1. Astonishing end to astonishing group stage
It had to be something crazy and unexpected – a famous victory for Cameroon against mighty Brazil.
Cameroon are out of the tournament despite their heroics, but have become the first African nation to defeat the five-time world champions.
The goal scorer Vincent Aboubakar got his second booking and was sent off for taking his shirt off in wild celebration but he didn’t appear to care.
He had just scored the goal of his life in the 92nd minute, and nothing was going to mar his memory of his goal slaying the favourites, who rested a host of regulars.
And what a goal it was: Jerome Ngom Mbekeli made a run and cross of his life, right onto the head of Aboubakar, who steered a glorious header on the run into the bottom right.
That was against a Brazil team who had yet to face a single shot on target in Qatar.
The tension was palpable: the goal gave Cameroon their first World Cup victory in seven attempts, but it wasn’t enough to take them through to the last 16.
In a pulsating, messy and highly physical match, Switzerland defeated Serbia 3-2 and secured second spot behind Brazil on goal difference.
It has been a decent World Cup for Africa. Senegal and Morocco have both qualified for the last 16, while Tunisia beat holders France.
No team from Africa has ever reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. Is that about to change?
2. South Korea’s last-gasp football
Son Heung-min and his pals sneaked into the knockout stage on another evening of last-gasp football.
On a fraught and occasionally berserk evening, it was a Premier League one-two between Tottenham’s Son and Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan that gave South Korea a sensational injury-time 2-1 victory over Portugal.
They beat Uruguay to a last-16 spot on goals scored, but even after the final whistle their progress was not secured.
They endured an agonising eight-minute wait for the outcome of the final moments of the Uruguay-Ghana match, throwing up emotional scenes after giving the World Cup group stage yet another twist.
With Hwang’s 91st minute winner, four of South Korea’s last seven goals at the World Cup have been scored in the 90th minute or later.
3. Ghost of Soccer City exorcised?
Towards the end, when Ghana had lost all hope, it was as if they wanted to make sure that they would drag Uruguay down with them.
There was far more to this match than the 2-0 scoreline. Twelve years after Asamoah Gyan’s penalty miss against Uruguay, following a deliberate handball on the goal line by Luis Suarez, history repeated itself.
Andre Ayew, who was in the Ghana squad at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when the penalty horror occurred, missed a first-half spotkick, minutes before Giorgian de Arrascaeta struck twice for Uruguay.
Uruguay were cruising into the last 16 until Hwang’s insane, lung busting run for that late winner against Portugal helped South Korea leapfrog the South Americans.
For Ghana, there was slight consolation, a revenge of sorts against Suarez and his chums for the 2010 nightmare at Soccer City. They took their rivals down with them by not conceding a third goal.
It was heartbreak for Suarez who was in tears as the full-time whistle went. A case of what goes around, comes around?
4. Bawling Suarez, Uruguayan fury
Luis Suarez, who made both goals, sobbed on the bench in the dugout, his head buried in his shirt, while several of his teammates angrily confronted the referee at the final whistle.
He knew that his extraordinary World Cup story was over. It was sad that he did not get a fond farewell from the fans at the stadium.
His teammates bowed out of the tournament in an unsavoury way. They were furious that the German official had denied them a VAR check for a potential penalty in stoppage time.
5. The showdowns continue in the last-16
*All matches in Malaysia time
Today: Holland vs USA (11pm)
Tomorrow: Argentina vs Australia (3am); France vs Poland (11pm)
Dec 5: England vs Senegal (3am); Japan vs Croatia (11pm)
Dec 6: Brazil vs South Korea (3am); Morocco vs Spain (11pm)
Dec 7: Portugal vs Switzerland (3am)