Even when the Danes were running out of time for a win, a late goal for the Scandinavians would have eliminated the Socceroos, with Tunisia progressing.
If that was special, then the four-way battle in Group C topped that, as Poland walked the tightrope against Argentina, with Mexico and Saudi Arabia also in contention.
The range of permutations were staggering - at one stage the sixth possible tiebreaker was being used to separate Poland and Mexico – and the fans were faced with the ‘can’t look, can’t look away’ scenario.
And then came Friday. The entrée was dramatic enough, as 2018 semifinalists Belgium were eliminated, while Morocco topped Group F.
But the scenes in Group E were something else, befitting of a Hollywood script.
Early goals to Spain and Germany meant the European heavyweights were going through as expected, before everything flipped.
First Japan came back – to have the Germans teetering – before Costa Rica took the lead, which meant that Spain would be flying home.
It was crazy. Germany then got back in contention and a late Spanish goal would have knocked Japan out on goal difference. Sensational stuff, the kind of gripping scenes most other global sporting events can only dream about.
Fifa has been blessed with the perfect format – but they are about to throw it away, abandoning the classic four-team groups that have been part of every World Cup since 1954.
Instead, the expanded 48-team tournament in 2026 will have 16 groups of three, with the top two progressing to the knockout stages.
The decision to add 16 more nations is debatable – no one will be excited about a cohort of teams on Qatar’s level – but understandable, given the ongoing growth of the sport, the desire to open up more opportunities at the top table (China, anybody?) and Fifa’s rapacious need to find more revenue streams.
But three-team groups? That’s bonkers. Forget about intrigue and drama, it’s likely to be a procession.
It will likely be the end of any final day drama – certainly not on the scale we have witnessed in Qatar – with only two teams in action.
It could also lead to collusion – remember the infamous ‘Anschluss’ of 1982 – or at the least unfair scenarios for one of the teams.
It’s all so unnecessary, as 12 groups of four would be an imperfect but significantly superior solution.
Fifa’s main justification for their radical plan is time, with the extra knockout stage (round of 32) meaning match days have to be saved somewhere else, given the various demands on the calendar.
But that doesn’t stack up.
Fifa made all kinds of changes to accommodate this mid-season edition in Qatar, so tacking on a extra week or two to their quadrennial event is surely possible.
The group stage is, without fail, the best part of a World Cup.
It’s full of colour – with all the fans in attendance - and the football is more open that the knockout rounds, where the stakes get higher.
But most of all, there is genuine jeopardy and a sense of the unexpected which translates to the best possible sporting theatre.
Tinkering with a classic formula has never worked – just ask Coca Cola or Ford – and the evidence of the past few days has accentuated that fear.
