Ronaldo's farewell, Balogun scandal and more: the knock-outs so far

AI Summary

The FIFA World Cup's expansion to 48 teams introduced an extra knockout round, intensifying excitement and drama. Notable moments include unexpected eliminations of major teams and a controversy involving a red card for US forward Folarin Balogun, adding to the tournament's tension.

The expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams saw the introduction of an extra round in the knock-out stage - and therefore an extra round of excitement, tension and drama. From big nations getting stunned to the red card controversy involving United States forward Folarin Balogun, the World Cup knock-out stages comprising the last 32 and last 16 had a little bit of everything.