In brief
- Morocco have stunned the Netherlands, sealing 3-2 shootout victory after the scores were locked at 1-1 at the end of extra-time.
- Paraguay shocked Germany in a penalty shootout upset. Brazil have punched their ticket to the Round of 16.
It's been a day of shocking wins and nail-biting penalty shootouts.
Morocco defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to advance to the Round of 16 at the World Cup on Tuesday after a thrilling battle in Monterrey finished 1-1 after extra time.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made the crucial save to block the Netherlands' fourth penalty from Crysencio Summerville before striker Ismael Saibari stepped up to blast home the winning spot-kick that sealed a 3-2 shootout win.
The victory sends Morocco into a last-16 clash with Canada in Houston on Saturday.
An enthralling match had gone to extra time after Issa Diop had glanced in a dramatic equaliser for Morocco in the first minute of stoppage time as the Netherlands closed in on victory.
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The Dutch had taken the lead midway through the second half with a goal from Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo, who finally found the back of the net in the 72nd minute.
Gakpo burst into tears and sank to the ground following the goal and was instantly buried by his teammates. Gakpo and his wife had only announced on Sunday that they had lost their unborn son during pregnancy.
But Morocco forced extra time when an unmarked Diop headed home from substitute Chemsdine Talbi's cross in injury time.
Morocco had created the better chances of a fractious encounter, which saw players from both sides flying into tackles to test the patience of Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio.
The Atlas Lions almost took the lead on 20 minutes when Neil al-Aynaoui glanced an Achraf Hakimi corner goalwards only to be denied by a superb reflex save from Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Verbruggen was pressed into action moments later, this time doing well to tip a vicious strike from Hakimi over the bar.
The fierce nature of the contest was on full display midway through the half when Saibari was lucky to escape sanction after elbowing Jan Paul van Hecke in the face.
The Dutch continued to enjoy plenty of possession but were unable to convert it into goalscoring chances.
Their best effort came on 44 minutes when Tottenham's Micky van de Ven uncorked a ferocious shot from the edge of the area that was tipped over by Bounou.
Van Hecke continued to find himself in the thick of the action, and after bloodying his head in a collision in the penalty area, made his presence felt with a crunching tackle that upended el-Aynaoui just before half-time.
As the half ended, Saibari just failed to connect with a cross that flashed across the Dutch goal before going behind.
The drama continued into an end-to-end second half, but appeared to have tilted in the Netherlands' favour when coach Ronald Koeman brought on forward Wout Weghorst in a flurry of substitutions after the hydration break.
Weghorst made an immediate impact, flicking on a long ball to send Summerville bearing in on goal. Summerville crossed to Gakpo, who hurled himself at the ball to score.
The Netherlands, superbly marshalled by Gakpo's Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk, appeared to be heading for victory but Diop's late header sent it to extra-time.
Morocco looked to have made the breakthrough when Soufiane Rahimi went through on goal in the 96th minute, only to be denied by a jaw-dropping save from Verbruggen.
The Netherlands held on for penalties but despite Morocco missing their first when El-Aynaoui hit the bar, the North Africans recovered to seal the win.
Paraguay stun Germany
Germany have crashed out of the World Cup at the hands of Paraguay in the Round of 32 after losing 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Tuesday's defeat marks the first time that Germany have ever lost a penalty shootout at a World Cup.
Julio Enciso headed Paraguay into a shock lead before half-time, but Arsenal forward Kai Havertz levelled for Germany in the 54th minute with his third goal of the tournament.
Jonathan Tah saw a goal disallowed after a VAR review in extra time, before Paraguay held on to shock Germany in a wild, nerve-wracking shootout as the momentum swung back and forth.
Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved from Havertz and Nick Woltemade, but his teammates blew two chances to win it before José Canale buried the winning spot-kick after Tah blazed his effort over the bar.
It marked another premature exit for Germany, who were playing in their first knockout-stage appearance since winning the 2014 World Cup.
Paraguay celebrated arguably their greatest win at the tournament, but they face the daunting prospect of running into an in-form France next should Les Bleus beat Sweden.
Julian Nagelsmann handed Deniz Undav his first start of the tournament, after the Stuttgart striker scored three times in the opening two games as a substitute.
He came in for Jamal Musiala as Nathaniel Brown returned at left-back, having missed the Ecuador loss as a precaution due to a minor injury.
Miguel Almirón was recalled by Paraguay following a one-match ban after becoming the first player to be sent off for covering his mouth during an on-field confrontation under new FIFA rules.
Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro had urged his players to grasp the opportunity of a lifetime, and they came close to scoring barely a minute into the game.
Júnior Alonso found space at the back post from a corner but was unable to beat Manuel Neuer.
Germany's 7-1 win over Curaçao in their opener offered a glimpse of their attacking firepower, but it papered over what has otherwise been an often blunt forward line.
Undav floated an effort wide as Germany struggled to break down a compact Paraguay defence, and they paid the price when they lost their shape before half-time, allowing Enciso to head home.
Paraguay recycled possession after Neuer punched clear a corner, working it out wide on the right for Matías Galarza to fizz in a cross that picked out a completely unmarked Enciso.
Remarkably, it was Paraguay's first goal in the World Cup knockout stage, having failed to score in their previous five matches, including a 1-0 defeat by Germany in the last 16 in 2002.
Uncommonly toothless in the first half, Germany brought Leon Goretzka on at the break but almost conceded again when an under-hit backpass from Joshua Kimmich forced Neuer to race out and stop Enciso doubling the lead.
However, they at last breached Paraguay's dogged rearguard when Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz cut in from the left and delivered a cross that Havertz glanced into the far corner to ease Germany's nerves.
Paraguay lost Enciso to injury, and with it their main outlet, leading to a growing sense of inevitability that Germany's pressure would eventually tell.
But Orlando Gill reacted sharply to claw away Havertz's header from another Wirtz cross and Paraguay bravely clung on to send the match into extra time.
Tah thought he had put Germany in front with a powerful back-post header from Nathaniel Brown's looping corner, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review for a foul by Waldemar Anton on the goalkeeper.
Anton headed straight at Gill from another corner, but Paraguay withstood Germany's set-piece barrage and then kept their cool to spring a monumental World Cup upset.
Brazil find a buzzer beater
Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored deep in injury time as Brazil beat a stubborn Japan 2-1 on Monday to roll into the World Cup's Round of 16.
Arsenal winger Martinelli struck in the 95th minute in Houston to break Japanese hearts in the most dramatic fashion.
Brazil will face either the Côte d'Ivoire or Norway in New Jersey on Monday after edging a captivating knockout encounter.
Japan midfielder Kaishū Sano scored a classy solo goal after 29 minutes following a Brazil mistake to stun the huge numbers of fans decked out in yellow.
Carlo Ancelotti's men hit back 11 minutes after half-time with a header from veteran Casemiro as Brazil dominated the second period.
Then up popped Martinelli right at the death to settle it and send the Brazil fans wild.
History was against Japan: they had never won a knockout game at the World Cup, while Brazil were record five-time champions.
But this is not a vintage Brazil side, even with Ancelotti at the helm, while Japan have been talked of as dark horses.
With the Brazil fans' drums providing a constant rhythmic backdrop, Ancelotti's side were on top early on in front of a crowd of 68,777 people.
Images of Neymar on the bench popped up on the big screens, the noise from the Brazil fans going up another notch.
Defensive midfielder Sano was booked for crunching in on Vinícius Júnior, then Brazilian attacker Matheus Cunha forced goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to turn the ball wide.
Japan, who beat Brazil 3-2 in October in a home friendly for their first victory over the South Americans, then enjoyed a spell in the ascendancy.
Just before the half-hour mark, Hajime Moriyasu's team took the lead, and it stemmed from an error by Danilo as he gave the ball away with a sloppy pass.
Sano, one of four changes from Japan's 1-1 draw with Sweden at the end of the group phase, picked the ball up in the centre circle and got away from the 34-year-old Casemiro — who was on a booking — with ease.
Sano, who plays for Mainz in Germany, drove upfield before sweeping the ball past Liverpool goalkeeper Álisson Becker. It was his first goal for his country.
Now the Brazil supporters were edgy, groaning when a move broke down or a pass went backwards.
Brazil, whose last World Cup triumph was in 2002, looked unconvincing at the back and ineffective in attack.
Ancelotti was forced into a change at the break, an emotional Lucas Paqueta limping off in distress with the attacking midfielder replaced by 19-year-old striker Endrick.
Japan, which thrashed Tunisia and held the Netherlands and Sweden to reach the last 32, had Brazil where they wanted them.
Brazil ramped up the pressure to start the second half, and Japan defender Takehiro Tomiyasu twice kept the ball off the line, not that he knew much about it.
Brazil were soon level, Arsenal defender Gabriel sending in an inviting cross for midfielder Casemiro to head in unmarked at the back post.
Vinícius, well stifled up until then, turned the Japan defence inside out and stabbed the ball towards Suzuki, who directed it onto the post.
It was all Brazil as they pushed for a late winner, with Vinícius — who scored four times in the group stage — increasingly in the thick of it.
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