World Cup ban? Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and England duo at risk of suspension

World Cup ban? Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and England duo at risk of suspension

Yellow cards have been a talking point ahead of England v Belgium, with the teams separated at the top of Group G by disciplinary points – but there is a risk of suspensions for both teams in the last 16, too.

Players at the 2018 World Cup will be banned for one match if they pick up two yellow cards before the quarter-final stage.

England currently have one of the best fair-play records at the tournament, with just two players booked so far.

World Cup ban? Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and England duo at risk of suspension

However, that does mean that should Kyle Walker, who was shown a yellow against Tunisia, or Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who had his name taken against Panama, be booked against Belgium, they will be unavailable for England’s first knockout game.

Belgium have had three players booked, with Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Meunier and Kevin De Bruyne at risk of suspension – although boss Roberto Martinez says he may rest those players to protect them from a ban.

World Cup ban? Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and England duo at risk of suspension

Remember, should England and Belgium draw, but England pick up two more bookings than Belgium, the teams will swap places at the top of the standings in Group G.

When are bookings wiped?

Bookings will be scrubbed from players’ records after the quarter-final stage, meaning no one will go into the semi-final fearing a yellow could end their hopes of appearing in a World Cup final.

Who else could be suspended?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are on a collision course for a quarter-final showdown, should Argentina beat France and Portugal beat Uruguay – but imagine if both men were stuck on the sidelines?

World Cup ban? Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and England duo at risk of suspension

It could happen – Messi was booked late on for time wasting against Nigeria in Argentina’s final group game, while Ronaldo saw yellow – and was perhaps fortunate not to be shown a red – for throwing his arm at his marker against Iran.

Brazil pair Neymar and Philippe Coutinho, and France’s Paul Pogba are other high-profile players one mis-timed tackle away from missing a vital match for their sides.

Who is one booking away from a ban?

Player Country Number of bookings
Marcos Acuna Argentina 1
Ever Banega Argentina 1
Javier Mascherano Argentina 1
Gabriel Mercado Argentina 1
Nicolas Otamendi Argentina 1
Lionel Messi Argentina 1
Kevin De Bruyne Belgium 1
Thomas Meunier Belgium 1
Jan Vertonghen Belgium 1
Casemiro Brazil 1
Philippe Coutinho Brazil 1
Neymar Brazil 1
Wilmar Barrios Colombia 1
James Rodriguez Colombia 1
Carlos Sanchez Colombia 1
Marcelo Brozovic Croatia 1
Vedran Corluka Croatia 1
Tin Jedvaj Croatia 1
Mario Mandzukic Croatia 1
Marko Pjaca Croatia 1
Ivan Rakitic Croatia 1
Ante Rebic Croatia 1
Sime Vrsaljko Croatia 1
Thomas Delaney Denmark 1
Mathias Jorgensen Denmark 1
Pione Sisto Denmark 1
Blaise Matuidi France 1
Paul Pogba France 1
Corentin Tolisso France 1
Makoto Hasebe Japan 1
Takashi Inui Japan 1
Eiji Kawashima Japan 1
Ruben Loftus-Cheek England 1
Kyle Walker England 1
Jesus Gallardo Mexico 1
Hector Herrera Mexico 1
Miguel Layun Mexico 1
Bruno Fernandes Portugal 1
Raphael Guerreiro Portugal 1
Cedric Soares Portugal 1
Ricardo Quaresma Portugal 1
Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal 1
Adrien Silva Portugal 1
Yury Gazinsky Russia 1
Aleksandr Golovin Russia 1
Igor Smolnikov Russia 1
Fyodor Smolov Russia 1
Idrissa Gueye Senegal 1
Cheikh N’Doye Senegal 1
M’Baye Niang Senegal 1
Youssouf Sabaly Senegal 1
Salif Sane Senegal 1
Sergio Busquets Spain 1
Viktor Claesson Sweden 1
Albin Ekdal Sweden 1
Mikael Lustig Sweden 1
Valon Behrami Switzerland 1
Stephan Lichtsteiner Switzerland 1
Fabian Schar Switzerland 1
Xherdan Shaqiri Switzerland 1
Rodrigo Bentancur Uruguay 1

Sourse: skysports.com

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