As the pivotal second round of Group Stage matches rolled on Thursday at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, France became the third nation to advance to the knockout stages World Cup after surviving a scare from Peru, 1-0. The winning strike came courtesy of Kylian Mbappe, who at 19 years and 183 days old made history as the youngest World Cup goalscorer for Les Bleus when he slotted in a 34th minute goal.
In other Group C news, Australia held Denmark to a 1-1 result. With one point on the table, the Socceroos kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the Round of 16, though Denmark is currently in second place with four points.
The biggest headline of the day came from Croatia’s 3-0 drubbing of Argentina, which secured their advancement to the next round. Argentinian ace Lionel Messi may have pre-empted this result, as he was seen looking particularly stressed when the national anthem played before the game.
But all is not lost for Messi and Argentina. Their Group D opponents Iceland and Nigeria will play their second match on Friday, and the team's one point from a tie against the Icelandic side gives them a chance to qualify.
Meanwhile, having qualified for the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, the Fire players are back in Chicago and continuing their watch of the World Cup games.
Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger showed his support for Team Germany once again when he tweeted his best wishes with another #throwback picture. Germany plays Sweden on Saturday, June 23, at 1 PM CT.
After the Fire's late morning training on Thursday, Diego Campos also posted an Instagram Story of the Argentina game. His Costa Rica team plays tomorrow.
Here are the World Cup games for Friday, Day 9:
- 7 AM CT: Brazil vs Costa Rica (Group E)
- 10 AM CT: Nigeria vs Iceland (Group D)
- 1 PM CT: Serbia vs Switzerland (Group E)
With four teams having qualified for the knockout stage, keep track of the World Cup happenings with the Chicago Fire World Cup Central, the Fire social media accounts, and also check out the various Watch Party opportunities across Chicago.
