8 on-pitch takeaways at the World Cup's halfway point
CTV
From major upsets to heaps of added time to huge moments for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, CTVNews.ca looks at the biggest on-pitch takeaways at the halfway point of the men's World Cup.
Since we’re at about the halfway point of the men’s World Cup and the excitement of the final round of group stage matches is upon us, it feels like a good time to look back on the week-plus that was and the biggest storylines that have emerged so far on the pitch.
Anyone watching this tournament rooting for the underdogs must be thrilled. Just to recap:
Morocco can cap off the group stage with a major accomplishment if it does enough damage against Canada on Thursday to finish top of Group F, which includes Belgium and Croatia.
The Saudis could advance with a win over Mexico on Wednesday but a draw would bring the Argentina-Poland result into play. Japan faces a tall task against an impressive Spain side Thursday but a draw would mean Germany has to beat Costa Rica by at least two goals to advance.
The U.S. punched their ticket to the Round of 16 on Tuesday after beating Iran.
Adding more to the drama has been the dump-truck worth of what’s known as “stoppage time” or “injury time” minutes that have been added on to the end of both the first and second halves of matches.
Barring a major injury stoppage, seeing a minute or two added on at the end of the first half and three or four at the end of the second half is considered normal. At this World Cup, though, we’ve seen at least five minutes added to first halves numerous times and several occasions of at least eight minutes added to second halves.
