Despite Belgium\u2019s protests, Balogun was allowed to play. In the end, FIFA\u2019s unprecedented decision motivated the visitors in ways few could\u2019ve expected.<\/p>\n
Here are the takeaways from Monday\u2019s Round of 16 action.<\/p>\n
The United States, and their suspended striker Balogun, had captivated a nation on their way to the Round of 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the Red Devils ranked eighth in the world, the feeling was this was a winnable match. Even without Balogun and down a man, they managed to add to their lead against Bosnia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then it all\u00a0unraveled. Balogun being allowed to play did not rally the\u00a0Americans but instead galvanized a Belgian side that few picked to make a deep run at this World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
U.S. coach Mauricio\u00a0Pochettino watched as his team was picked apart by Charles De Ketelaere, Leondro\u00a0Trossard\u00a0and Timothy Castagne from minute one onward. A lifeline via Malik Tillman\u2019s deflected free kick equalizer was thrown away two minutes later thanks to more abject defending.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matt Freese\u2019s catastrophic error to make it 3-1 Belgium was the cruel crescendo, and Romelu Lukaku\u2019s fourth a final kick in the stomach. For\u00a0all of\u00a0the talk regarding this being the moment for the Americans to make a statement against major European opposition, we\u00a0instead saw one of the worst performances by any team at this World Cup. Ready to meet the moment? Not even close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tip your cap to Belgium. It\u2019ll provide problems for Spain in the next round with its organization and\u00a0game breaking\u00a0ability on the wings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t pretty, but does it need to be?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a\u00a0question neutrals\u00a0are asking themselves\u00a0watching\u00a0this version of Spain, the only team yet to concede a goal in the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manager Luis de la Fuente\u2019s assessment of the stakes following the match, calling it a potential World Cup final, albeit in the Round of 16, suggested this was always going to be a cagey encounter with few big chances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Substitute Mikel Merino\u2019s silky finish just after 90 minutes had been played ensured Spain wouldn\u2019t waste its best look on goal all day. A glancing Bernardo Silva header over the bar a few moments later in the dying embers of the match would be Portugal\u2019s best opportunity. That alone was telling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unbeaten in 15 matches, Spain has been a\u00a0well-oiled\u00a0machine defensively and show little signs of faltering. Its lack of prowess in front of goal, as shown early on against Cabo Verde, may just be a comical feature of a\u00a0really good\u00a0side that could be lifting the trophy at New York New Jersey Stadium in a couple of weeks thanks to a\u00a0rock-solid\u00a0spine led by Unai Simon, Pau\u00a0Cubarsi, Pedri and Rodri.<\/p>\n
After a few fairytale days in Toronto, reality hit Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates hard in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The loss of fullback Nuno Mendes to injury in the 56th minute may have been the beginning of the end, as the defender had done well to clamp up Lamine Yamal. But Portugal\u00a0was bereft of ideas going forward. Benching Rafael Leao after his virtuoso performance against Croatia is one of many decisions made by departing manager Roberto Martinez that will be\u00a0hyper analyzed\u00a0in the aftermath of this disappointing exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The biggest one, obviously, was the decision to keep starting Ronaldo. Against stronger opposition like Spain, the 41-year-old striker found space and chances harder to come by. It\u2019s also fair to say the top talent around him didn\u2019t have great tournaments themselves. Bruno Fernandes,\u00a0Vitinha\u00a0and Joao Neves performed below the standards they set this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That unfortunate combination is why Portugal and its icon are going home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCR7\u201d walks off the World Cup stage for the final time.<\/p>\n
![\"Cristiano](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-design-2026-07-06T151751.385.jpg\")
Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after Portugal lost a Round of 16 match against Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas on Monday, July 6, 2026. (Sam Hodde\/AP)<\/p>\n
“Mikel Merino never lets you down. He’s a sure thing. He won us the Euros. He’s a huge player \u2014 one of the best in the world in his position. We’re lucky to have players on the bench who would be starters in any other national team. The important thing is the attitude when they come on, and in the\u00a0day to day. All I ask is for people to be fair in their recognition. Mikel Merino is a player with exceptional\u00a0performance,\u00a0he’s a player who is always where he needs to be.”<\/p>\n
They say\u00a0defence\u00a0wins championships. This is also the first time Spain is in the World Cup quarterfinals since 2010, when it won it all.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Charles De Ketelaere (Belgium): The\u00a0former Belgian\u00a0boy wonder delivered at the perfect time. The 25-year-old forward\u2019s tantalizing ability secured him a move to Italian giants AC Milan four years\u00a0ago\u00a0but it\u2019s been stop-start since then. Questions regarding\u00a0workrate\u00a0and intensity have plagued CDK but not today. A two-goal, one-assist, pressing masterclass has put Belgium in the last eight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0Mikel Merino (Spain): What an impact by a player that\u2019s reinvented himself from midfielder into\u00a0bagsman\u00a0with a knack for huge, late goals. A foot injury suffered in January nearly derailed the Arsenal man\u2019s World Cup dream.\u00a0Surely\u00a0he\u00a0visualised\u00a0a moment like today\u2019s winner during the hard yards of rehab.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0Leandro\u00a0Trossard\u00a0(Belgium): He\u2019s still got it.\u00a0Trossard\u00a0showed why manager Rudi Garcia is right to trust him with such a fluid role, as the 31-year-old drifted into space and terrorized opposing defenders at will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The final host has left the party.\u00a0 Belgium outclassed its opponents from the opening whistle, emphatically dispatching the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-785447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}