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Netherlands and Argentina in last-16
After some desperate second half defending the Netherlands beat the Ivory Coast 2-1 to make the last-16 Friday while Group C maths means the Argentines, who beat Serbia and Montenegro 6-0 earlier, also go to the second round, leaving the Serbs and the Africans the victims of this so called 'Group of Death'.
In the final match of the day, minnows Angola caused a massive surprise when they held Mexico to a 0-0 draw in Hanover.
The unfancied African nation had their man of match goalkeeper Joao Ricardo to thank as he thwarted wave after wave of Mexican attacks.
For Holland, Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie got the match underway with a thundering free-kick after 23 minutes after he himself had been brought down on the edge of the area. While troubled Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy silenced his critics with a slick strike four minutes later to double the tally.
But from then on in the Africans had the lion's share of the attacks and Bakary Kone gave them a life-line before the break with a thundering strike in the 38th minute.
But a lack of calm as the minutes ticked away, especially in front of goal, robbed the Ivorians of a deseved equaliser in what was a thrilling, albeit for them fruitless encounter.
Argentina hit Serbs for six
In the earlier Group C match a master-class in quick-fire short passing Argentina simply blew away Serbia and Montenegro 6-0.
A Maxi Rodriguez double and the goal of the tournament so far finished by Estaban Cambiasso made it 3-0 at the break, while Hernan Crespo, Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi eventually doubled the tally to 6-0.
This was really some going as the Serbs conceded just a single goal in qualifying.
The world has been warned, Argentina are on fire.
There was a huge roar when with ten minutes to go teenage sensation Lionel Messi made his appearance, Diego Maradona in the stands screaming with joy and approval, and within seconds he raced down the left and made an inch perfect pass for Crespo to stab home the fourth.
The 18-year-old Barcelona starlet was soon on the scorecard himself exploding down the right to slot in the sixth after 88 minutes from a Juan Roman Riquelme pass.
Testament to the Argentine depth, man-of-the-match Javier Saviola was replaced by 22-year-old three-time Latin American player of the year Carlos Tevez, who smashed his way through the Serb defence to crash home the fifth goal in the 84th.
There was a solid performance by playmaker Riquelme too, but this was overshadowed by the sheer pace, exuberance and style of the all-round team performance, which put on the show of the tournament so far.
On Saturday, Portugal face Iran in the second Group D matchup while the USA must get points against Italy to keep their hopes alive while the Czech Republic tackle Ghana.