All the latest news and updates on the second day of knockout fixtures in the World Cup
4.57pm BST
Right, I'm going to wrap things up now. Head over here to join Scott Murray for MBM coverage of France v Nigeria. Emeka Enyadike was extremely confident on the pod last night, although history is against the two African sides playing today.
3 - Only three African teams have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup (Cameroon 1990, Senegal 2002, Ghana 2010). Challenge. #NGA
4.43pm BST
They wouldn't? Would they?
Rumours increasing both in #CIV & Israel that Avram Grant "in talks" with Ivorian FA for coaching gig. #clubmetro
4.42pm BST
Hungary said goodbye to a World Cup great earlier today. Gyula Grosics was the goalkeeper in the Magical Magyars team of the early 50s and on the losing side in the 1954 final, the Miracle of Bern. He went on to play in the 1958 and 1962 tournaments before his retirement.
Here's Brian Glanville's obituary on Grosics and here's a Reuters report on today's events:
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban joined actors, celebrities and former players to bid farewell on Monday to Gyula Grosics, a member of the country's Magical Magyars team.
Grosics, goalkeeper for the Hungary side that famously defeated England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, died this month at the age of 88.
4.21pm BST
Some good news for Belgium: Fifa's disciplinary committee has opted not to extend the ban of Steven Defour.
Fifa has decided against extending Steven Defour's ban for a reckless tackle on South Korea's Kim Shin-wook.
Belgium midfielder Defour was sent off for a studs-up challenge on the South Korean striker last Thursday's 1-0 win in Sao Paulo.
4.13pm BST
Here's the full story on the South Korea squad being pelted with toffees on their return from the tournament. The reaction of fans has certainly given Hong Myung-bo something to chew on. Penny for his thoughts right now. His team's passing certainly wasn't crisp enough. It's a sticky situation and no mistake, and the fans aren't going to sugar-coat it for him. OK, I'll stop now.
4.08pm BST
Aspiring football journalists this week's Ask Hadley column is essential sartorial reading. I hope you've all got your jeans in the freezer.
3.58pm BST
A little more on Robben:
The Dutch FA (KNVB) issued a statement insisting Robben's comments to Dutch TV station NOS had been misinterpreted.
The statement said: "The media have interpreted statements from Robben in a Dutch post-match interview completely wrong.
3.57pm BST
Afternoon all. First of, some breaking news from the Press Association:
Fifa will not be taking action against Arjen Robben after he admitted diving during Holland's 2-1 win over Mexico.
Robben reportedly apologised for diving on one occasion in the game - but not for the decisive penalty in stoppage time which he said was "definitely a foul".
3.48pm BST
Right, that aforementioned breaking news about toffee has been filed with the molasses editor, who sits on the Guardian's caramelised sugar desk. It means John Ashdown is available to take you through to the end of the day, whenever that is. I'm off to MBM the France-Nigeria game. See you there, hopefully.
3.37pm BST
Kakaddendum: "Just wanted to let you know that Kaka actually does have a World Cup winners medal," reports Ricky Barnhart. "The then 20 year-old was a member of the 2002 squad (although he only played 25 minutes against Costa Rica). Of course that fact does nothing to invalidate anything you wrote about his unfulfilled potential, but what is a live-blog for if not pedantic correction of trivia no one cares about?" Indeed. Preach on, brother. And if you could stay on a few hours to correct a few proofs, that would be fine and dandy.
3.33pm BST
More advertising news. And poor old Theofanis Gekas. Last night he missed the penalty that sent Greece home at the end of a dramatic tussle with Costa Rica. Well, it appears it's not the first time he's suffered from 12 yards. "He couldn't beat a ten-year old with exactly the same kick," reports Costas Tsioras, who sends in this gem:
3.16pm BST
Toffee-related advertisement break:
3.12pm BST
You'll notice this blog hasn't shut down yet.
You lucky people!
That's because John Ashdown will be taking over in a wee while. He's just away somewhere doing some Proper Journalism. OK, he's writing a breaking World Cup story about toffee. But what a confection! I'll leave him to explain when he takes over, but it's worth sticking around for.
3.08pm BST
Anyone remember Kaka? A World Cup winners medal at some point in his career seemed almost a certainty when he sashayed into prominence back in the early 2000s. But injuries took their toll, his form dipped, and Brazil were never much cop in 2006 or 2010 anyway. Uninvited to the party this time round, he's now leaving Milan with a view to pitching tent in the MLS. "Certain loves never end, they go in big circles when a contract is mutually terminated," announced a tearful Milan apparatchik today. "The key word is mutual. Ciao Ricky, we will never leave each other." He'll always have his 2007 Champions League medal, of course, and that pass to Hernan Crespo in the 2005 final. But from a stellar talent, the world was expecting so much more. The talented youngsters of today with an eye on the World Cup, for example
Ryan Gauld
James Rodriguez, will do well to consider that careers might not always pan out as planned.
2.40pm BST
Luis Suarez, if he's any sense, will get stuck into the cigars and brandy for the next couple of months. Enjoy your time off, son, you've earned it. However, there are reports kicking around which suggest Kosovan side Hajvalia want to offer him a gig while he's kicking his heels. "As we are not part of Fifa yet, I think he can play in Kosovo, so we have an offer that we will send to Liverpool," explains Hajvilia director Xhavit Pacolli. "We offered 30,000 euros and a salary of 1,500 for each month. This might sound ridiculous to him, but that is all we can do. This is the maximum we can offer."
It's just possible that this hasn't been thought through properly. Colombia came up with a Fifa-circumventing wheeze the best part of 70 years ago, and nobody came out well from that. Suarez may wish to consider the fate of poor old Charlie Mitten, for example, as told in this Joy of Six back in the day:
In January 1948, a crowd of 12,000 paid cash money at the gates to see Argentinian club side Velez Sarsfield play a tour match in Bogota against Santa Fe. It was an unprecedented crowd in Colombia, and it convinced local entrepreneurs to set up a proper professional league, preferably stuffed to the gunnels with the world's top talent. Given that Colombia was embarking on a period of political turmoil the liberal president-elect Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was assassinated in April, sparking La Violencia, a decade-long civil war it was to everyone's organisational credit that the new professional DiMayor league was up and running by August.
It did not prove problematic to entice some of the world's best players to the league. What club owners quickly realised was: footballers like money. Players in Argentina and Uruguay were on strike demanding better wages and conditions, and were easily enticed north with sky-high wages. Clubs rarely bothered paying transfer fees, or requesting international clearance from Fifa. Soon enough, more than 50 Argentinian players had made the move to the DiMayor. As players rolled around in piles of pesos, giggling like toddlers, Fifa's patience snapped. They suspended the league in the hope of restoring order.
2.24pm BST
In lieu of football stories, some proper news. And here's a major protest in Rio against Fifa and the Brazilian government, with human rights and the huge cost of staging the finals both uppermost in mind.
2.07pm BST
What I mean is, we've only got less than 60 minutes before this live blog breathes its last. Do you think some news will break before then? Nothing's certain, is it.
2.05pm BST
"Next few hours." Isn't he sweet.
2.01pm BST
The coup has been ended. Scott Murray has liberated the liveblog in the name of football and will take you through the next few hours before the games get underway again.
You can email him at scott.murray@theguardian.com. Thanks for all your contributions, sorry I couldn't use them all. Bye!
1.57pm BST
Paolo Bandini writes, in praise of YOO-ESS-A goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Even for those who did not speak a word of Portuguese, the message was easy enough to understand. Hey, American! Get in goal!
Those words were delivered in good humour, but they hinted at an underlying truth. For all the strides that the USA have made lately finishing top of Concacafs final qualifying stage before surviving the World Cups group of death the nations soccer team is still best known globally for one thing: producing a steady stream of brilliant goalkeepers.
1.53pm BST
An update to the question earlier about goalkeepers being replaced during a shootout. If all three substitutions have already been made, I imagine that the following clause in the laws, as highlighted by Hauke Wemken, comes into play:
"- An eligible player may change places with the goalkeeper at any time when kicks from the penalty made are being taken."
1.49pm BST
@DanLucas86 With those insanely warm temperatures,have any of the laptops of the press corps self destructed in that heat?
I wouldn't know, I'm afraid my bosses were afflicted with a case of the giggles at the exact moment I suggested I head out to Brazil to run this liveblog.
1.45pm BST
Video! We have a new World Cup video with Nat Coombs for you to enjoy. You watch that, I'll go and grab a cup of tea.
1.42pm BST
@DanLucas86 All hail Mr Versatility, the Swiss Army knife of international football. pic.twitter.com/2L3h5XZCAr
1.39pm BST
"You'll find the hipsters' national team is not Belgium," writes John Brunsden. "It's België."
Back in a minute, I'm off to Urban Outfitters to turn in my skinny black jeans.
1.35pm BST
Good news for Manchester United fans: Louis van Gaal will be on their summer tour even if Holland reach the World Cup final. I believe there's only a three-day gap twix the two mind.
1.32pm BST
Hey look, we have a comments section on this blog! New territory for me here. Anyhow, it's a nice medium for people to answer questions earlier posited.
Your 101 reasons better than the Suárez ban that someone might label Fifa "old SOBs"
1.) The booking of players who remove their shirts after scoring a goal.
1.30pm BST
Here's a question from Andrzej Lukowski, my old reviews editor at Drowned In Sound.
@DanLucas86 here's a Q: are national squads *required* to go home after elimination? Like, does anyone stay on to watch some nice football?
1.25pm BST
Dirk Kuyt, the Dylan/Prince/Nickelback/Kasabian/Quo of football, according to Ian McCourt's MBM last night, is the subject of this tribute by Alan Smith. Certainly Alan has far warmer feelings towards the Kop hero than whoever it was that compared him to Leicestershire's premier plodding lad rockers.
The list of Oranje centurions is an impressive one. On Sunday, Kuyt became the seventh to reach triple figures, alongside illustrious company such as Edwin van der Sar and Frank de Boer.
He started his 100th game at left-wing-back and moved to right-back. When Holland needed to score, he moved to centre-forward. Towards the end, he was right-back again.
1.19pm BST
Ah, my colleague Lawrence Ostlere informs me that Fifa are actually powerless to issue retrospective yellow cards. Sorry, that was a rubbish question.
1.17pm BST
Question for you: now that Arjen Robben has admitted that he's dived, can/should Fifa issue him with a retrospective yellow card?
1.15pm BST
"Dolly. Reason enough." That's Stephen Cooper's excuse for going to Glastonbury. Sorry, but James Rodríguez's goal trumps everything on this year's bill, Robert Plant included.
1.12pm BST
Our sports picture of the day is up. It showcases a well-deserved rapturous welcome home for Chile's players.
1.10pm BST
Speaking of Glastonbury, it's not really my thing. I'm more of a Primavera Sound fan: the weather, the city of Barcelona, the world's largest collection of hipsters. Speaking of hipsters, their national team Belgium haven't been looking as clever as hoped and are pinning their hopes on 19-year-old striker Divock Origi. The great Paul Doyle has written about him here.
A couple of month ago even some of his team-mates had never heard of him. Now Divock Origi is one the leading faces of Belgiums World Cup challenge and the manager, Marc Wilmots, is under pressure to give the 19-year-old his first start of the tournament in last-16 showdown with the USA.
Origi-mania is sweeping across the flat country. Check out a dance party in Antwerp this summer and you will probably hear the rush-released oeuvre of the local DJ, Ronny Mosuse, a hypnotic techno tribute to the countrys favourite new goal-getter in which the only lyric consists of endless repetition of Origigigi, Origogogo.
1.04pm BST
Hello World Cup fans! Simon is off for a well-earned break and I, of the cricket, have seized control of the blog. Email me things about football to dan.lucas@theguardian.com, or, if you're nice and concise, tweet them to @DanLucas86.
Suggested topics for the next hour:
12.53pm BST
It's never to late to sign up for O Fiverão, the hilarious (occasionally, and arguably) daily (weekdays only) World Cup-related (always) Guardian mailout. If you already have, check your inboxes. If you haven't yet, today's effort, which I penned myself last night, is here.
12.50pm BST
After those South Korean toffees I thought it was probably about time we saw some pictures of players returning home after their eliminations. So here's a selection:
12.18pm BST
Talking of Luis Suárez, Tom Rosenthal's excellent ode to the permanently peckish Uruguayan has received the animated video it always demanded:
12.14pm BST
Uruguay's president, José Mujica, has delivered his opinion on the Luis Suárez ban. And it's quite a good one.
Speaking at a reception for the Uruguay team after they returned home from the World Cup following their 2-0 defeat to Colombia on Saturday, Mujica said:
Fifa are a bunch of old sons of b*****s.
12.06pm BST
Our own Dan Lucas was first to answer the refereeing quandary of the day, pointing out that Fifa's Law 17 says this:
A goalkeeper who is injured while kicks are being taken from the penalty mark and is unable to continue as goalkeeper may be replaced by a named substitute provided his team has not used the maximum number of substitutes permitted under the competition rules.
12.05pm BST
Was it a dive? Paul Campbell examines the evidence in the Arjen Robben controversy, with the aid of all sorts of Vines and gifs and pictures and stuff.
12.01pm BST
A little news story on KLM's "adios amigos" tweet, which caused outrage everywhere, especially from actor Gael García Bernal (the article doesn't state however that he later deleted his tweets and apologised.)
I must say this: apologies to anyone who felt offended by my comments. I was caught by the football bug that spoiled my sense of humor.
11.52am BST
Refereeing quandary of the day: "I was watching the Brazil penalty shoot-out and had a thought," says Ally Young. "What would happen if a player scored a penalty in a shoot out then deliberately injured the opposing goalkeeper? As players can be sent off after a match, the offending player would obviously be sent off, but what would happen to the inured keeper, as subs presumably couldn't happen? Would this mean that the injured goalkeeper would have to face the remaining penalties?" Anyone?
11.41am BST
With Nigeria playing in the round of 16 today, against European opponents to boot, it's a good time to think back to their first such match, against Italy in 1994. The match in brief: Italy were rescued by an 89th-minute Roberto Baggio goal and eventually won 2-1 but only after the nicest man in football had been scandalously red-carded by Mexican official Arturo Brizio Carter. Augustine Eguavoen was actually stretchered off after this incident, though unsurprisingly he managed to play on after a little "treatment". Is this the least red-cardy red card in World Cup history?
11.27am BST
So after Round of 16 Day One: South America v South America, and Round of 16 Day Two: Europe v Concacaf, we have Round of 16 Day Three: Europe v Africa.
11.18am BST
Here's Paul Pogba's agent, Mino Raiola, telling Rai Sport that the young midfielder will be going absolutely nowhere this summer.
We have decided not to speak of the transfer market with regards to Paul until after the World Cup. But I can calmly say that his future will still be at Juventus, where he feels very happy.
10.53am BST
And ahead of Argentina's encounter with Switzerland, Nick Miller has written a blogpost about Maria's angel. Or, if we really aren't allowed to translate Spanish names, Angel Di María.
10.49am BST
I just enjoyed reading this post from The Inside Left, speaking to the designers of several World Cup-related magazine covers about the thinking behind their designs. Worth a read, if you're interested in design and World Cups and stuff.
10.46am BST
"I think there's a reason we don't translate countries with Spanish names like Costa Rica to Rich Coast," writes William Coldwell. "The Ecuador Honduras game would have been Equator vs Depths, which frankly sounds bizarre!"
10.34am BST
The South Korea team arrived home today, to be met by this sign at the airport "Korean football is dead!!" it asserts and a veritable fusillade of toffees. In Korea, you see, telling someone to "eat toffee" is considered a terrible insult. This from the Wall Street Journal:
As they lined up for a team photo at Incheon, Seouls main international airport, the players were showered with yeot, a traditional candy that is also a common synonym for a Korean expletive. Eat yeot! yelled an angry taffy-thrower at the team, according to reports from the airport.
10.25am BST
Elefántcsontpart did always look like a particularly good name for the Ivory Coast, even when I had no idea what it meant though I could guess that the first bit related to a large grey betrunked quadruped. And in full translation it doesn't disappoint (though for clarity, it's bank as in river bank and not bank as in hush-hush Swiss bullion-storage depot).
@Simon_Burnton As Hungary has neither a coast nor tusked mammals, Ivory Coast translates as Elephant Bone Bank in Hungarian. Nice ring.
10.20am BST
Today's talking points feature water breaks, dives and people being nice about Guillermo Ochoa for the very last time. Read all about it.
10.12am BST
"One thing that has been bothering me this World Cup is why in English we translate Cote d'Ivoire to Ivory Coast but we don't say Rich Coast for Costa Rica. I can't find any reason for the inconsistency," writes Peter McFarlane.
A fine question. The Ivory Coast may like to be known as Côte d'Ivoire but they're having a rum old time trying to convince anyone to actually do so in Spain they call it the Costa de Marfil, in Germany they prefer Elfenbeinküste, in Italy it's Costa d'Avorio, in Norway it's Elfenbenskysten and in Hungary it's Elefántcsontpart. Costa Rica, on the other hand, is Costa Rica in every one of those countries and ours to boot.
9.55am BST
"Not too sure how happy the actual scorer of Greece's equaliser (Sokratis) will be if the goal is awarded to the bloke Ray Reardon mentions," sniffs Peter McGushin. So we'd better clear this up now the lad's name is Sokratis Papastathopoulos, he has Sokratis on his shirt because the Greek kit man is a bit lazy and/or is worried about running out of the letters P, A and O but his papa calls him Papastathopoulos. So stop fighting now.
9.47am BST
Hello. Simon Burnton here I've grabbed the controls of the good ship liveblog for a few hours, so send your emails and stuff to me at simon.burnton@theguardian.com, if you'd be so kind.
Now, to business. Costa Rica's match-deciding goalkeeper Keylor Navas has been getting all poetic in the aftermath of his country's qualification for the quarter-finals.
It was only a dream for us, a dream that became a reality. A dream that was dreamt by an entire country.
To the entire people in Costa Rica, those at home and out on the streets, this is for you. This is a people that love football and they deserve it. We will continue fighting. We will go on. We see beautiful things. Rest assured that we will not get eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Sadness. Definitely sadness. Not much else.
9.14am BST
Raymond Reardon has emailed in with a reason for the Greeks to be cheerful this morning, although I'm not sure they will agree. He writes:
Consolation for Greek national team eliminated on penalties by Costa Rica. The normal time goal of Papastathopoulos (16) broke the record of Turkey's Kukukandonyadis (15 letters) as the longest surname to score at the World Cup finals. Things could have been better had Christodoulopoulos (18 letters) converted his numerous (lost count) opportunities.
8.57am BST
Some breaking news from Japan where the Mexican Javier Aguirre is set to become the national team's new coach following the resignation of Alberto Zaccheroni. Nikkansports newspaper are reporting that Aguirre will sign a $2.45 million a year deal that would run through to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The 55-year-old guided Mexico to the last 16 at the World Cup in 2002 and 2010. Zaccheroni stepped down after Japan were eliminated from the World Cup in Brazil. Colombia coach José Pékerman and former Nagoya Grampus manager Dragan Stojkovic had also been touted as candidates to replace Zaccheroni.
8.49am BST
Greece's coach Fernando Santos has said he was the victim of a double-standard when he was was banished to the stands last night. Santos was ordered out of the dugout on by Australian referee Ben Williams after extra time and had to watch the decisive penalty shootout on a TV in the bowels of Arena Pernambuco. Somewhat bizarrely the Portuguese claims he was ejected for playing the race card...
"The referee said we couldn't go onto the pitch, that we and the substitutes have to be off. Everyone of Costa Rica was on the pitch and when I was walking in, he said I couldn't go in. I said, 'Why? Am I different from them? Do I look different? Is it because I'm Portuguese?"
8.33am BST
Rafa also thinks the storm over the penalty is farcical...
As long as referees miss genuine pens, strikers will exaggerate contact to make them see it. it's a fact of life. moral outrage ridiculous
8.29am BST
Back to the debate over Arjen Robben's 'dive' for the penalty which saw Holland beat Mexico last night, and our very own Rafa Honigstein has had his say...
not every contact warrants a penalty, that's true. but somebody stepping on your toe - even slightly - is a foul. everywhere, every time
8.23am BST
Morning all and some sad news first up, as the Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis has retired from international football after the loss to Costa Rica. Karagounis leaves as Greece's most capped player with 139 appearances over 15 years since making his debut in 1999. He also won the European Championship with Greece in 2004. "You don't always get such breaks in life," the 37-year-old said after last night's defeat on penalties. "But our heads are high. These games and experiences are a great launching pad for the future. They will help keep the team on this level, something not always easy. We are Greece after all, we don't have many means." Karagounis will be sorely missed. Some of his antics on the pitch are a bite tiresome, but few in world football can ping a cross-field pass like he does.
7.59am BST
There wasn't a bad penalty among Costa Rica's efforts last night. The secret? Practice, according to their coach Jorge Luis Pinto:
We practised penalties before and we had studied the opposition and that's why we scored 100%.
7.51am BST
An email from David Wall:
Did something strange happen at the start of extra time last night or was I imagining it while trying to stay awake to watch the end of the match (don't they realise that some of us have got to get up to go to work this morning)? It looked as though they started extra time kicking in the same direction as they had finished in normal time (then turned round at half time in extra time). Is that standard? I know that they toss a coin to decide on the end for a penalty shoot-out but I thought that extra time just mirrored the halves of normal time in terms of direction of play. Grounds for a Greek complaint and call for a rematch (Dear God, no!)?
7.32am BST
A wander down World Cup History Lane (Just Off Olympic Nostalgia Broadway):
16 years ago to the day this happened:
6.57am BST
And so to Costa Rica. They flagged badly towards the end of their game against Greece before some brilliantly taken penalties but few would argue they don't deserve to be in the quarter-finals. One of the most surprising things about Costa Rica's progress is how average they were in the build-up to the World Cup. I saw them lose to Australia at the end of last year, and they were terrible. Along the way, they also lost to Chile, Honduras, South Korea and Japan; and drew with Jamaica and Ireland. Some excellent dope-a-doping all round, guys.
6.45am BST
OK, so Luis Suarez feels a little hard done by but this rugby league player got sacked and the only person he attacked was himself.
6.40am BST
Meanwhile, in entertainment news:
There has now been as many goals (145) at the 2014 World Cup as there was during the entire tournament in 2010. pic.twitter.com/9hdIpIZ17G
6.11am BST
Morning/afternoon/evening. And first up, we hear from the man of the moment Arjen Robben. He's admitted he cheated against Mexico but not in the bit that counted:
The one at the end was a penalty, I was fouled. At the same time I have to apologise in the first half I took a dive and I really shouldn't do that. That was a stupid, stupid thing to do but sometimes you're expecting to be struck and then they pull their leg away at the last minute.
6.11am BST
Today's live blog will get going soon enough with all the latest World Cup news. While you are waiting, here are Zico's thoughts on Brazil:
As I drove back from the Maracanã after watching Colombia beat Uruguay, I remembered how a lot of people, myself included, thought their chances of a good run at the 2014 World Cup had been severely hampered by Radamel Falcaos injury, five months before the start of the tournament. After all, he is one of their leading all-time top scorers and his goals had been crucial in guaranteeing their qualification. Well, the Colombians have surpassed expectations and for the first time in their history they have reached the quarter-finals.
But its the authority with which they booked their place in the last eight that amazes me. Football is not an exact science and instead of sulking, the Colombians have learned to live without Falcao. When he was scoring so many goals, his team-mates simply played for him, but his departure forced them to play more as a team and that allowed James Rodríguez and Juan Cuadrado to emerge. These two are excellent pieces that fronted a reengineering job carried on by the Argentinean manager José Pékerman, who also deserves some credit for making his team believe they could bounce back from the loss of such a talent as Falcao.
Continue reading...