Monday July 2nd

Round of 16

Brazil march on

Brazil 2 Mexico 0 (Samara)
Two second-half goals for Brazil ended Mexico's dream of reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time on foreign soil. Mexico were lively in the first half and Brazil showed signs of danger while Ochoa stood firm in the Mexico goal spreading himself to block a shot after some dribbling in the box by Neymar in the 25th minute and deflecting away a similar shot by Jesus at his near post 8 minutes later. In the 48th minute Ochoa got down to push away a shot from Coutinho but in the 51st minute Neymar backheeled the ball to Willian who bust into the box and delivered the ball into the 6-yard area for a Neymar tap in. Ochoa did well to save a Casemiro snap-shot in the 59th minute and 2 minutes later Vela's dipping shot for Mexico was tipped over the bar by Alison. In the 63rd minute, Willian stung the palms of Ochoa after a stepover in the box, but with 2 minutes left, Neymar ran into the area and toe-poked the ball past the keeper across goal for Roberto Firmino to prod over the line and put the result beyond any doubt.

Round of 16

Late Belgian comeback buries brave Samurais

Belgium 3 Japan 2 (Rostov-on-Don)

Belgium came from 2 goals down to complete their comeback and break Japanese hearts with a stoppage-time winner. A low cross in the 25th minute found Lukaku in front of goal, but he couldn't find his feet and the chance went begging; and 2 minutes later a powerful shot by Hazard was fisted away by Kawashima, but 3 minutes after the interval, Genki Haraguchi ran onto a through ball and after a shimmy in the box, drove the ball into the far corner. Belgium responded immediately with Hazard slamming the post from inside the box, but in the 52nd minute Takashi Inui smacked the ball from the edge of the area into the corner of the net past the outstretched frame of Courtois to send the Japanese fans into dreamland. Lukaku missed a close-range header in the 61st minute, but in the 69th minute an attempted clearance lofted into the air was headed back across goal with a looping header by Jan Vertonghen over the despairing Kawashima to give Belgium hope, and 5 minutes later Hazard crossed the ball onto the head of substitute Marouane Fellaini who nodded in to restore parity. In the 86th minute Kawashima parried a header from Meunier and palmed Lukaku's header over the bar from the follow up, but with the match deep into time added-on, Belgium broke through from defending a corner and de Bruyne raced into the Japanese half to feed Meunier to his right whose pass into the box was left by Lukaku for Nacer Chadli to side-foot past Kawashima with the last kick of the match and send Belgium through at Japan's expense.