The World Cup has reached the business end, with the tournament's heavyweights safely negotiating the Round of 32 to set up a mouthwatering last 16.
France and Spain have looked among the standout teams, England made hard work of their progress (much to my frustration), Brazil advanced without hitting top gear, while Portugal needed a slice of fortune to edge past Croatia after a marginal offside decision. With the knockout stages underway, the excitement across North America has reached another level.
After covering the losers of the tournament, here's a look at which Blaugrana stars are still chasing World Cup glory.
Still going strong
Jules Kounde has been watching the likes of Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe deliver the purest football we all love to see throughout this World Cup. He has remained solid in the tournament, conceding two goals in four games and two clean sheets in the process. France will play Paraguay this evening looking to make the quarter finals and go all the way.
England scraped into the next round thanks to Anthony Gordon's game-changing cameo from the bench, with the Barcelona winger providing two assists for Harry Kane. It offered a glimpse of how Hansi Flick could use the Englishman in Barcelona's attack. England now face a tricky last-16 clash against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
Raphinha has returned to training but is unlikely to feature for the majority of the match as he continues his recovery from a muscular injury. Brazil face their toughest test of the tournament against Norway and will need to produce their best football to reach the quarter-finals.
Country | Player(s) | Round of 32 result |
|---|---|---|
France | Jules Kounde | 3-0 vs Sweden |
England | Anthony Gordon | 2-1 vs DR Congo |
Brazil | Raphinha | 2-1 vs Japan |
Spain | Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres | 3-0 vs Austria |
Portugal | Joao Cancelo | 2-1 vs Croatia |
Egypt | Hamza Abdelkarim | 1-1 vs Australia (pens win) |
Meanwhile, Spain's Barcelona contingent, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and company, will take on João Cancelo and Cristiano Ronaldo in a heavyweight Round of 16 clash after both sides progressed from their opening knockout matches. Spain will be favourites for the clash but Portugal can inspire in the spirit of Diogo Jota.
Finally, new striker Hamza Abdelkarim and Egypt will be hoping to overcome Switzerland and secure the nation's best-ever World Cup finish. Overall, it has been a highly successful tournament for Barcelona's representatives.
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