youngster Giovanni Reyna, who finally got a longer assignment after the break, couldn’t bring about a turnaround either.

Netherlands – USA 3: 1 (2: 0).
Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan. – 44 846 spectators. – Referee: Sampaio (BRA). – Goals: 10. Depay 1-0. 45.Blinds 2-0. 76. Wright 2:1. 81. Dumfries 3:1.
Netherlands: Noppert; Dumfries, Timber, Van Dijk, Aké (94th De Ligt), Blindfolded; De Roon (46th Bergwijn), Frenkie de Jong; Klaassen (46th Koopmeiners); Gakpo, Depay (82nd Simons).
UNITED STATES: gymnast; Dest (Yedlin 75), Zimmerman, Ream, Robinson (Morris 92); adams; McKennie (67th Wright), Musah; Weah (Aaronson 67), Ferreira (Reyna 46), Pulisic.
Remarks: Netherlands complete. USA without Sargent (injured). Bookings: 60. Koopmeiners. 87. De Jong.

4:12 p.m .: Up to 1.54 million followed the Swiss round of 16 entry

(sda) The third group game of the Swiss national team met with the greatest interest to date from the German-speaking Swiss public. On average, 1.219 million TV viewers watched the game against Serbia on SRF Zwei on Friday evening.

Up to 1.54 million watched at times. This top value corresponds to a market share of 70.8 percent. The primetime match achieved a market share of 61.1 percent over the entire 100 minutes. At the same time, the women’s Ski World Cup downhill race in Lake Louise (189,000 viewers) and the World Cup match between Cameroon and Brazil (98,000 live stream starts) could also be followed on various SRF channels.

In 2018 in Russia, the evening games recorded an average of 560,000 viewers, in 2014 in Brazil an average of 607,000 people watched comparable games on SRF two. This year, on the other hand, there are record values ​​online: 16 million live stream starts were registered after 48 games, significantly more than for all 64 games in Russia four years ago (11.1 million starts).

2:12 p.m .: Brazil are without Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles

(sda) According to a media report, the World Cup in Qatar has ended prematurely for the Brazilians Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles. The Arsenal striker and Sevilla FC full-back both injured their right knees in the 1-0 draw with Cameroon. According to investigations, the World Cup in Qatar went well for both of them, the Internet portal “Globo” reported.

The 25-year-old Gabriel Jesus is not seriously injured and will be out for a maximum of one month. With Alex Telles, the matter is more serious and could result in an operation. Both were substituted prematurely in the final preliminary round match against Cameroon.

12:46 p.m .: Statistics worry Brazil

(dpa) After the 1-0 draw against Cameroon in the preliminary round, a World Cup statistic is worrying the Brazilians. The Seleção had already secured qualification for the round of 16 and will face South Korea on Monday at 8 p.m. But the defeat against the West Africans does not bode well for the targeted sixth World Cup title in Qatar. Because Brazil have never been world champions by losing a game at a World Cup finals. In their previous title wins in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, the Brazilians had always been harmless.

8:58 am: Messi is promoted to the 1000 club

(dpa) Lionel Messi marks another milestone in his impressive career: he is promoted to the 1000 club. At the age of 35, the Argentinian completed his 1000th competitive game as a professional in the round of 16 against Australia. Messi played his first game on October 16, 2004 when he came on as a substitute at FC Barcelona in the derby against Espanyol, Messi has played a total of 778 games for Barça.

Messi made his debut for the national team on August 17, 2005. The game was memorable, Messi came on as a substitute in the 64th minute against Hungary but saw a red card a few seconds later for an assault. The 35-year-old has now played 167 international matches and scored 93 goals.

7:30 a.m .: Stojkovic wants to remain coach of Serbia

(dpa) Dragan Stojkovic wants to remain national coach of Serbia despite being eliminated in the preliminary round. “We will start qualifying for the European Championship in March. Our big goal is to reach this tournament for the first time in 24 years. And I hope that I will then have all the players back healthy and in good shape, »said the 57-year-old on Friday evening after the 3-2 defeat against Switzerland. With only one point, the Serbs ended the preliminary round group G as the bottom of the table.

Stojkovic was one of the best players in the former Yugoslavia and took part in the 1990 and 1998 World Cup as an active player. He won the Champions League with Olympique Marseille in 1993.

07:23: Twice favorite against outsiders

(sda) In the first two rounds of 16 there is twice a tournament favorite against an outsider on the pitch. The Netherlands are the first to do so, despite seven points from three games, they only really managed to convince defensively in the group stage. The opponent is a young and inexperienced team from the USA, but they play with a lot of speed and vigour. The Americans, who last reached the quarter-finals 20 years ago, also have a hard time scoring goals.

In the evening game, Argentina meets Australia as even clearer favorites. The two-time world champions from South America around superstar Lionel Messi got off to a much better start after the false start against Saudi Arabia with two 2-0 victories. The Australians, on the other hand, are only in the round of 16 for the second time since 2006. They never got any further.

7:15 a.m .: You can read that in the NZZ today

7:14 a.m.: Start of the round of 16

Good morning, on Friday evening Switzerland advanced to the round of 16 after beating Serbia 3-2. These round of 16 start today.