World Cup Round of 16: Remaining Quarterfinalists to Be Decided
Today’s two final round-of-16 matches will determine the last quarterfinal spots, featuring Argentina vs Egypt and Switzerland vs Colombia.
The World Cup will see its final two round-of-16 matches today. At 19:00 Latvian time in Atlanta, Argentina faces Egypt, and at 23:00 in Vancouver, Switzerland takes on Colombia.
Argentina, the defending champion, won all three group matches against Algeria (3:0), Austria (2:0), and Jordan (3:1). However, in the round of 32, they struggled against Cape Verde, scraping a 3–2 win. Lionel Messi has scored in all four matches so far, with seven goals, tying for the tournament lead.
Egypt finished second in their group behind Belgium after beating New Zealand (3:1) and drawing with Belgium and Iran (1:1). They beat Australia on penalties in the round of 32 after a 1–1 draw. Mohamed Salah has one goal and two assists. The teams have met only once before, a 2–0 Argentina win in a 2008 friendly.
Switzerland topped their group, starting with a draw against Qatar (1:1) and then beating Bosnia and Herzegovina (4:1), Canada (2:1), and Algeria (2–0) in the round of 32. Colombia also won their group ahead of Portugal, then beat Ghana 1–0 in the round of 32. Colombia’s only previous quarterfinal appearance was in 2014, while Switzerland last reached that stage in 1954.
Colombia will be without forward John Cordova, who suffered a hamstring injury against Ghana and is out of the tournament.
