Europe 7, Rest of the World 1

LAST 16

As France began to warm up with the beginnings of what would prove to be an extreme heatwave, so did the World Cup.

Germany and Nigeria launched the round of 16 in steamy Grenoble but VAR was once again the hot topic. After 20 even minutes, Alex Popp popped in Sara Dabritz’s corner but goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie’s view appeared to have been obscured by Svenja Huth in an offside position. After viewing the footage, referee Yoshimi Yamashita disagreed. Nigeria, disgruntled, kicked off, lost possession, and conceded a penalty, given on VAR advice, which Dabritz converted and Germany eased to victory.

In the evening came the first penalty shoot-out following a gripping match between Norway and Australia in which the latter equalised late in normal time but had Alanna