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≡ FIFA WORLD CUP ≡
The round-of-32 matches continued with intense drama; going into Wednesday, five of the seven elimination matches had been decided by one goal or on penalties. That trend continued:
● England 2, Dem. Rep. Congo 1 ● This match in Atlanta went into shock almost immediately, as D.R. Congo striker Brian Cipenga scored on a seeing-eye shot in the seventh minute. He took a cross from right to left from defender Cancel Mbemba, almost to the back post and he punched it past England keeper Jordan Pickford.
England could not solve the energetic D.R. Congo defense and even with 54% possession at the break, the Leopards had the only shot in the game. But the English pressure continued to build. Midfielder Jude Bellingham’s header in the 30th was saved by DRC keeper Lionel Mpasi. A try from forward Marcus Rashford was deflected away in the 37th.
It was almost 2-0 in the 42nd, as defender Aron Wan-Bissaka sent a looping pass from right to left for DRC striker Yoanne Wissa, who hit the post with his shot. Almost immediately after, England striker Harry Kane went down in the box in a collision with Mpasi, but no foul was called. Finally, another Bellingham blast at 45+2 was saved with an Mpasi body block as the half ended. England had 59% possession and was 8-3 on shot and was down 1-0.
The second half saw even more pressure from the English, but still no goals through the hydro break, despite 60% possession and 10-5 on shots; the Leopards were mostly on the counterattack now.
England brought on three subs by the 70th, and forward Anthony Gordon helped right away, as Kane finally scored for the 1-1 tie in the 75th on a header in the center of the box from Gordon’s left-side cross.
Both sides were looking for the winner now, and off a Leopards attack, England got a fast break going in the 86th. A Bellingham shot was saved and came back out to Gordon, who passed to his right to Kane at the top of the box. Kane did the rest, rolling right and slamming the ball into the top of the net for the 2-1 lead, his fifth goal of the tournament.
England held on and won, with 60% possession and 16-7 on shots. And they had Kane. Their “reward” is to go to the Azteca and face Mexico.
● Belgium 3, Senegal 2 (extra time) ● Which Belgian team would show up in Seattle, after a 1-0-2 group performance? Senegal (1-2) was on the hunt right away and had possession, with a close miss in the 13th as a cross was tipped by Belgian keeper Thibaut Cortois and a follow-up by striker Ismaila Sarr hit the right post!
And Senegal kept the pressure on and took a 1-0 lead in the 25th off a cross from striker Sadio Mane that turned into a header from Sarr that hit the post, but came back to midfielder Habib Diarra, who tapped in it. That led to the hydro break, with Senegal at 65% possession and 5-2 on shots, followed by three fans running onto the field, who had to be removed.
Belgium did better after the break, but could not break down the Senegal defense and the half ended 1-0. Possession was now even with Senegal at 7-5 on shots.
And Senegal kept pressing in the second half and got to 2-0 in the 51st, with a long pass by defender Moussa Niakhate to Sarr running beyond the defense, bringing it down and then smashing the ball into the net. At the hydro break, Belgian possession was up to 55%, but with Senegal still up, 11-9, on shots.
Belgium kept looking for an opening and finally found one in the 86th, as a cross from the right endline by defender Thomas Meunier found striker Romelu Lukaku in front and he sent a right-footed flick over the keeper and into the top of the Senegal net for 2-1.
Belgium kept pressing and stunningly, in the 89th, found the equalizer on a wild scramble in front of the Senegal goal, with a cross by striker Leandro Trossard from the left side – above the box – to the front of goal that was headed by midfielder Youri Tielemans into the goal as keeper Mory Diaw missed a punch. Wow: 2-2.
All that desperation flipped the 90-minute statistics, as Belgium finished regulation with 53% possession and a 16-13 shots edge. Belgium offered the most pressure during the first extra period, but no scoring. Belgium remained at 53% possession and 18-13 on shots.
In the second period, Senegal forward Ibrahim Mbaye missed a shot at the far side of the Belgium net in the 108th. In the 118th, Belgium forward Dodi Lukebacio had a golden opportunity on a deflected cross from the left side from forward Diego Moreira, but he hammered it off the crossbar. On a video review, a foul on Tielemans in front of goal by Senegal defender Lamine Camara in front of the goal was determined to be a penalty.
Tielemans took the penalty at 120+5 and scored, and was immediately dogpiled in the corner of the field, for the 3-2 lead. At 120+11, Senegal took a free kick from just above the box, but midfielder Pape Matar Sarr’s kick was over the bar. Over; Belgium ended with 52% of the ball and shots were 19-19. Incredible.
● U.S. 2, Bosnia & Herzegovina 0 ● The U.S. was playing in front of a home crowd in Santa Clara and controlled possession from the start. But the best early goal chance was a corner from B&H in the 11th that looked like it was curling into the net (!), but was punched away from U.S. keeper Matt Freese.
By the hydro break, the U.S. had 78% possession and was 2-1 on shots. American striker Folarin Balogun was busy, getting tripped by defender Amar Dedic in the box in the 29th, but nothing was called (including after a video review) and Balogun scored in the 31st on a left-footed blast from the middle of the box off a Weston McKennie feed, but it was waived off for offsides.
A loose ball in the 45th turned into a goal, as a loose ball in the midfield ended up at the feet of midfielder Tyler Adams, who passed to midfielder Malik Tillman. He turned and sent a through-ball into the box for Balogun, which he collected after a deflection by a defender, turned and then popped between two defenders and popped the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
A flurry of American activity in stoppage time ended with Balogun popping another shot toward the net, but it hit the crossbar and dropped over at 45+7. Close, but the U.S. ended the half at 62% possession and 5-1 on shots.
The U.S. started with energy in the second half, but play was physical and ragged. On a play for the ball in the 63rd in the U.S. zone, Balogun stepped on the right foot of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic and was called for a red card, bringing the U.S. down to 10 men. The hydro break came in the 69th, with 55% of the ball for the U.S., but just 5-4 on shots (0-3 in the half).
B&H took possession, but the U.S. was aggressive with some time in the Bosnian zone, and picking up with a high line instead of sitting back. Pulisic actually scored on a loose ball in the 69th, off a shot from Tillman, but the play was called offsides.
Then after a foul gave the U.S. a free kick just above the box, Tillman sent a spectacular curling shot into the goal in the 82nd for the 2-0 lead as the crowd erupted.
The U.S. was now more packed in in front of its goal on defense, and it was a bit chaotic, and there was 10 minutes of stoppage time declared. But the American attacked actually produced a shot by defender Alex Freeman after 90+4, but two follow-up shots by midfielder Amar Memic from distance went just wide of Freese.
It ended 2-0, with the U.S. at 48% possession thanks to the red card, and B&H had a 10-8 shots edge. Next is Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
All three host country teams won their round-of-32 games!
≡ PANORAMA ≡
The round-of-32 matches will continue through Friday:
Thursday, 2 July:
● Spain vs. Austria ● In Inglewood (3 p.m. Eastern)
● Portugal vs. Croatia ● In Toronto (7 p.m. Eastern)
● Switzerland vs. Algeria ● In Vancouver (11 p.m. Eastern)
Friday, 3 July:
● Australia vs. Egypt ● In Arlington (2 p.m. Eastern)
● Argentina vs. Cape Verde ● In Miami Gardens (6 p.m. Eastern)
● Colombia vs. Ghana ● In Kansas City (9:30 p.m. Eastern)
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Fascinating ratings data for U.S. viewership of the World Cup, with Fox’s English-language coverage averaging 5.05 million, including the pre-match coverage, and Telemundo averaging 4.6 million (with Peacock) in Spanish.
That’s way up from the 4.71 million for Fox and Telemundo (+ Peacock) combined for the Qatar 2022 tournament.
The U.S. team drove the Fox ratings, with average audiences of 18.04, 16.22 and 17.02 million viewers (17.09 million average) for their three matches; Telemundo’s U.S. coverage average was 7.1 million per match for a 24.12 million combined average!
Mexico’s matches on Telemundo and Peacock averaged 12.1 million each.
The World Cup English-language average of 5.05 million compares with the 2026 NBA Playoffs which averaged 6.35 million across ESPN-ABC, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video. Close behind was the 2025 MLB post-season, which averaged 6.33 million viewers on U.S. television platforms.
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