World Cup bracket and knockout round results

Lionel Messi and Argentina prevailed 4-2 in penalty kicks, winning an epic final over France and giving Argentina’s superstar a World Cup trophy to add to his sterling résumé. The score was tied 2-2 after regulation and 3-3 after extra time.

Kylian Mbappé tallied three times for France, leading his team back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits — and earning the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer — but the Argentines emerged victorious.

To get to that unforgettable final, France eliminated Morocco, 2-0, in a semifinal to reach its second World Cup final in a row. Morocco had allowed only one goal in its first five matches — an own goal in a win over Canada — but couldn’t solve the French defense, and its Cinderella run finally ended.

The first participant was determined earlier, when Argentina moved within a win of a championship by beating Croatia, 3-0. Messi’s penalty kick late in the first half opened the scoring against Croatia, which was trying to advance to its second consecutive final.

The quarterfinals brought delightful chaos. Morocco, the tournament’s Cinderella story, topped Portugal to become the first African team to reach the semifinals. Later that day, defending champion France stopped England to return to the finals.

In an earlier quarterfinal, Croatia scored a shocking equalizer late in extra time against Brazil before knocking off the five-time champion in penalties. Croatia, with a population of just 4.2 million, made the semifinals for a second straight World Cup.

In another quarterfinal, Argentina took a two-goal lead over the Netherlands before the Dutch scored two late goals to force extra time. After more penalties, Argentina survived to stretch its unbeaten run to four since a stunning opening loss to Saudi Arabia.

Wrapping up the World Cup

Here’s a look at the final results of the knockout round.

What to know about the World Cup round of 16

Morocco — the last remaining team from Africa — was the biggest surprise after stunning 2010 champion Spain in penalty kicks, advancing to its first World Cup quarterfinal. Later on Dec. 6, Portugal delivered an offensive onslaught, overpowering Switzerland, 6-1 to set up a meeting with the underdog Moroccans.

On Dec. 5, 2018 finalist Croatia rallied from a goal down to Japan before winning in a penalty kick shootout. Then five-time World Cup winner Brazil, the top-ranked team in the world, looked the part in an easy 4-1 win over South Korea.

On Dec. 4, electric Kylian Mbappé and defending champion France knocked off Poland, 3-1, moving on to the quarterfinals for a third straight World Cup. Then Cup contender England dismantled Senegal, 3-0, setting up a delicious meeting with France.

On Dec. 3, the United States started the knockout round with a loss to European power the Netherlands. Then Lionel Messi and Argentina earned a 2-1 win over tournament darling Australia.

What to know about the World Cup group stage

Group A: The Netherlands defeated Senegal, tied with Ecuador and then had no trouble with Qatar, finishing the group stage without a loss, conceding just a single goal. Senegal and Ecuador always seemed likely to compete for the second slot, and Senegal’s 2-1 win Tuesday was the deciding factor. Qatar, the host country, was the first team eliminated from the tournament.

Group B: England, attempting to claim its first World Cup title since 1966, finished with an impressive plus-seven goal differential in group games after a dominant win over Iran followed by a nervy draw with the United States and then a comfortable win over Wales. The United States scored just two goals in group play, but it was enough after draws with Wales and England and a 1-0 win over Iran. Iran got only one positive result, a win over Wales, which finished last in the group.

Group C: In what once seemed like the wildest group, favorite Argentina was stunned by Saudi Arabia in its opening match before rallying to win the group with victories over Mexico and Poland. Despite that loss, Poland finished second on goal differential, advancing to the knockout round for the first time since 1986. Mexico had the same results as Poland but finished with a minus-one goal differential while Poland was level. Saudi Arabia’s only points came in its shocking upset over Argentina.

Group D: France got the two wins it needed for qualification in its first two games before falling, 1-0, to Tunisia in its third match. The defending champions still won the group with six points based on goal differential. Surprising Australia earned wins over Tunisia and Denmark to claim Group D’s second spot. Tunisia will heartily celebrate its closing win over France, while Denmark will stand as a huge disappointment, finishing with just one goal and one point.

Group E: Japan bracketed a loss to Costa Rica with shocking wins over Germany and Spain to finish atop the group. That left Spain and Germany tied in second with four points — both teams beat Costa Rica and they played to a draw — but Spain advanced based on its far superior goal differential. Costa Rica was eliminated, despite beating the group winner.

Group F: Belgium may have been the group favorite and one of the world’s top-ranked teams, but it was upstaged by upstart Morocco, which beat both the Belgians and Canada and drew with Croatia to win the group. Croatia was also unbeaten with two scoreless draws and a convincing win over Canada, which played an attractive brand of soccer but lost all three of its matches.

Group G: Brazil won the group despite scoring just three goals — oddly, the fewest in the group. Switzerland’s thrilling win over Serbia on Friday secured second place, while Cameroon and Serbia were both eliminated.

Group H: Portugal had already clinched a spot in the knockout round after wins over Ghana and Uruguay, which meant it had little to play for in the finale against South Korea. When South Korea scored a shocking late goal to beat Portugal, 2-1, that left Uruguay in third place on the goals scored tiebreaker. Ghana beat South Korea, but lost its other two matches to finish last in an entertaining group.