10 most memorable moments of World Cup round-of-16

6. The Cinderella story continues

We didn’t see this coming. Costa Rica, dumped in a supposed ‘Group of Death’ with England, Italy and Uruguay, are in the World Cup quarter-finals, taking on Louis van Gaal’s rampant Dutch team.

A dogged, never-say-die attitude with terrific organisation and a goalkeeping master class from Keylor Navas saw Jorge Luis Pinto’s side battle through to a victorious penalty shootout win over Greece on Sunday night.

The Dutch are the overwhelming favourites to beat Costa Rica, for sure. But there’s always a little room for a surprise.

We all love fairytales. Well, most of us do.

7. Blaise ‘matuidis’ Onazi

Matuidi is now the byword for horrible tackles.

Blaise Matuidi’s lunge on Ogenyi Onazi, which has left the Lazio player with a fractured tibia and fibula in his left leg, was the defining and — depending how you look at it — memorable moment in the game between France and Nigeria.

With the match evenly poised at 0-0, Matuidi caught Onazi in the 55th minute. The Nigerian was carried off on a stretcher and never to return to the game. The French took over the midfield and exposed the Super Eagles’ defence. They duly scored 27 minutes later.

8. Fennec Foxes almost outfoxed Germany

A repeat of the famous win over West Germany in 1982 World Cup was on the cards, as Germany toiled for large periods of the game, with Mario Goetze, Toni Kroos and Philipp Lahm below par in midfield against a vibrant, fleet-footed Algerian side. Indeed, on more than one occasion, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was forced into a sweeper-keeper role as the Africans broke through Germany’s high defensive line. But it was not meant to be, as the three-time World champions prevailed in extra time.

Andre Schurrle fired home after great work from Thomas Muller. A second then came when Mesut Ozil rammed home on 119 minutes. Algeria weren’t beaten yet, however, and managed to get a deserved consolation goal via Abdelmoumene Djabou at the death.

9. Di Maria’s last-gasp strike

Switzerland knew that the easiest way to beat Argentina was through penalty shootout and with 10 minutes of the game remaining, their plan almost came to fruition. Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria had other plans though.

Messi seized control of the game, picking up a loose ball in midfield and hurtling past three challenges before laying the ball off for Di Maria. The Real Madrid star scored with a wonderfully placed shot past Diego Benaglio. Heartbreaking!

10. Howard’s new World Cup record

Late goals from Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne may have ensured Belgium’s qualification into the quarter-finals at the expense of USA, but their goalkeeper Tim Howard stole the show with his 16 saves that set a new World Cup record for most saves in a single match.  The previous record had stood since 1978, when Peru’s Ramon Quiroga made 13 stops during a 0-0 draw against Holland.

Amongst the amazing goalie performances from the likes of Kelvin Navas, Guillermo Ochoa and Vincent Enyeama, Tim Howard’s 120 minutes versus the Red Devils was arguably the best of the lot.