World Cup Takeaways: Round of 16

Photo from Reuters

We’ve had close games.

We’ve had big upsets.

And we’ve had what we have come to expect from a couple of teams…

Let’s discuss it.

Morocco defeats Canada 3-0

Canada didn’t have much going forward, but they defended as well as they could.

Morocco only had 0.82 expected goals, but scored three.

Maybe it was quality finishing.

Maybe Canada needed more from Maxime Crepeau.

Regardless, Canada didn’t play that poorly, all things considered.

They’re just not as good as Morocco.

France defeats Paraguay 1-0

Remember in the round of 32 takeaways when I talked about Cape Verde and how they defended incredibly well without being overtly physical and fouling and slopping the game up?

Yeah.

Paraguay did the exact opposite of that.

They made this game an absolute disgusting mess in hopes of getting to extra time and penalty kicks.

And you know what?

It almost worked!

Norway defeats Brazil 2-1

First, about Norway and Erling Haaland.

That is the difference between a good striker, and an elite striker.

Erling Haaland frankly didn’t do too much during the game.

In fact, he only had 30 touches overall.

But two of them were goals.

You give him a sniff, he is going to take it.

He doesn’t need the perfect chance to score.

He is clinical.

As for Brazil, sitting back and only having 34% possession when you are Brazil playing against Norway is unbelievable.

Brazil, in my time as a soccer fan, has been nothing but disappointing each and every World Cup.

And I don’t exactly know when it will get better.

England defeats Mexico 3-2

Massive credit to England for going into the Azteca, playing incredibly well, and winning.

That’s huge, and that’s first and foremost.

But Mexico, up a man for almost all of the second half, just continue to whip crosses into the box over and over again despite England having towers in the box to head every single chance away.

It felt like they had absolutely no idea what to do, and that’s a bummer from a team who looked good at this World Cup.

But all in all, they couldn’t get past the round of 16 once again.

Spain defeats Portugal 1-0

Cristiano Ronaldo is done at World Cup’s for Portugal, and Portugal is better for it.

I know Spain is very good defensively, but Portugal can not possibly accept 0.40 expected goals with a team that talented.

And I know that the stats say Portugal had 0.63, but they were at 0.40 before Merino scored to give Spain the lead, so I’m not going to give them credit for waking up late.

And they left Goncalo Ramos on the bench, despite him having more non penalty goals for Portugal than Cristiano Ronaldo in the last two World Cups despite SIGNIFICANTLY less minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo ruined Portugal’s World Cup chances because he couldn’t simply put his ego aside and come off of the bench.

And then he had the audacity to say after the game that the 2016 Euros championship and two Nations League championships holds the same weight as the World Cup.

Ridiculous.

Good riddance.

Belgium defeats USA 4-1

Boy oh boy.

It’s time for us to accept it.

US Soccer is not making progress.

In 2002, the US made the quarterfinals, and played extremely well and got wildly unlucky against Germany. There was a real chance to make the semifinals. The future was bright.

And then in 2006, they finished dead last in the group.

In 2010, they won the group and lost in the round of 16, and in 2014 they got out of the group of death and took Belgium 120 minutes before losing in the round of 16, but they made the U.S. fans believe once again that they are improving.

And then in 2018, they missed the World Cup entirely.

In 2022, they made the round of 16 with the youngest team in the tournament and lost in the round of 16 to a better Netherlands squad, and now in 2026, with their “golden generation” in their prime, and at a home World Cup, they had a chance to make a statement in the round of 16 against Belgium.

And they were absolutely, undeniably, unabashedly, horrendous.

So where does US Soccer go from here? My guess is absolutely nowhere.

Because we’re now at 24 years of looking like the future is bright, only for it to come crashing back down.

And while losing to Belgium in the round of 16 isn’t as bad as getting grouped in 2006, or missing entirely in 2018, it was still the worst I have seen the U.S. play in a meaningful game in I can’t even remember how long.

And when it happened in front of your own fans, that absolutely matters.

Argentina defeats Egypt 3-2

Boy oh boy, is Argentina playing with fire.

They kept letting Cape Verde into the game before winning in 120 minutes, and they even spotted Egypt a 2-0 lead going into the 80th minute before scoring three goals in ten minutes and getting the win.

It shows the quality they have at their disposal.

But if they keep letting teams hang around, they will eventually get burned.

Switzerland defeats Columbia 0-0 (4-3 on penalties)

Columbia had their chances.

Both teams defended well. Both teams dug deep.

But Columbia had plenty of chances, including a clear cut one with just seconds remaining in extra time, while Switzerland didn’t have a shot on goal for the last 90 minutes of the game.

And when you leave it up to penalty kicks, anything can happen.

This was a good chance on a weaker side of the bracket for Columbia to truly make some noise.

This will feel disappointing.