India and Afghanistan settled for a 0-0 draw
There was however still some drama. Croatia were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute when Andrej Kramaric's toe was clipped by Yannick Carrasco and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot.
Ecuador, who needed a draw to qualify for the last 16 for the second time after 2006, end up third on four points after a game played to the relentless beat of the Senegal fans' drums.
Mali are the runners-up side in the last edition of the U-17 World Cup in 2015 and this time they would be aiming to move one step ahead by clinching the title
Messi said his team knew Saudi Arabia, despite being the team ranked second-lowest in the tournament, could hurt them.
Croatia and Morocco will face off in Qatar for a second time after playing out a 0-0 draw in their group opener
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is planning a fresh 24-team Club World Cup to start with a 'pilot' edition in 2021.
The continent's first World Cup was embraced off the pitch but on it, where only Ghana of the record six teams taking part got beyond the group stage, it was a massive disappointment.
After playing the most soporific game of the World Cup so far, France will feature in a seismic last-16 clash of former champions with a resurgent Argentina on Saturday, and they will have to drastically improve if they are to stop Lionel Messi.
With 11 of their players in the squad over the age of 30, and a new World Cup cycle on the horizon, change is inevitable. Coach Roberto Martinez has also yet to sign a new contract, with his current deal expiring soon.
The Indian football team was pooled with Iran, Oman, India, Turkmenistan and Guam at the draw for AFC nations in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
"No matter how much I can respect what you did inside the pitch, those remarks about Iran culture, Iran national team and my players are a disgrace to football."
Though many outsiders expect Qatar to be soundly drubbed in all three games, home fans know forwards Akram Afif and Almoez Ali have both talent and experience and pray they can penetrate an Ecuador team themselves struggling to score of late.
Midfielder Kim Bo-kyung scored twice as South Korea strolled to a 3-0 victory over Lebanon in Goyang on Tuesday to make it two wins from two in the fourth round of World Cup qualifiers.
Satadru Dutta's rise was swift and ambitious. But that journey took a dramatic nosedive on Saturday.
France is slowly but gaining momentum when it mattered most.
Tunisia will start third-choice goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi and have striker Fakhreddine Ben Youssef act as his back-up in their final World Cup game against Panama on Thursday after FIFA rejected their request to add a replacement keeper to the squad.
"Obviously the moment I scored was pure ecstasy for me. I'd heard only seven Australians had scored at the World Cup and I told Arnie (coach Graham Arnold) I'd be the eighth or ninth."
Jezreel Pannikot reveals life lessons the stars of the 2018 World Cup taught us.
Zoo director Vladimir Gerasimov believes Cleopatra might have a little better understanding of soccer than other animals.
Cunningham, an LGBT campaigner who works with England's football authorities, is one of only a handful of openly gay England fans who have made the trip to Russia where gay activists have been detained for taking part in demonstrations.
"They had a few biters, guys who are hot on your heels. Then you have to act quickly, and (we) could have dealt with that better. We should have done better in possession of the ball," said Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk.
Saudi Arabia has scrapped its decades-old Kafala system, freeing 13 million migrant workers, including 2.6 million Indians, from restrictive employer control and exit visa rules.
The catch here is that one has to buy the season tickets to get the discount of "about 60 per cent".
The 'wounds' of 2014 will probably never heal, concedes Lionel Messi but the Argentine superstar is hopeful that 2018 will bring with it the World Cup that football 'owes' him.
"We are a small country, the smallest to host the World Cup. We prepared ourselves for the possibility of an early exit, but this does not mean the end of the project."
Gareth Southgate's England team has started a new chapter, and rekindled genuine hope.
One of Brazil's largest builders, Andrade Gutierrez, will confess to paying bribes for 2014 FIFA World Cup contracts and business with state-run companies Petrobras and Eletrobras, a newspaper report said on Friday.
It would be unfair to expect India to bedazzle crowds with eye-catching football. This team is built around stability, writes Dhruv Munjal
"Neymar and Messi are unique: they see and do things nobody else sees or can do. A great player must know and understand who he plays with, your teammates enrich your qualities."
Iceland must beat group leaders Croatia and hope the result of Argentina against Nigeria goes their way too.
In the week of his 31st birthday, Messi was again a largely anonymous figure as they lost 4-3 to France in a thrilling last-16 match in Kazan.
Sunil Chhetri returns to the national team,
"They have experienced players. Obviously, Lewandowski is a stand-out player, one of the best strikers in the world. We should not underestimate them." said coach Didier Deschamps.
"We need to be emotionally strong and break our backs in this match. Of course, if Germany is knocked out, it would be a major thing and we would be proud to be responsible for that."
Mexico's exit ended a run of seven successive last-16 appearances at the World Cup and the defeat for Saudi Arabia killed off what had looked to be a realistic chance of advancing from the group stages for the first time in 28 years.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup opening match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow
