The exit brings a chaotic end to Bielsa’s three-year tenure, which was clouded by reports of squad disharmony and structural tension. Facing a room of heavy media scrutiny, the 70-year-old manager refused to deflect the responsibility.

In a tournament that began with the public questioning the wisdom of expanding to 48 teams, Cape Verde's success will leave many wondering what took so long.

Under FIFA's Law 11, because an offside player gained an unfair advantage by initiating that secondary goal-line chaos, the phase of play was corrupted from its very inception. Consequently, the referee had no choice but to disallow Khalilzadeh's subsequent low finish.

Belgium finished above Egypt on goal difference after they both finished with five points from three matches, followed by Iran on three points and New Zealand on one.

Iran's Mehdi Taremi – who had a penalty saved in the first half – hit the crossbar with a late header before Shoja Khalilzadeh thought he had scored a dramatic 93rd-minute winner, but it was ruled out for offside.

Cape Verde have written one of the most remarkable stories of the FIFA World Cup, becoming the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage in their tournament debut.

Only Paraguay have already played all three of their group matches -- the other four countries still have a group game to play but are already assured of playing in the knockout round of this 48-team World Cup.

Spain's 1-0 victory over Uruguay earned them top spot in the pool with seven points, while three draws were enough for Cape Verde to earn second place. Uruguay and the Saudis were both eliminated with two points.

Alex Baena's 42nd-minute strike settled an attritional battle in Spain's favour in Guadalajara that condemned the Uruguayans to an early exit.

Widely regarded as a pioneer of Japanese football, Zico admits the fixture carries special significance for him, but says there is no doubt where his loyalties lie.

Lionel Messi starts on the bench as Argentina take on Jordan in their final Group J match at Dallas Stadium on Saturday with coach Lionel Scaloni making nine changes to the side that defeated Austria in their previous match.

Austria and Algeria will play to win when they meet in their final World Cup Group J match, their coaches said on Friday, dismissing suggestions that avoiding victory could provide a more favourable route.

Senegal crushed 10-man Iraq 5-0 on Friday to remain in the running for a place in the round of 32 and end their opponents' hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stages.

Ousmane Dembele scored one of the earliest hattricks in World Cup history on Friday as the Ballon d'Or winner starred in France's 4-1 win over a second-string Norway, while Erling Haaland watched on from the bench.

Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo says his team need to “gang around the referee” more often after their penalty shout in the World Cup group game against England went unreviewed.

Argentina defender Cristian Romero has progressed in his recovery by adding on-field training, the Argentine federation (AFA) said on Friday, after he was forced off with a knee injury in their 2-0 World Cup Group J win over Austria on Monday.

Ben Duckett scored his first century in over a year and Jacob Bethell banished his first-innings blues after returning England captain Ben Stokes sparked a fightback in the third and deciding Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Norway striker Erling Haaland was left on the bench against France in the World Cup Group I match on Friday with both teams having qualified for the knockout stages.

Ireland stunned T20 world champions India with a landmark 34-run win in their series opener in Belfast on Friday after the tourists opted against giving an international debut to teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

According to Argentine broadcaster TyC Sports, Scaloni is set to hand World Cup debuts to several squad members while resting regular starters ahead of the round-of-32 clash next Saturday in Miami.