Key patterns emerging from Fifa World Cup’s last-32 and last-16 matches

With the quarterfinals of the Fifa World Cup starting on Thursday, we highlight a few patterns that cannot be ignored:

• Nine African teams out of 10 qualified for the last 32, but in the last 16 only Morocco and Egypt remain as representatives of the continent.
• Four of those African teams in the last 32 were knocked out in similar fashion, by conceding goals at critical phases of the match:
• Bafana Bafana (92nd minute);
• Ivory Coast (86th);
• Democratic Republic of Congo (86th); and
• Senegal (120th).
• Brazil’s 2-1 defeat to Norway in the last 16 marks their earliest exit from a World Cup since 1990, when the five-time champions were eliminated in the same stage by South American rivals Argentina.
• The last 32 saw major shocks, with Paraguay knocking out four-time champions Germany and Morocco eliminating the Netherlands — both on penalties.
• In the race for the Golden Boot award for the tournament’s top scorer, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are tied on seven goals each. Mbappe currently leads because he has two assists, more than Messi and Haaland.

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