Africa Roars as Only Tunisia Fall in Record-Breaking Group Stage

Africa has emerged as one of the defining stories of the World Cup group stage, with nine of its ten teams reaching the knockouts after a record-breaking round of football.

It was a fitting end to an entertaining group stage. In the final round, Algeria and Austria could have drawn 0-0 and both progressed, but instead added six goals to the tally, Sasa Kalajdzic's 96th-minute equaliser securing a 3-3 draw and Austria's place in the knockouts. The group stage produced 215 goals in total, a record, at an average of 2.99 per game, the highest since the 1950s.

The expanded format had raised fears of mismatches, but the newcomers performed creditably. Curacao earned a draw against Germany, Jordan scored in all three of their matches despite losing each, and Cape Verde remain unbeaten and will face Argentina in the last 32.

The leading players also delivered. Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria, while Vinicius Junior, Ousmane Dembele, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are also in contention for the Golden Boot.

By contrast to Africa, seven of Asia's representatives have already gone out. Just three European sides were eliminated, with the biggest surprise being Uruguay, the only South American team not to progress and one that failed to win a single match.

The tournament has so far required more matches than any previous World Cup to eliminate 16 teams. For all the changes to its format, the competition remains compelling, and the knockout stage is still to come.