Hello and welcome to Daily Mail Sport’s World Cup Breakfast from day 21 at the tournament – your one-stop shop for everything you’ve missed overnight in North America.
For all the latest news, viral moments and what to look out for, stay right here.
OVERNIGHT ACTION
USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
The hosts are through, but not unscathed. Star man and leading scorer Folarin Balogun, who bagged his third of the World Cup in this one, was later sent off and will miss the showdown with Belgium.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side dominated Bosnia & Herzegovina and even managed to double their advantage with 10 men after Malik Tillman fired in a wonderful close-range free-kick late on.
But the mood at full-time was soured by Balogun’s red card. The seemingly accidental studs-up rake on the ankle and calf area of Tarik Muharemovic’s leg was the blot on the copybook and seemed a harsh decision that could yet have major ramifications in the last 16.
READ DAN MATTHEWS REPORT HERE
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Folarin Balogun (right) caught Tarik Muharemovic with this nasty challenge and was sent off
Belgium 3-2 Senegal (AET)
Senegal were at the centre of another late penalty controversy as Youri Tielemans converted deep into injury-time to complete an astonishing comeback by Belgium in Seattle.
The Africa Cup of Nations title is still in the hands of the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Pape Thiaw’s side walked off the pitch when they conceded a late penalty against Morocco in January but went on to win the final.
There was more drama in this round of 32 tie at the World Cup after Senegal surrendered a two-goal lead in the dying minutes of normal time and then conceded a penalty just as it looked as though the game was going to a shootout.
VAR sent referee Said Martinez to the monitor after Lamine Camara brought down Tielemans, and the Belgium captain scored his second goal of the game in the 125th minute to book a place in the last 16 against either co-hosts the USA or Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday back in Seattle.
Even as Belgium prepared to take the kick, Senegal’s Pathe Ciss collapsed on the penalty spot claiming he had been elbowed.
It was a dramatic end to an incredible game that looked set to see Belgium follow Germany and the Netherlands out of the round of 32. Three European teams that came into this World Cup in the top 10 of FIFA’s rankings gone by the First of July.
Youri Tielemans wrote his name in the headlines as Belgium beat Senegal 3-2 to book their place in the quarter-finals
A side that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, Tielemans and Leandro Trossard could have had few complaints about waving goodbye to what could be their last World Cup four years after suffering a shock group-stage exit in Qatar.
But Belgium had other ideas. After goals from Sunderland’s Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace had put Senegal in control of this game, Rudi Garcia’s side hit back twice in the space of two minutes and 38 seconds towards the end to force extra-time.
Diarra struck in the 25th minute, reacting faster than three defenders after Sarr had hit the post for the second time. Sarr scored his fourth goal of the tournament shortly after half-time, chesting down Moussa Niakhate’s throughball to crash a shot past Courtois.
But just as Belgium looked to be making an ignominious exit, Lukaku once again made an impact off the bench as he turned home from Thomas Meunier’s pass. Then goalkeeper Mory Diaw came out to claim Trossard’s hopeful cross and Tielemans headed into an empty net.
By Chris Wheeler
VIEW FROM THE GROUND
At the museum to John F Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, there’s a superb and quite devastating exhibition about the Dallas Times Herald newspaper and how it reported that day in November 1962. It explains how it was to be a reporter back then, ringing in information from the streets to a ‘rewrite’ desk. You even get to sit at a newspaper desk and pretend to ring in copy from a public call phone, like we did when I started out.
The exhibition shows the front-page headline they had set up to flow copy under, before events took their terrible course: ‘JFK takes city by storm.’ But even more achingly sad is the testimony of 29-year-old Times Herald reporter Jim Lehrer, who had the presence of mind to ask a Secret Service agent whether the ‘bubbletop’ roof of the car JFK and his wife would make the fateful trip in would be up or down that day. The agent subsequently radioed to a colleague downtown to get confirmation that the skies were clear in both their places. They were. The agent then shouted to those around the car: ‘Lose the bubbletop.’
Lehrer phoned in every note he’d made. The detail is extraordinary and it exists because newspapers employed reporters only to report. Digital news understandably dominates all reporting now – whether from World Cup or anywhere else – but the meticulous, fastidious work of Lehrer and his colleagues tells the supreme value, diminishing in plain sight, of inquiring, investigating and reporting from the field.
By Ian Herbert
An exhibition at the museum of the JFK assassination shows how the Dallas Times Herald reported on the incident back in 1963
CELEBRITY WATCH
John Terry was in the stands at Atlanta Stadium, sweating like the rest of the nervous England supporters.
The ex-Chelsea centre-back is exactly the kind of dominant, organising presence Thomas Tuchel’s side perhaps now lacks.
He was seen shaking hands and signing autographs from the posh seats and conducting some media duties prior to the game.
Terry appears to be transitioning to more television work after raging at what he called the ‘borderline offensive’ snub for the Chelsea interim job last season.
John Terry was pictured in the stands at Atlanta Stadium watching England beat DR Congo
Bonus celebrity spot: Can you identify this former Roma, Juventus and Barcelona star watching the USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina game from the stands? *Answer at the bottom!
Who is this former Roma, Juventus and Barcelona star pictured in the crowd?
VIRAL MOMENT OF THE DAY
The Brits who haven’t been hit by a major case of World Cup fever this summer have probably been wrapped up in a different sort of mania, that involving Harry Styles.
The pop icon is midway through a 12-night residency at Wembley Stadium, which has so far seen almost 500,000 fans flock to north-west London to see Styles perform his biggest hits.
Yet, earlier tonight, the worlds of pop music and football collided as the ex-One Direction star was seen celebrating wildly when Harry Kane’s winner was played on the big screen, hours before the gig started.
Videos taken by fans showing Styles’ pumped-up celebrations later racked up millions of views on social media.
Harry Styles exploded in celebration when he found out England had fought back to win
PICTURE OF THE DAY
How could our picture of the day not be of Harry Kane? England’s saviour.
Harry Kane scored twice to save England from the jaws of a potentially embarrassing defeat to DR Congo
STAT OF THE DAY
For long periods it looked as though England’s World Cup campaign was coming to an end against DR Congo, a nation ranked some 31 places below them in FIFA’s estimations.
That was until captain Harry Kane stepped up when it mattered, with two goals to seal the Three Lions’ place in the last-16 against Mexico.
The victory marked only the second time in history that England have managed to win a World Cup match after conceding the opening goal. The other occasion? A special night in July 1966 when Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick at Wembley.
A sign that football’s coming home this summer?… I wouldn’t want to speak too soon.
THREE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR TODAY
1. Ronaldo’s bid to end his World Cup knockout misery
Cristiano Ronaldo – arguably football’s most notorious ever ‘big game player’ – has never scored a goal in a World Cup knockout match. Since his debut on the biggest stage two decades ago, it’s none in eight for the Portugal icon.
Tonight, Ronaldo will be looking to put that statistic right when the Portuguese face an ageing Croatian side at Toronto’s BMO Field.
The great man has so far bagged two in three on American soil, both against Asian minnows Uzbekistan, leaving him way behind the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot.
Cristiano Ronaldo has never scored during a World Cup knockout match
2. Spain to break their duck?
Amazingly, none of the winners of the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups – Germany, Italy or Spain – have won a single knockout match since lifting the coveted trophy.
After the Germans’ crashed out embarrassingly at the hands of Paraguay on Monday, Lamine Yamal and Co will be looking to put that record right against Austria tonight.
The Spaniards head into the clash as heavy favourites and, along with Mexico, as one of only two sides yet to concede a single goal at this summer’s tournament.
3. All eyes on Switzerland’s breakout star
Few players have announced themselves on the world stage as quickly as Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi.
After being left out of the starting XI for his country’s opening two matches, the Freiburg winger scored twice off the bench against Bosnia & Herzegovina and had a hand in another to help his side win 4-1. Then, after being thrust in from the off against Canada, Manzambi made it three-in-two with low driven effort fired into the back of the net.
The 20-year-old is back in action during the early hours of tonight as the Swiss face Algeria in what is another opportunity to put his name firmly in the shop window.
Few players have announced themselves on the world stage as quickly as Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi
TODAY’S GAMES
Spain vs Austria (Los Angeles, BBC1, 8pm)
The Spaniards head into this clash – set to be played in the sweltering heat of the west coast – as clear favourites, though they face an Austrian side who are no slouches.
Ex-Man United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has made quite the difference since becoming the country’s head coach four years ago, winning 28 of his 48 matches in charge with an impressive points-per-game average of 1.98.
The Austrians finished second place in Group J – behind only Lionel Messi’s Argentina – and boast stars such as David Alaba, Konrad Laimer and former Red Devil Marcel Sabitzer in their ranks.
Barcelona winger Yamal, who’s bagged one goal so far this tournament, however didn’t mince his words while speaking to the press yesterday.
‘The group stage means nothing,’ he said. ‘The World Cup starts now’.
Prediction: Spain win
Spain will face Austria tomorrow in their Round of 32 tie – and Lamine Yamal appeared supremely confident in his pre-match press conference
Portugal vs Croatia (Toronto, BBC1, 12am)
Old friends Ronaldo and Luka Modric face off when the clock strikes midnight in arguably the most evenly matched of the tournament’s Round of 32 ties.
Despite being backed in some quarters to win the tournament, the Portuguese have been underwhelming so far and finished runners-up behind Colombia in their group.
Roberto Martinez’s side have failed to score in two of their three matches, with their only goals coming in the Ronaldo-inspired 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan in Houston.
After showing fight in their opening day 4-2 loss to England, Croatia have meanwhile been quietly impressive. Modric and Co won both of their remaining group stage matches to finish just one point adrift of the Three Lions in second place.
Prediction: Croatia win on penalties
Switzerland vs Algeria (Vancouver, BBC1, 4am)
In what will almost certainly be one of 35-year-old Riyad Mahrez’s last hoorahs on the biggest stage, Algeria play Switzerland during the early hours of tonight in Vancouver.
The Algerians scraped through their group in third place thanks to a dramatic 3-3 draw with the aforementioned Austria on matchday three. Mahrez found his goalscoring boots that night in Kansas City, netting twice thanks to assists from the country’s other star, Houssem Aouar.
But the Algerians face an in-form Switzerland side, led by the experienced Granit Xhaka, who topped Group B and are unbeaten so far in North America.
It’s hard not to fancy the Swiss for this one.
Prediction: Switzerland win
* Miralem Pjanic – former Bosnia & Herzegovina star was the man in the stands
