World Cup 2026: England, USA and and Belgium through; Spain and Portugal face last-32 tests – live
Key events
Where would England be without Harry Kane? Out of the tournament is the simple answer. He will be getting into his teammates, demanding an improvement, otherwise the round of 16 could be this side’s last hoorah.
England will face Mexico at 1am BST on Monday morning. Thomas Tuchel is more of a fun uncle than responsible parent it would seem. I am not 100% sure how adults would function on little sleep, let alone the kids.
Ben Fisher
Ben Fisher had a quiet night in Seattle … not!
This time Senegal’s players did not depart the field prematurely owing to a burning sense of injustice, as they did in the Africa Cup of Nations final in January, but they did exit another knockout match aggrieved after Belgium advanced to the last 16 deep in extra time. The winning goal, a nerveless Youri Tielemans penalty which capped an extraordinary comeback from 2-0 down, came with 124 minutes and 44 seconds on the clock, cementing its place as the latest goal in World Cup history.
In the end, England were just about good enough but left no one thinking they could go all the way. Thomas Tuchel made some bold squad selections and they are starting to feel incorrect at this stage.
See what was said in Atlanta …
David Hytner’s report.
Harry ‘the shark’ Kane.
Ed Aarons on player ratings duty. The defence do not come out of it well.
Barney Ronay on Harry Kane.
Jacob Steinberg on avoiding disaster.
And the whole game in picture form. Some sad, some happy.
The Belgians will play USA after Mauricio Pochettino’s side saw off Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Alexander Abnos was on report duty.
Balogun’s sending off was somewhat controversial.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer on an up and down night for the Monaco striker.
And plenty of pics.
Preamble
What a fun night of knockout football it was. Harry Kane dragged England through on an unconvincing night for Thomas Tuchel. It was all quite pedestrian against DR Congo but when you have one of the world’s best striker’s leading the side, anything is possible. The match provided more questions than answers, and many of the former will be posed to Tuchel before facing Mexico on Sunday/Monday, depending on where you are in the world.
In the second game, Belgium were calling the concierge and asking for their bags down to be brought so they could make a quick escape from Seattle. No one saw the coming on the horizon but it was ruddy impressive, albeit heartbreaking for Senegal. The African side fell apart after outplaying their European opponents. The late late late winner was seen as controversial but it looked like a penalty to me.
USA made sure all three co-hosts made it through but will ponder the cost of Folarin Balogun’s sending off, which will make him miss out against Belgium next time around.
We will also buildup to today’s fixtures.
Spain v Austria
Portugal v Croatia
Switzerland v Algeria
