In Pics: The Best Matches Of FIFA World Cup 2018

Germany opened their campaign in a bizarre fashion as Mexico stunned the defending champions in a thoroughly entertaining game.

It was youngster Hirving Lozano’s goal that proved to be the difference, but the overall performance by the Mexicans was fantastic. Germany had 26 shots, the most by a side without scoring in a World Cup fixture since 2006.

Portugal seemed to be cruising through to the last 16 until a late penalty from Karim Ansarifard ensured a nervous end for Portugal, who saw Cristiano Ronaldo miss a penalty after Ricardo Quaresma’s stunner.

The match saw as many as 3 VAR reviews, which always adds to the drama. Mehdi Taremi came this close (see picture) to sending Portugal home in the 96^th minute.

This round of 16 encounter was wild, with tackles flying in from both the teams. The match looked dead and buried until Yerry Mina scored a header (his 3^rd of this World Cup) in the 93^rd minute to send the match into extra time.

The English held their nerves in the penalties, which also meant it was the first time that England had won on penalties in the World Cup. This is where the “It’s coming home!” propaganda truly took over social media.

Argentina’s task in this matchday 3 encounter was simple: win and go through. But oh boy, the struggle!

In another extraordinary evening, Marcos Rojo’s 86th-minute volley sealed Argentina’s qualification to the next round after a Victor Moses penalty cancelled Lionel Messi’s “touch of GOAT” beauty.

This opening knockout fixture of this World Cup was wildly entertaining. The 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe truly announced himself to the world, scoring 2 goals and winning the penalty that opened the scoring for the French.

For a brief period, Argentina led 2-1 in the 2^nd half. But a 10-minute spell from France saw them score 3 goals (including an out-of-this-world volley from Benjamin Pavard) that sealed the game.

After another instant World Cup classic, the valiant hosts Russia were thrown out of their own party as Croatia just went through on penalties.

The extra-time was a wild affair, as Vida’s header in the 105^th minute looked to be decisive until Mario Fernandez equalized 4 minutes from full-time.

The double eagle celebration (a recreation of the Albanian flag) from Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka took away all the headlines, but the game itself was also full of drama.

Mitrovic’s 5th-minute goal was cancelled by Xhaka’s thunderous strike from 30 yards. The game also saw probably the first VAR error as Serbia were denied a clear penalty.

Shaqiri held his nerves in the dying seconds of the game to slide the ball under the goalkeeper to score.

When FIFA released the fixtures for this World Cup, everyone marked their calendars with the date of this game. And the game surely lived up to its billing.

It was a game that will be etched in the memory of football fans forever, as both teams came back from behind to finish 3-3. Spanish full-back Nacho scored a beautiful volley, but it was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 88th-minute freekick that made all the headlines.

After Germany’s disastrous start to their title defense, everyone expected Germany to bounce back. They did bounce back, and how!

Toivonen sent the Swedish in front with a delicious lob over Neuer. The Germans came all cylinders firing in the 2^nd half, with Marco Reus pulling one back in the 48^th minute.

But it took them as long as the 95^th minute to find the winner as Toni Kroos produced one of the all-time great World Cup moments as he whipped the ball in from a freekick.

This round of 16 classic was a boring, goalless affair till half-time. But it came to life in the 2^nd half as Japan scored 2 goals in a space of five minutes to send Japan 2-0 up.

Belgium brought on Fellaini and Chadli to put the Japanese under pressure. The Belgians also scored two goals in 5 minutes to put the game back on level terms.

It was then an unbelievable counter attack by Belgium, finished off by Nacer Chadli in the 94^th minute that sent them through to the quarterfinals.