The World Cup Farewells Ronaldo, as USA Served Swift Justice! Round of 16 Wrap Part 2

Photo: Belgian Red Devils/Instagram

The Round of 16 has officially come to an end, and the quarter-final picture is now complete.

Over the past two days, fans witnessed an Iberian derby decided by the finest of margins, Belgium finally hit top gear with a dominant display, Argentina surviving a major scare from Egypt, and Switzerland holding their nerve from the penalty spot to book the final place in the last eight.

Spain booked their place in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portugal in one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.

As expected, possession was fiercely contested throughout, with both sides creating chances in a tactical battle that rarely allowed either team to settle. Spain eventually found the breakthrough with substitute Mikel Merino bagging the games only goal.

The result further strengthens Spain's credentials as genuine title contenders, with their control in possession and defensive discipline continuing to stand out. Spain are still yet to concede a goal at this World Cup. This win bringing Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career to close.

Belgium produced arguably their best performance of the tournament, comfortably defeating the United States 4-1.

After entering the knockout stage with questions surrounding their consistency, the Red Devils answered them emphatically. Their attacking stars clicked from the opening whistle, overwhelming the hosts with quick passing and clinical finishing.

The United States can hold their heads high after an impressive tournament on home soil, but Belgium's experience and quality proved too much on the biggest stage. The game was overshadowed with the Folarin Balogun red card incident casting a dark cloud over the game. But Belgium did football a huge favour, smashing the Yanks in their own back yard.

With confidence growing, Belgium head into the quarter-finals believing they can challenge anyone remaining in the competition, and could finally get past their previous failures.

Argentina are through, but they were made to work for it.

The reigning world champions defeated Egypt 3-2 in an entertaining contest that threatened to produce another major upset. Argentina looked in control early before Egypt responded brilliantly and lead the contest by 2 goals until the 79th minute, putting real pressure on Lionel Scaloni's side.

However, Argentina's class eventually shone through, finding the decisive goal to keep their title defence alive, scoring 3 late goals to win a thriller.

While progressing is all that matters at this stage of the tournament, Argentina know they'll need to tighten up defensively before facing even tougher opposition. Egypt were far from happy post loss, accusing FIFA of corruption in favour of Argentina.

The final quarter-final place was decided in dramatic fashion, with Switzerland defeating Colombia on penalties after a tense 0-0 draw.

Neither side could find the breakthrough despite several promising opportunities, with both defences producing disciplined performances across 120 gruelling minutes.

When the match went to penalties, Switzerland kept their composure despite an awful penalty miss from Manuel Akanji, to prevail from the spot and continue their impressive World Cup run.

It was heartbreak for Colombia, whose tournament ends after one of the most evenly matched contests of the knockout stage.

Quarter-finals confirmed:

Morocco vs France
Norway vs England
Spain vs Belgium
Argentina vs Switzerland