World Cup 2018 Standings and Bracket Review Before Round of 16

Belgium and England became the last two teams to confirm their slots in the 2018 FIFA World Cup round of 16 on Thursday after the Red Devils secured a 1-0 win to top Group G and set up a fixture with Japan.

England's reward for finishing second in the group is a last-16 meeting with Colombia, who beat Senegal 1-0 to win Group H in their final group-stage game. Japan lost 1-0 to Poland but took second over Senegal based on fair play.

The round of 16 is set, and among the second-round schedule are tantalising matchups involving similar-size juggernauts of the international scene and unfairly weighted contests on paper.

Here's how the last-16 bracket in Russia looks, headlined by France's clash against Argentina and what promises to be a cracker between Brazil and Mexico:

Read on for a look at the Group G and H standings, as well as the last-16 fixtures and a discussion of some of the more intriguing ties set for the next round.

Standings (Goal Difference)

Group G

1. Belgium (a): 9 (+7)

2. England (a): 6 (+5)

3. Tunisia (e): 0 (-3)

4. Panama (e): 0 (-9)

Group H

1. Colombia (a): 6 (+3)

2. Japan (a)*: 4 (0)

3. Senegal (e): 4 (0)

4. Poland (e): 3 (-3) 

(a) denotes a team that has qualified for the next round. (e) denotes a team that has been eliminated from the tournament. Visit the official FIFA website for the full standings. *Japan advanced with a superior fair-play record to Senegal.

Round-of-16 Fixtures

Saturday, June 30

France vs. Argentina, 5 p.m. local time/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET

Uruguay vs. Portugal, 9 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 1

Spain vs. Russia, 5 p.m. local time/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET

Croatia vs. Denmark, 9 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET

Monday, July 2

Brazil vs. Mexico, 6 p.m. local time/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET

Belgium vs. Japan, 9 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET

Tuesday, July 3

Sweden vs. Switzerland, 5 p.m. local time/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET

Colombia vs. England, 9 p.m. local time/7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET

England Could Pay for Late Loss; Spain Set to Sizzle

The general consensus for England upon their qualifying for the lower half of the World Cup knockout bracket is that it's the easier possible route to glory, although it certainly doesn't start out that way with Colombia.

Leading up to Thursday's 1-0 defeat to Belgium, debate was rampant over whether England's eight changes and the Red Devils' nine suggested neither team was concerned with winning the game and, with that, the group. But journalist Darren Lewis warned of the perils that losing momentum can have:

The Telegraph's Matt Law suggested a shake-up of the formatting at the World Cup would do away with the kind of stale fixture we saw in Kaliningrad on Thursday:

Jose Pekerman's side would have likely finished Group H with an unbeaten record were it not for Carlos Sanchez's red card in their defeat to Japan, and they will be far from easy prey for the Three Lions.

In the same half of the bracket sit Spain, who will have to beat hosts Russia to advance. Sports writer Andy West has projected a rather trouble-free run to the crown for Fernando Hierro's side:

La Furia Roja have set a marker in making it to the last 16 despite former manager Julen Lopetegui's sacking on the eve of the tournament. They will be one to watch out for if they can reach some harmony within the squad. Much relies on Hierro to get the team to jell, although the squad's strength is immense.

Their respective performances in Russia may not suggest it, but France and Argentina remain two of the biggest heavyweights in international football. Their clash is the only round-of-16 fixture between past World Cup winners.

Les Bleus just about edged their way to win Group C but looked uninspired while doing it, and Argentina's hectic run to second in Group D has led to suggestions that manager Jorge Sampaoli no longer calls the shots, with a Fox Soccer discussing as much (U.S. only):

One of the dark horses gathering pace in Russia is a team that has already bested Argentina. Journalist Stefan Bienkowski jested that, like Spain, Croatia have a good-looking run to the final:

They were one of only three teams to win all their group fixtures in Russia and have looked mightily impressive when their midfield gets up and running, as the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic did against La Albiceleste.

Croatia will need to keep the surprises coming if they are to advance much further in the tournament, but a Denmark team lacking weapons up front should be easy enough for them to overcome.