World Cup 2022: The Leicester City stars featuring in the last 16

Those who didn’t make it

England’s assured and controlled demolition of Wales spelled the end of the road for City stopper Danny Ward, who was drafted in between the sticks after Wayne Hennessey’s dismissal late on against Iran. The ‘keeper, whose Premier League form has been scintillating, has faced criticism since, after it was suggested he could’ve done more to stop all three England goals – the most noticeable being Rashford’s second.

Ward isn’t the only player returning home to Leicester, as the aforementioned Daniel Amartey will join him back at Seagrave. With South Korea’s win against Portugal and Uruguay needing a goal against Ghana, there was an opportunity for the Black Stars to go all out for the two goals they themselves needed to progress.

This however was not the way it transpired, and the repeat of that infamous quarter-final in 2010 meant both sides departed the competition at the end of the game. Amartey’s departure came just 24 hours after a trio of Foxes players were sent packing after Belgium’s goalless stalemate against Croatia saw them crashing out.

Like Maddison, Leicester defender Wout Faes failed to set foot on the pitch during the group stage, as elder statesmen Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld were given the responsibility at the heart of the Belgian back line. City man Timothy Castagne joined them in a back-three for the final two games having started against Canada as a wing-back.

Both he and Youri Tielemans struggled to make a lasting impression on the tournament, with the one win Belgium picked up in the opening game being counted as pretty fortunate. Still, however, they could have been facing Japan in the last 16 if Romelu Lukaku had converted on of the many big chances he blundered in Thursday afternoon’s draw. All games are available on fuboTV in both English and Spanish – here’s a link to a free trial for FS readers.