Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Sport
Paul Myers

Qatar World Cup last-16: Knockout stages leave no more room for manoeuvre

Kylian Mbappé scored three goals in France's surge to the last-16 of the World Cup in Qatar. The 23-year-old is expected to star in the latter stages of the tournament. AP - Alessandra Tarantino

"There are two World Cups in one World Cup," said Belgium boss Roberto Martinez 10 days ago just after his team had scraped past Canada 1-0 in their opening game in Group F. "The first is the group phase and that needs to get you to the best level and then from that point on, it's the second World Cup."

The 49-year-old Spaniard will not be at the latter competition which starts on Saturday evening at the Khalifa International Stadium with the match between the Netherlands and the United States.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.