How box-office World Cup descended into farce... to leave Fifa with a huge problem

As Lionel Messi was lifted into the air and the Egyptian players sank to the ground, it was a scene beyond most cinema. Or, as they say here, prime-time TV. This was box office. 

The last 16 has provoked other emotions, too, not least revulsion at the Folarin Balogun case. It is actually a pity that this is how the story has become known, because the player himself had nothing to do with the shameless political interference.

The controversy has, nevertheless, directly influenced a more troubling feeling, one that should be on the fringes but is obviously growing. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan wasn’t afraid to articulate it, if in more extreme terms than most. Furious at so many of the decisions in his side’s otherwise defiant defeat to Argentina, Haasan said they "suffered an injustice."

He is not the only one thinking along those lines, since figures at major European clubs were telling The Independent that many such elements of the games were off-putting. Read Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney's dissection of Fifa's latest farce. 

Meanwhile, the quarter-finals begin on Thursday with France taking on Morocco in a rematch of their 2022 semi-final in Qatar. Alan Smith takes a look at the French's magnificent depth but asks the question: what if their greatest strength becomes their undoing? 

Also, Chief Sports Writer Lawrence Ostlere crunches the numbers - whether it be goals, shots, XG, sprints or possession - behind the eight quarter-finalists and their protagonists.

Who has taken more shots than Kylian Mbappe? Who has run further than Harry Kane? Who has pressed more than Elliot Anderson? Here is a look at some of the standout statistics from the last eight’s first five games at the World Cup.

Luke Baker | Deputy Sports Editor

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