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.
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.
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?
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 |
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