{"text":[[{"start":8.6,"text":"DR Congo, who were forced to cancel their pre-tournament training camp due to the Ebola outbreak, progressed to the next round of the World Cup for the first time, as several of international football’s minnows continued to defy expectations at the expanded tournament."}],[{"start":23.85,"text":"The central African team qualified on Saturday evening after a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, and joined several lower-ranked teams, including Cape Verde and Bosnia and Herzegovina who have beaten the odds to reach the World Cup knockouts for the first time. DR Congo will now face England in Atlanta on July 1. "}],[{"start":43.150000000000006,"text":"This year’s deadly Ebola outbreak, which has already killed more than 300 people in DR Congo, severely disrupted the team’s World Cup preparations. After ditching the planned training camp in Kinshasa, the Congolese squad spent three weeks in quarantine in Belgium before being allowed to travel to the US. "}],[{"start":61.7,"text":"Fifa, the sport’s global governing body, opted to increase the number of teams at this summer’s World Cup to 48 from the previous 32, doubling those able to compete in the second round and adding 40 additional matches to the five-week competition. "}],[{"start":77,"text":"While the move drew criticism from some for making the tournament too big, it has delivered some eye-catching results on the pitch. "}],[{"start":84,"text":"Cape Verde, who entered the tournament ranked 67th in the world, qualified for the round of 32 after grinding out three draws against European champions Spain, future World Cup hosts Saudi Arabia and two-time winners Uruguay. "}],[{"start":99.6,"text":"One of the smallest countries ever to play at a World Cup, the Atlantic archipelago nation has been drawn against reigning world champions Argentina in the next round. Some of Cape Verde’s players were recruited on LinkedIn and others are currently without clubs, yet they will now square off against superstar Lionel Messi in Miami, his current home. "}],[{"start":118.55,"text":"Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout rounds, with Tunisia the sole nation from the continent that failed to make it out of the group stages."}],[{"start":127.35,"text":"Bosnia and Herzegovina, who reached this summer’s World Cup by defeating four-time world champions Italy in the play-offs earlier this year, progressed after beating Qatar 3-1 in their final group match. The Balkan side will now play the US, one of the tournament co-hosts alongside Canada and Mexico, in San Francisco on July 1."}],[{"start":149.79999999999998,"text":"Iran’s fraught World Cup came to an agonising end on Saturday night after a 96th-minute winner against Egypt was narrowly ruled out as offside. Due to the conflict with the US and Israel, the team was forced to relocate its training base from Arizona to Mexico, while several members of staff were denied US visas. "}],[{"start":169.89999999999998,"text":"Instead Egypt, who have never previously reached the knockout stage of a World Cup, will play Australia in the next round. South Africa, ranked 60th in the world at the start of the tournament, Ivory Coast and Canada also qualified for the knockouts for the first time. "}],[{"start":186.2,"text":"France, the bookmakers’ favourites, will take on Sweden, while Spain have been drawn against Austria. In two of the most exciting second-round ties, Brazil face a tough contest against Japan, while Morocco, who reached the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago, come up against the Netherlands. "}],[{"start":202.6,"text":"The victor in the match between England and DR Congo faces the daunting prospect of playing Mexico in front of almost 90,000 inside the Estadio Azteca in the third round. Mexico, who won all three group matches, must beat Ecuador first. "}],[{"start":218.75,"text":"Uruguay were the highest-rated side to be eliminated at the group stage, having started the tournament 16th in Fifa’s rankings. Turkey, who began the tournament ranked 22nd in the world, also fell at the first hurdle. Others eliminated include Haiti, Iraq and the tiny Caribbean island of Curaçao, the smallest country ever to play in a World Cup. "}],[{"start":239.95,"text":"Scotland failed to reach the next round after losing to both Brazil and Morocco. Steve Clarke, Scotland head coach, stepped down on Saturday, despite guiding the team to its first World Cup in nearly 30 years. "}],[{"start":260,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782699488_1706.mp3"}