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After 17 straight match days, there is finally time to pause and reflect, as well as look forward to the remaining eight matches, starting on Saturday morning with Netherlands v Argentina in the first quarter-final.
It's a match-up that, for SBS commentator Martin Tyler, has a special place in his football life.
"Netherlands Argentina brings back great memories," Tyler said.
"It was the first WC final I attended in 1978, I had finished my stint as a junior commentator at ITV and begged to stay until the end.
"It was a tough defeat for the Netherlands (they lost 3-1 after extra time) because they were really in that final.
"I've got really vivid memories of that first World Cup."
Here in Doha, 44 years later, there is a similar intrigue around this match.
"Argentina, we've got the Messi factor," Tyler said.
"Netherlands have played well, but Louis Van Gaal is not playing the total football Rinus Michels produced for those teams in the 70s.
"They're finding a different way to win."
England meanwhile have been winning, and winning well, but the feeling here in Doha is they've flown under the radar.
Wins over Iran (6-2), Wales (3-0) and Senegal (3-0), as well as the nil-all draw with USA have largely escaped discussions about the tournament's true contenders.
That will surely change, should they beat France on Sunday morning.
"The expectations have been very well managed by Gareth Southgate," Tyler said.
"I think England fans have adapted through the past two tournaments, it's not a desperate level of expectation, but there is a feeling France is a very, very tough game."
And while there's a feeling this blockbuster match is perhaps a round too early, both England and France know they need to beat the best, to be the best.
"Whoever's wins it is going to do it the hard way, and that's the way it should be," Tyler said.
The SBS crew has been on the ground in Doha for just over three weeks now, but with so many matches squeezed into the schedule up until the end of the round of 16, there has hardly been time to stop and think.
For Tyler, the first three weeks were a constant cycle of preparation and then execution of a broadcast each day, often of teams he hadn't yet covered.
That pattern will continue on Saturday morning when he calls the Netherlands for the first time in the tournament.
Even for the veteran of 12 World Cups, this tournament has offered elements he has never seen before.
"We're near the end already," he said.
"Because of the intensity of the matches, I can't believe we're having this conversation, ten days before we all go home.
"We all want to go home and see our loved ones but this has been an engrossing tournament, it's been a privilege to be here.
"We've learnt a lot about Qatar as a country, and football how it's played today.
"And most of all we're learning about the potential for World Cups at this time of year.
"We all thought it would be a one-off, but in the right climate and the right country... I can't believe I'm saying this, but because of the way the individual players have approached it, I think they're loving it.
"And for the first time I'm thinking, it's nearly over.
"I have really enjoyed it."
How to watch Netherlands v Argentina LIVE and FREE on SBS
Saturday, December 10
Quarter-Final - Netherlands v Argentina
5:30am - 8:30am (AEDT) - kickoff at 06.00am
LIVE on SBS and SBS On Demand
