The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event in the world, and it’s in full swing with teams finished with group play.
The United States is ready to play in the Round of 32 on Wednesday against Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite a 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday evening. It was America’s first loss of the World Cup, although it didn’t matter much because the U.S. clinched first in Group D with its win over Australia. U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino had plenty of substitutes playing big minutes. However, it was still a rough loss since Turkey’s third goal was the final kick of the game in stoppage time.
But what’s going on with the rest of the World Cup? There’s plenty of important games for bettors, fans and interested viewers looking to learn more about the beautiful game. France and Argentina both finished group play undefeated and look strong going into the Round of 32 as two teams that could win the World Cup.
Every couple of days, there will be a non-USA World Cup roundup recapping the tournament. This is the fifth installment of that series. The group stage is over, with the Round of 32 beginning on Sunday.
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
What happened: Norway made it clear before the game that it wasn’t putting its best foot forward going into this game with 10 changes to the lineup. Norway had already secured its spot in the Round of 32 with a 2-0-0 record, so it decided to rest its top two players, Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard.
It didn’t take long for France to capitalize on Norway’s changes. Ousmane Dembélé dribbled in on the right side, took a touch inside the 18-yard box and fired a shot into the left corner for the 1-0 France lead in the seventh minute. Dembélé struck again in the 20th minute, taking his space at the top of the box to curve a ball with his left foot into the lower left corner for the 2-0 France lead.
Norway responded a minute later, with Thelo Aasgaard finishing inside the box with French players all around him. Once again, Dembélé showed why he’s one of the best players in the world, curling in a shot from about 16 yards out into the lower left corner in the 32nd minute, completing his first-half hat trick and giving France a 3-1 lead.
It was nearly 3-2 after a missed penalty kick by Norway, but Désiré Doué made it 4-1 France with a head off a cross in stoppage time in the second half.
Ramifications: France looks like the favorite to win it all after winning Group I with a 3-0 record, outscoring its opponents 10-2. The French will play Sweden in the Round of 32 on Tuesday. Norway finished second in Group I with a 2-0-1 record and will play the Ivory Coast on Tuesday.
Where: BMO Field, Toronto
What happened: Senegal needed a convincing win to advance, and it got off to a great start, scoring in the fourth minute. Habib Diarra put his header into the ground, and it bounced into the top right corner for a goal. About 10 minutes later, the game got easier for Senegal, with an Iraqi player getting a red card, forcing Iraq to go down a man.
Despite being up a man, Senegal didn’t score again until the second half. Ismaïla Sarr was the recipient of a cross from close range after a poor turnover by Iraq, and Senegal was up 2-0 in the 56th minute. Three minutes later, Senegal increased its lead to 3-0 when Pape Gueye ripped a shot from about 20 yards out into the top left corner.
Gueye then crushed a bouncing ball in the box into the top left corner for a 4-0 Senegal lead in the 71st minute. Iliman Ndiaye ripped one from close range in the 82nd minute for the final score of the game.
Ramifications: Senegal advanced to the Round of 32 after finishing 1-0-2 in Group I and will play Belgium on Wednesday. Iraq’s tournament is over after finishing 0-3 in Group I.
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston
What happened: All Cape Verde needed to advance to the Round of 32 was a tie, and that’s what it got. There were close chances by both sides, and all the statistics were close. But Cape Verde got its third tie of the World Cup, sending the country of 525,000 people to the next round.
Ramifications: Cape Verde moves on in the World Cup for the first time after finishing second in Group H with a 0-3-0 record and will play Argentina on Friday. Saudi Arabia’s World Cup is over after finishing last in Group H with a 0-2-1 record.
Where: Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
What happened: Spain’s talent pressured the Uruguay back line in the first half until Álex Baena put Spain ahead in the 42nd minute. He got the ball from a cross, turned from about 15 yards out and fired right into the keeper, but the Uruguay keeper couldn’t handle it, and the ball rolled into the corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
Spain nearly had another goal with a rocket from inside the box off the crossbar, but Uruguay got a red card in stoppage time and Spain survived.
Ramifications: Spain advanced to the Round of 32 after winning Group H with a 2-1-0 record and will play Austria on Thursday. Uruguay’s World Cup is over after finishing third in Group H with a 0-2-1 record.
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle
What happened: Both teams could advance with a win, and Egypt got things going in the fifth minute. Mohamed Salah’s shot was blocked out to Mahmoud Saber, who hit a shot from inside the box that went through the Iranian keeper’s legs and into the goal for a 1-0 Egypt lead.
About 10 minutes later, Iran responded. After missing a penalty kick, Iran got the ball back and off a missed shot and save, Ramin Rezaeian smashed the ball into the net from just off the goal line for the equalizer for Iran.
Iran was so close to winning the match, with two headers off the crossbar and a goal in stoppage time that was taken off the board due to offsides, but Egypt got the tie it needed to advance.
Ramifications: Egypt moves on to the Round of 32 after finishing second in Group G with a 1-2-0 record and will play Australia in the Round of 32 on Friday. Iran’s World Cup is over after finishing third in Group G at 0-3-0.
Where: BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
What happened: It was win or go home for Belgium and New Zealand, and Belgium scored first in the 28th minute. New Zealand did a poor job of clearing the ball in the box, and Belgium’s Leandro Trossard scored from close distance to put Belgium up 1-0.
Belgium took that lead into the second half, and Trossard scored again in the 50th minute, dribbling inside the box to make space, firing a shot, getting it blocked and then firing the rebound into the net for the 2-0 lead.
Kevin De Bruyne was the next Belgian player to score, slotting a shot into the lower right corner from about 20 yards out for the 3-0 lead in the 66th minute. New Zealand got its goal in the 84th minute off a corner, with Elijah Just firing a ball from just inside the box into the middle of the net.
Belgium finished things off with a goal by Romelu Lukaku, coming off the bench to head a ball in from close range in the 86th minute. Alexis Saelemaekers scored in stoppage time for Belgium’s fifth goal from just inside the box.
Ramifications: Belgium won Group G with a 1-2-0 record thanks to goal differential and advanced to play Senegal in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. New Zealand is out of the World Cup after finishing last in Group G with a 0-1-2 record.
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
What happened: Croatia needed the win and nearly scored early in the first half with a shot off the post, but it was Petar Sucic in the 31st minute who gave Croatia the lead with a beautiful shot into the lower left corner from about 22 yards out.
Ghana went into halftime down 1-0, but got the equalizer in the 73rd minute with a wonderful free kick that ended with Derrick Luckassen tapping the ball into the lower right corner from close range.
Only 10 minutes later, Croatia had the game winner. Luka Modric played a corner into the box, and Nikola Vlasic hit a header off the post and into the lower left corner for the lead.
Ramifications: Croatia moved on to the Round of 32 after finishing second in Group L with a 2-0-1 record and will play Portugal in the Round of 32 on Thursday. Ghana finished third in Group L with a 1-1-1 record and advanced to the Round of 32 to play Columbia on Friday.
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
What happened: England had the majority of the chances in the first half, but the match went into halftime tied at 0-0. The Brits finally went ahead in the 62nd minute on a corner. Jude Bellingham got his foot on a cross and placed the ball into the lower left corner.
Only five minutes later, one of the best goal scorers in the world gave England a 2-0 lead. Harry Kane elevated to head a cross into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.
Ramifications: England won Group L with a 2-1-0 record and advanced to play the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. Panama is out of the World Cup after finishing last in Group L with a 0-0-3 record.
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
What happened: All Columbia needed to win Group K was a draw, and that’s what it got. Columbia had the edge and created plenty of great chances, especially in the second half. But Columbia couldn’t find the back of the net despite having 55% of the possession and a 6-2 shot advantage.
Ramifications: Columbia won Group K with a 2-1-0 record and advanced to play Ghana in the Round of 32 on Friday. Portugal finished second in Group K with a 1-2-0 record and advanced to play Croatia in the Round of 32 on Thursday.
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
What happened: It only took 10 minutes for Uzbekistan to take the lead. There was a miscommunication over what Congo defender was going to clear the ball, and Eldor Shomurodov took advantage, running onto the ball and hitting a beautiful chip into the top right corner of the goal to give Uzbekistan the lead.
It wasn’t until the second half that the Congo could respond. Yoane Wissa converted a penalty kick in the 68th minute after a Congo player was fouled in the penalty box. Congo then took its first lead of the game about 10 minutes later, when Fiston Mayele timed his run perfectly, flicking the ball above the diving keeper and into the top of the net.
Wissa sealed the win in stoppage time with a fantastic strike across the box and into the lower right corner for the 3-1 lead.
Ramifications: The Congo finished third in Group K with a 1-1-1 record and advanced to the Round of 32 to play England on Wednesday. Uzbekistan finished 0-0-3 and last in Group K to end its World Cup.
Where: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
What happened: The match of the day started with an Austrian goal in the 28th minute. The Austrians played a ball over the top of the Algerian defense and Marko Arnautovic settled it and placed his shot around the keeper and into the corner of the net for the 1-0 Austria lead.
Just before the first half ended, Algeria responded. Austria turned it over on its own end line, and Rafik Belghali dribbled toward goal, avoiding Austrian defenders before finishing in the roof of the net from close range in the 45th minute for the equalizer.
Austria retook the lead 10 minutes into the second half, with Marcel Sabitzer hitting a one-time shot from just inside the box into the top of the goal for the 2-1 Austria lead. In the 60th minute, Riyad Mahrez responded, getting a great pass on the far post for the easy finish.
Algeria must’ve thought it had the game won when it scored in stoppage time. Mahrez got a flick close to the goal on the right side and finished into the lower left corner in the 93rd minute. But three minutes later, Austria shocked Algeria with the equalizer. Sasa Kalajdzic got a head from the far post and headed the ball into the net.
Ramifications: Austria finished second in Group J with a 1-1-1 record and advanced to the Round of 32 to play Spain on Thursday. Algeria finished third in Group J with a 1-1-1 record with a worse goal differential than Austria. Algeria advanced to the Round of 32 and will play Switzerland on Thursday.
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
What happened: Argentina didn’t have anything to play for with Group J locked up, but that didn’t stop the South American country from scoring first. Giovani Lo Celso hit a beautiful free kick into the top left corner from just outside the box for the 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
In the 31st minute, Argentina made it 2-0 when an Argentine forward was kicked in the head in the box. Lautaro Martínez buried the PK for the 2-0 lead.
Jordan got back into the game in the 55th minute, when Mousa Al-Tamari finished from close range off a cross to make it 2-1.
But one of the greatest players of all time subbed on and sealed the match for Argentina. Lionel Messi hit a free kick from about 25 yards out into the lower left corner in the 80th minute for the 3-1 lead. Messi scored in all three of Argentina’s group stage games.
Ramifications: Argentina won Group J with a perfect 3-0-0 record and looks like it could repeat as champion. Argentina will play Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday. Jordan’s World Cup is over after finishing 0-0-3 in the group stage.