Updated at\u00a016.28 EDT<\/p>\n
GOAL! Belgium 0-1 Senegal (Diarra 25)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been coming, and here it is.<\/p>\n
Habib Diarra scores for Senegal! Photograph: Emilee Chinn\/Getty Images Photograph: Alex Grimm\/Getty ImagesHabib Diarra celebrates scoring their first goal Photograph: Agust\u00edn Marcarian\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.29 EDT<\/p>\n 23 min Pape Gueye deftly makes some space on the edge of the area but then overhits his cross. Right now Senegal are the better team.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 21 min \u201cSparklehorse Schmarkelhorse,\u201d writes Kimberley Thonger. \u201cRob I think it\u2019s pretty obvious that the most overlooked song for national football anthem is Wire\u2019s Outdoor Miner<\/p>\n \u201cFootball players ply their trade outdoors. They mine goals. It\u2019s an easy tune to sing. And the lyrics are so wonderfully surreal, they can be applied to virtually any circumstance in which the England team, especially this one, finds itself.<\/p>\n double quotation markNo blind spots in the leopard\u2019s eyes An outdoor life for a silverfish He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? Face worker, a serpentine miner He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? (he lies on his side) He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? (he lies on his side) He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? (he lies on his side) It\u2019s a fine song, but I\u2019d like it more if it wasn\u2019t an obvious Elastica rip-off.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.25 EDT<\/p>\n 19 min Senegal are slowly taking control of this game. Diatta wins the first corner, though nothing comes of it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 18 min Diatta\u2019s cross is headed away by Castagne, straining every sinew. Idrissa Gueye runs onto the loose ball and rakes a half-volley that is comfortably held by Courtois.<\/p>\n Belgium go straight down the other end and De Bruyne endangers low-flying aircraft from 25 yards.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 min \u201cSeattle is famously much further north than the majority of Canada\u2019s population,\u201d says Andrew Goudie. \u201cAnd to travel to Canada from Detroit, you should go south. These are two of my favourite geography facts.\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019re also two of mine, as of about 30 seconds ago.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.18 EDT<\/p>\n 13 min: Sarr hits the post!<\/p>\n Eek, how did that stay out? Jakobs bursts down the left and clips a fabulous cross towards Ismaila Sarr at the far post. The diving Courtois gets a slight touch on the ball and Sarr, despite reacting pretty smartly, can only drag the ball against the right-hand post. He has another go at the rebound, while lying on the ground, and puts it into the side netting.<\/p>\n That was some cross from Jakobs, almost perfect.<\/p>\n Ismaila Sarr is so close to the opening goal for Senegal. Photograph: Lee Smith\/Reuters Photograph: Maddy Grassy\/AP Photograph: Agust\u00edn Marcarian\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.19 EDT<\/p>\n 11 min This is a really fun game. Iliman Ndiaye receives Diarra\u2019s pass on the right and hits a brilliant cross that is crying out for the Keith Houchen treatment<\/a>. Alas for Senegal, there\u2019s nobody in there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 min Trossard screws a shot from the edge of the area that is comfortably held by Diaw. Moments before that, De Ketelaere used the overlapping Castagne by not using him but then dithered for a split-second and was well challenged.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min Trossard gets away on the right and drives a cutback that is also cut out. Belgium\u2019s contrasting wide forwards, Doku and Trossard, are such an important part of their team.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.07 EDT<\/p>\n 4 min \u201cI agree with Simon McMahon about the match timings,\u201d writes Andy Gordon, \u201cand trying to figure out the conversion into Central European Time whilst on holiday meant I was sitting on my own in a restaurant with a TV two hours before the England kick off this afternoon. France and Pixies for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min Doku zips into the area from the left and slides a low cross that is cut out. Both sides have started brightly.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Peep peep! Belgium<\/a> kick off from left to right as we watch. This could be a cracker.<\/p>\n Away we go in Seattle. Photograph: Agust\u00edn Marcarian\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.08 EDT<\/p>\n A reminder of the teams, who are entering the field as I type<\/p>\n Belgium (poss 4-2-3-1) Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Vanaken; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere.<\/p>\n Subs: Lammens, Penders, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Ngoy, Witsel, Moreira, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Onana, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo.<\/p>\n Senegal (poss 4-3-3) Diaw; Diatta, Ciss, Niakhate, Jacobs; Diarra, I Gueye, P Gueye; I Ndiaye, I Sarr, Mane.<\/p>\n Subs: Diouf, M Sarr, Koulibaly, Seck, Mendy, Malick Diouf, Camara, P Sarr, B Ndiaye, Diao, Dieng, Jackson, C Ndiaye, Mbaye.<\/p>\n Referee Said Martinez (Honduras).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m going to come right out and say that I\u2019ve never heard of Sparklehorse,\u201d says Charles Antaki. \u201cThere; that\u2019s me disqualified as an aging hipster, or a hipster of any variety. So I looked them up, and there\u2019s a couple of videos online which feature faux-naif montages (at least I assume they are faux), one of them unfortunately featuring many shots of a man in clown make-up wearing a Stetson. Anyway: the music is rather beguiling, in a rather melancholy way. Good for the calm-down after the England excitement and associated hoo-hah.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re calling me a hipster, Charles, your vocabulary is nowhere near as precise as I thought. As for Sparklehorse, there\u2019s a discordant beauty to his music that I adore. Not to everyone\u2019s taste though.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The route to glory for Belgium<\/a> and Senegal<\/p>\n Last 16 USA\/Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/p>\n Quarter-final Spain\/Austria\/Portugal\/Croatia<\/p>\n Semi-final Paraguay\/France\/Canada\/Morocco<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Blimey department<\/p>\n In the parlance of our time, Tottenham are not messing around this summer.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.41 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cEvening Rob,\u201d says Simon McMahon. \u201cNot sure what to make of this extended World Cup<\/a> so far. Been some good games, and performances, but the UK timings have made it difficult for me to feel fully involved. Except when Scotland beat Haiti at 4am and the bottom of my whisky bottle told me we were going to bring it home. Glad to see African teams doing well, and the host countries, but it\u2019s France\u2019s to lose, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n I still think Spain will win it, but I also think Sparklehorse are the greatest band of all time and I doubt that opinion would find favour down the local.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.37 EDT<\/p>\n Thomas Tuchel\u2019s mission to put a second World Cup<\/a> star on the England shirt did not look as though it would reach the second knockout round. On a fraught and chaotic occasion in Atlanta, his team flirted aggressively with disaster. For 75 minutes, England mixed loose defending with an inability to take their chances. Which were plentiful. The Democratic Republic of the Congo goalkeeper, Lionel Mpasi, had the game of his life. Who needs Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n It was easy for England\u2019s long-suffering fans to feel their minds being taken to dark places. Iceland 2016, anyone? They had only ever lost once to an African team \u2013 to Senegal in a friendly in June of last year. The DRC, who have brought the romance to this tournament, a team to unite a war-torn nation, led through Brian Cipenga\u2019s seventh-minute goal. They were primed to do something utterly extraordinary.<\/p>\n At which point Harry Kane decided that enough was enough. The England captain was not ready to go home, to be buried under an avalanche of awful headlines. He kept the faith. If he could get another chance, he told himself he would take it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Team news<\/p>\n Belgium stick the team that thrashed New Zealand 5-1. Senegal make three changes from their 5-0 win over Iraq. Pathe Ciss, Iliman Ndiaye and Pape Gueye replace Abdoulaye Seck, Ibrahim Mbaye and Lamine Camara<\/p>\n Belgium (poss 4-2-3-1) Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Vanaken; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere.<\/p>\n Subs: Lammens, Penders, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Ngoy, Witsel, Moreira, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Onana, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo.<\/p>\n Senegal (poss 4-3-3) Diaw; Diatta, Ciss, Niakhate, Jacobs; Diarra, I Gueye, P Gueye; I Ndiaye, I Sarr, Mane.<\/p>\n Subs: Diouf, M Sarr, Koulibaly, Seck, Mendy, Malick Diouf, Camara, P Sarr, B Ndiaye, Diao, Dieng, Jackson, C Ndiaye, Mbaye.<\/p>\n Referee Said Martinez (Honduras).<\/p>\n Iliman Ndiaye<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.09 EDT<\/p>\n We can all agree the Geopolitics World Cup<\/a> has gone on far too long, so Football Daily is pleased to announce it is over. It monopolises everyone\u2019s time, changes sleeping, eating and drinking patterns, leaving everyone tired and poorer. No one wants to stay up for further 2am BST kick-offs or attempt to watch a couple of games a day. Frankly, the process has been completely futile since the first ball was kicked. France have won the tournament; no one can compete with their arousing front four who are, frankly, better than anything else on the planet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n This is the first game of day 21 at the World Cup, with USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina to follow. Ach, who am I kidding.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Belgium had just beaten New Zealand 5-1<\/a> to secure top spot in Group G and, at least in theory, an easier last-32 draw, but Rudi Garcia was evidently irked. In response to the first question in a curt post-match press conference, he adjusted the microphone to ensure his point was heard.<\/p>\n \u201cI really didn\u2019t appreciate them being called has-beens,\u201d he said, alluding to an article in La Libre, a French-language Belgian newspaper, that compared Kevin De Bruyne to a washed-up Hollywood actor after a flat display against Iran<\/a> in their previous match in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a nation has players of that calibre, you support them,\u201d Garcia added, praising the performances of his \u201cfour leaders\u201d in De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Leandro Trossard, who scored twice against New Zealand; Trossard\u2019s opener represented the first goal Belgium scored themselves at the tournament (after an own goal against Egypt<\/a>) at the 45th attempt after more than 200 minutes of labouring.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to live coverage of Belgium<\/a> v Senegal in Seattle. In its own quiet way, this is one of the more intriguing games in the last 32, largely because it involves two teams whose level isn\u2019t entirely clear.<\/p>\n Belgium, 10th in the world rankings, have endured a painfully slow comedown since their Golden Generation reached the semi-final in 2018, but any team that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Youri Tielemans, Thibaut Courtois nd Leandro Trossard is surely worth a damn.<\/p>\n Senegal (18th) were one of the hipster picks going into the World Cup. They\u2019re unofficial champions of Africa<\/a> and beat England handsomely in Nottingham a year ago. But they were drawn in a very tough group and lost to France and Norway before walloping Iraq to progress as one of the best third-place teams.<\/p>\n The United States or Bosnia and Herzegovina await in the last 16. Right here, right now, all four teams will fancy their chances of making the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n Kick off 1pm local\/4pm EDT\/9pm BST\/6am AEST<\/p>\n
Can only help to jeopardize
The lives of lambs, the shepherd cries<\/p>\n
Eternal dust less ticklish
Than the clean room, a houseguest\u2019s wish<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth<\/p>\n
A roof falls, an under-liner
Of leaf structure, the egg timer<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth (is he trying to hide?)<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth (is he trying to hide?)<\/p>\n
In fact it\u2019s the earth, which he\u2019s known since birth (is he trying to hide?)<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/David_Hytner,_L.png\")
David Hytner<\/p>\n![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Will_Unwin.png\")
Will Unwin<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ben_Fisher.png\")
Ben Fisher<\/p>\n