World Cup roundup: Agony for Borussia Dortmund stars in the round of 16

Borussia Dortmund will have no representatives at the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1994 after all their remaining players were knocked out in the round of 16.

Five Borussia Dortmund players remained in the tournament after the group stages and all five were left heartbroken when the final whistle blew in their respective games in Russia. All eight round of 16 ties were close encounters, and all 16 nations played their hearts out, giving us some spectacular and thrilling ties.

So let us take a look at how the Borussia Dortmund players fared in the second round of the World Cup finals.

First up were Raphael Guerreiro and Portugal. The EURO 2016 winners were up against Uruguay in the first knockout round. The South Americans started well and took the lead in the ninth minute thanks to an Edinson Cavani header. Portugal responded well and got their equaliser in the second half when Raphael Guerreiro found Pepe in the box with a pin point cross, and the centre back headed past the Uruguayan goalkeeper.

However, Portugal’s joy was short lived as just seven minutes later, Edinson Cavani scored again to give Uruguay the lead once again. It was the sweetest of strikes and it proved to be the winner as Uruguay knocked Portugal out of the World Cup.

From ecstasy to agony

Thomas Delaney and Denmark then took on Croatia and took the lead inside the first minute from a long throw. Delaney expertly controlled the throw in and placed the ball in the path of Mathias Jørgensen who scored from close range to give the Danes a surprise lead. Their lead lasted only three minutes though, as Mario Mandzukic capitalized on some poor defending by the Danes to make it 1-1. There were no more goals in the game and we needed penalties to separate the two sides. Croatia won the shootout 3-2 to secure their passage to the next round.

Delaney was not involved in the penalty shootout as he was subbed off in the 99th minute. Despite his team’s exit, it was an impressive performance by the new Borussia Dortmund signing.

Shinji Kagawa and Japan endured an even bigger heartbreak against Belgium as they gave away a two goal lead to lose 3-2. Kagawa had a superb game for Japan and even got an assist, but it just wasn’t to be their night. Japan scored two goals in four second half minutes to surprise everyone and put favorites Belgium on the verge of elimination. But a spirited comeback by Belgium helped them knock Japan out with the final kick of the game. Former Borussia Dortmund loanee Michy Batshuayi was an unused substitute for the Red Devils.

Manuel Akanji and Roman Burki were up against Sweden in their round of 16 clash. The match was a tight affair as both teams played cautiously and looked to hurt their opponents on the counter attack. It was Sweden who delivered the telling blow in the 66th minute when Leipzig playmaker Emil Forsberg scored after a wicked deflection off Manuel Akanji. His shot was going straight into the path of the goalkeeper before it deflected off Akanji and went into the net. Switzerland were unable to get an equaliser and Gladbach defender Michael Lang sent off in the final minute. It was a bitter end to what had been an impressive World Cup campaign for Akanji and Switzerland.

Next: Borussia Dortmund's All time best XI

Despite their exits, Borussia Dortmund players showed a good account of themselves in the FIFA World Cup finals and they will now be looking to get some rest before they can start preparing for the new season with the black and yellows.