Quite the big day in the World Cup today. We got to see England take on a surprising DR Congo team, two even sides in Belgium and Senegal, and of course the United States vs Bosnia to round things out. There was drama in all three games. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on how it all went down:

England 2-1 DR Congo

This World Cup continues to deliver.  England were the massive favorites heading into this one but it ended up being far from straightforward.  DR Congo showed no fear from kickoff and stood toe to toe with England.  They were rewarded for their approach in the 7th minute when winger Brian Cipenga was completely unmarked on the left side of the box and he buried his shot past Jordan Pickford at the near post.  England started to ramp up the pressure after the first half hour and would have scored were it not for DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi having the game of his life.  They nearly went 2-0 down when Yoane Wissa somehow hit the post from close range late in the half.  Immediately after the near miss, Harry Kane was sent through on goal on the other end and an onrushing Mpasi looked to have taken him out.  A penalty was somewhat controversially not awarded and we went to half with DR Congo up 1-0 after another couple of brilliant saves from Mpasi for good measure.

England would continue to be frustrated in the second half but would eventually get the equalizer in the 75th minute.  Anthony Gordon chipped a cross to Kane who nodded it past Mpasi.  For all of the brilliant saves Mpasi made, this was one that it felt like he should have done better with.  Kane would come through again 11 minutes later to rescue England, as he regularly does.  He took a few touches around a couple defenders and rifled a shot that no goalkeeper in the world would have saved.  Survive and advance.

I had this down as a 2-0 England win with DR Congo playing defensively and England eventually breaking them down.  I didn’t expect DR Congo to go at England the way that they did or that they’d get a goal.  As much as I’m sure they wouldn’t want to hear it, this was a successful tournament for them.  They drew Portugal, lost late to Colombia and got their first ever win in the competition over Uzbekistan before giving England all they could handle today.  Definitely something to hold your head high for.

England have been underwhelming so far this tournament given their high expectations.  They’ve relied on superstars Kane and Bellingham to carry them through to this point.  I need to see more out of them going forward.  With Mexico at the Azteca coming up next, England will need to massively improve.

Belgium 3-2 Senegal

Heading into this one I felt that it would be a great game. We ended up getting one but not exactly in the way I expected. Senegal were the better team from the start and should have gone ahead in the 14th minute when Ismaila Sarr hit the post. Even though I have my gripes with xG, the stat is useful in some instances so I can tell you that Sarr’s chance was a 0.91xG chance. You have to score those. Senegal were not discouraged though and they got their goal in the 24th when Habib Diarra scored from the rebound of a Sarr header that hit the post.

Senegal would continue to be on top in the second half and got a second goal just six minutes after the break. Sarr brilliantly took down a long ball from Moussa Niakhate and hit a half-volley past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. It looked like Senegal were well on their way to a comfortable win. Belgium didn’t seem to have any answers. But in the 86th minute, they would pull one back. Romelu Lukaku put away a cross from Thomas Meunier at the near post. Meunier had only been on the field around 8 minutes when he got the assist. Just three minutes later, Youri Tielemans got on the end of a cross from Leandro Trossard and got enough contact with the back of his head to put it into the back of the net. Senegal were stunned.

Belgium took the momentum into the extra time and looked like the more likely team to score. It was just into stoppage time of the second half of extra time when Tielemans went down in the box. After a long VAR review, a penalty was eventually awarded. There was some question about who was going to step up, but it was the captain Tielemans who went to take it and he buried it confidently. Due to the long delay, the game would go past 130 minutes but Belgium were able to hang on and get an unlikely win.

I expected this to be a close game all the way through. Senegal did their part but for the majority of the first 90 minutes, Belgium didn’t. On the one hand, you have to give them credit for never quitting and scoring those two late goals. But on the other hand, the overall performance was not good enough. It’s been a tournament of mostly disappointing performances for Belgium so far yet somehow they’re still alive.

As for Senegal, what a devastating way to go out. They were in probably the toughest group of the competition and only made it out by getting a 5-0 win in their last group game. But they played well against France and Norway, two teams that are now into the Round of 16. Simply put though, you can’t fall apart like they did at the end of a game like this. It cost them their tournament.

USA 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina

That was intense. To be honest, any US game was always likely to be. The US didn’t start the game as well as I would have liked. I wanted to see more energy and intensity right from kickoff but the team took some time to get into the game. Bosnia created a few dangerous situations but nothing too concerning. Around the 30 minute mark, the US started to really get going. Folarin Balogun had the ball in the back of the net in the 31st but was just offside. He would get his goal in the 45th minute when a Malik Tillman pass took a deflection on its way through and Balogun did well to control it. He finished with his left foot just between the goalkeeper’s legs. Balogun almost had a second a few minutes later when he hit the crossbar from close range. Not an easy finish but he nearly kept it under the bar.

The US remained the better team to start the second half but things would take a huge turn just after the hour mark. Balogun and Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic got tangled and Balogun’s studs came down on the back on Muharmemovic’s calf and foot. It was clearly inadvertent and not a reckless play but the referee went to the monitor and ended up giving Balogum a red card. Extremely harsh decision in my eyes. Even if I wasn’t a US fan, I would want that given as a yellow. There was nothing the player could do to avoid it. Bosnia would go on to create a few chances while being a man up but again, nothing too dangerous where I was really concerned. The US would have the ball in the back of the net again in the 78th but Christian Pulisic was offside. They would finally get a second in the 82nd minute from a brilliant free kick from Tillman just outside the box. That was all it would take and the US will advance to the Round of 16 to take on Belgium on Monday.

First on Bosnia, I thought they were decent this tournament but clearly overmatched by the good teams. Alajbegovic and Bajraktarevic are both exciting young wingers that should have great futures. But they didn’t have enough anywhere else on the field to really be a threat.

What can I say about this US team? Coming into the tournament, my hope was they would win the group and get an “easier” game in the Round of 32 that they should win before facing a tough opponent in the Round of 16. That’s basically where we are. I’ve been impressed though with how we got here. This team is playing the best soccer I’ve ever seen from a USMNT. It’s no longer just grit and physicality to try to get by teams who are more talented than they are. This team has the talent to go up against a lot of teams in this tournament. They’ve shown that so far. I can’t wait to see what they can do against Belgium.

Tomorrow’s Predictions

• Spain 2-0 Austria
  • I don’t think Spain have shown their best yet this tournament but against Austria, they won’t have to. They’re just the better team and this should be straightforward
• Portugal 1-1 Croatia (5-4 pks)
  • Portugal have not been good in this World Cup. I see this being a real struggle but they’ll just squeak by on penalties
• Switzerland 2-1 Algeria
  • I give the Swiss the slight edge here. I think they’re just the better team and I’ve liked what I’ve seen from them thus far. Still, Algeria won’t make it easy on them

So that’s all for day 3 of the Round of 32. It’s been another fantastic day in a World Cup that keeps delivering. I’m looking forward to seeing Portugal tomorrow despite the fact that they always let me down. Hopefully the team figures things out and doesn’t make it stressful. Highly unlikely. Until next time, thanks for reading!