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2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The knockout stage was the exciting second part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup! This is where the competition got really intense, right after the group stage. It started on June 30th with the "Round of 16" matches and finished on July 15th with the big final game in Moscow, at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Only the best 16 teams made it to this stage – the top two teams from each of the eight groups. In the knockout stage, it's "do or die": if a team loses, they are out of the tournament! If a game was tied after 90 minutes, the teams played an extra 30 minutes (called extra time). If it was still a tie, they went to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner. There was also a special match for third place between the two teams that lost in the semi-finals.

Teams That Made It

The top two teams from each of the eight groups moved on to the knockout stage. Here are the teams that qualified:

Group Winners Runners-up
A  Uruguay  Russia
B  Spain  Portugal
C  France  Denmark
D  Croatia  Argentina
E  Brazil  Switzerland
F  Sweden  Mexico
G  Belgium  England
H  Colombia  Japan

Tournament Tree

This bracket shows how the teams played against each other, from the Round of 16 all the way to the Final. The winner of each match moved on to the next round.

 
 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
                            
 
 30 June – Sochi
 
 
  Uruguay 2
 
 6 July – Nizhny Novgorod
 
  Portugal 1
 
  Uruguay 0
 
 30 June – Kazan
 
  France 2
 
  France 4
 
 10 July – Saint Petersburg
 
  Argentina 3
 
  France 1
 
 2 July – Samara
 
  Belgium 0
 
  Brazil 2
 
 6 July – Kazan
 
  Mexico 0
 
  Brazil 1
 
 2 July – Rostov-on-Don
 
  Belgium 2
 
  Belgium 3
 
 15 July – Moscow (Luzhniki)
 
  Japan 2
 
  France 4
 
 1 July – Moscow (Luzhniki)
 
  Croatia 2
 
  Spain 1 (3)
 
 7 July – Sochi
 
  Russia (p) 1 (4)
 
  Russia 2 (3)
 
 1 July – Nizhny Novgorod
 
  Croatia (p) 2 (4)
 
  Croatia (p) 1 (3)
 
 11 July – Moscow (Luzhniki)
 
  Denmark 1 (2)
 
  Croatia (aet) 2
 
 3 July – Saint Petersburg
 
  England 1 Third place play-off
 
  Sweden 1
 
 7 July – Samara 14 July – Saint Petersburg
 
  Switzerland 0
 
  Sweden 0  Belgium 2
 
 3 July – Moscow (Otkritie)
 
  England 2  England 0
 
  Colombia 1 (3)
 
 
  England (p) 1 (4)
 

Round of 16

The Round of 16 featured eight exciting matches where the winners moved on and the losers went home.

France vs Argentina

This match was a goal-fest! France beat Argentina 4-3 in a thrilling game.

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30)
17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 France  4–3  Argentina Kazan Arena, Kazan
Attendance: 42,873
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Report

Uruguay vs Portugal

Uruguay won against Portugal with a score of 2-1.

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Uruguay  2–1  Portugal Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
Attendance: 44,287
Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)
Rport

Spain vs Russia

The host nation, Russia, pulled off a big surprise by beating Spain in a penalty shoot-out after the game ended 1-1.

1 July 2018 (2018-07-01)
17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Spain  1–1
(a.e.t.)		  Russia Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Attendance: 78,011
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Report
  • Dzyuba Goal 41' (pen.)
  Penalties  
* Iniesta Scored 3–4 * Scored Smolov

Croatia vs Denmark

Croatia also won their match against Denmark in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw.

1 July 2018 (2018-07-01)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Croatia  1–1
(a.e.t.)		  Denmark Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 40,851
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
Report
  Penalties  
* Badelj Missed 3–2 * Missed Eriksen
  • Scored Kjær
  • Scored Krohn-Dehli
  • Missed Schöne
  • Missed N. Jørgensen

Brazil vs Mexico

Brazil defeated Mexico 2-0 to move forward in the tournament.

2 July 2018 (2018-07-02)
18:00 SAMT (UTC+4)
 Brazil  2–0  Mexico Cosmos Arena, Samara
Attendance: 41,970
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Report

Belgium vs Japan

Belgium had a thrilling comeback, winning 3-2 against Japan.

2 July 2018 (2018-07-02)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Belgium  3–2  Japan Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
Attendance: 41,466
Referee: Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)
Report

Sweden vs Switzerland

Sweden won a close match against Switzerland, 1-0.

3 July 2018 (2018-07-03)
17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Sweden  1–0  Switzerland Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Attendance: 64,042
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Report

Colombia vs England

England won a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Colombia after the game ended 1-1.

3 July 2018 (2018-07-03)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Colombia  1–1
(a.e.t.)		  England Otkritie Arena, Moscow
Attendance: 44,190
Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Report
  Penalties  
* Falcao Scored 3–4 * Scored Kane

Quarter-finals

Only eight teams remained for the Quarter-finals!

Uruguay vs France

France continued their strong run, beating Uruguay 2-0.

6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)
17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Uruguay  0–2  France Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 44,190
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
Report

Brazil vs Belgium

Belgium upset Brazil with a 2-1 victory, knocking out one of the tournament favorites.

6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Brazil  1–2  Belgium Kazan Arena, Kazan
Attendance: 42,873
Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)
  • Renato Augusto Goal 76'
 Report

Sweden vs England

England secured their spot in the semi-finals by beating Sweden 2-0.

7 July 2018 (2018-07-07)
18:00 SAMT (UTC+4)
 Sweden  0–2  England Cosmos Arena, Samara
Attendance: 39,991
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Report

Russia vs Croatia

Croatia won another penalty shoot-out, this time against the host nation Russia, after a 2-2 draw.

7 July 2018 (2018-07-07)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Russia  2–2
(a.e.t.)		  Croatia Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
Attendance: 44,287
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Report
  Penalties  
* Smolov Missed 3–4 * Scored Brozović

Semi-finals

Only four teams remained to battle it out for a spot in the final!

France vs Belgium

France defeated Belgium 1-0 in a tight match to reach the final.

10 July 2018 (2018-07-10)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 France  1–0  Belgium Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Attendance: 64,286
Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)
Report

Croatia vs England

Croatia won a thrilling extra-time match against England, 2-1, to earn their spot in the final.

11 July 2018 (2018-07-11)
21:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Croatia  2–1
(a.e.t.)		  England Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Attendance: 78,011
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)
Report
  • Trippier Goal 5'

Third Place Play-off

Belgium and England, who lost their semi-final matches, played for third place. Belgium won 2-0.

14 July 2018 (2018-07-14)
17:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 Belgium  2–0  England Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Attendance: 64,406
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Report

Final Match

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup Final

The biggest game of the tournament was the Final, where France played against Croatia. France won the World Cup with a 4-2 victory!

15 July 2018 (2018-07-15)
18:00 MSK (UTC+3)
 France  4–2  Croatia Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Attendance: 78,011
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
Mandžukić Goal 19' (o.g.)
Griezmann Goal 38' (pen.)
Pogba Goal 59'
Mbappé Goal 65'		 Report Perišić Goal 29'
Mandžukić Goal 69'


Images for kids

  • FRA-ARG (21)

    Match referee Alireza Faghani presents one of eight yellow cards during the match.

  • URU-POR (17)

    The Uruguayan team celebrates after Edinson Cavani scores his team's second goal in the 62nd minute.

  • ESP-RUS (4)

    Marco Asensio (left) and Roman Zobnin (right) challenge for possession of the ball.

  • Jan Vertonghen 2018

    Belgium center back Jan Vertonghen in possession of the ball during the match.

  • SWE-SWI (15)

    Marcus Berg (left) attempts to take possession of the ball away from Johan Djourou (right).

  • FWC 2018 - Round of 16 - COL v ENG - Photo 132

    Eric Dier scores the winning goal in England's first World Cup penalty shoot-out victory, having lost thrice before.

  • Kevin De Bruyne celebrating Belgium's 2–1 win over Brazil

    Belgium forward Kevin De Bruyne celebrating after the conclusion of the match.

  • Марио Манджукич у ворот Игоря Акинфеева 2018

    Mario Mandžukić (left) makes a cross to Andrej Kramarić (off screen to right), who would then head the ball into the goal to equalise in the 39th minute.

  • England Croatia match 2018

    The Croatian team and their supporters celebrate after Ivan Perišić's equalising goal in the 68th minute.

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