England, Belgium, USMNT all in action as Round of 32 continues on TSN

Some of world football’s biggest stars are in action on Canada Day as the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 rolls on.

Here’s a look at what to expect from the three matches.

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England vs. Congo

England vs. Congo DR, Noon ET/9am PT on TSN1/4, CTV, Crave, TSN.ca and the TSN App

They were unconvincing at times, but Thomas Tuchel’s England finished atop Group L as was expected.

Still, with perhaps the biggest spotlight in world football firmly focused upon them, the Three Lions enter the knockout round with major questions ahead of their date with an upstart Congo DR side playing in their first World Cup in 52 years and out of the group stage for the first time. With the pressure decidedly on England, can Congo DR continue their storybook run?

After a listless scoreless draw with Ghana on Matchday 2 in which England was fortunate to not have given up a penalty, the Three Lions bounced back with a professional 2-0 victory over Panama on Saturday with two second-half goals in a six-minute span from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. The goal for Kane was a momentous one. It was the Bayern Munich hitman’s 11th at a World Cup, breaking a tie with Gary Lineker and making him England’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament.

ENGLAND’S TOP GOAL SCORERS AT THE WORLD CUP

Worrying for Tuchel, though, is what happened at the back. The oft-injured Reece James did not feature against Panama after sustaining a hamstring injury during the Ghana match. In his stead, Tuchel turned to Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah. Only 15 minutes into the second half, Quansah limped off with an apparent ankle injury. Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence came in and played the rest of the match.

If James and Quansah can’t go, Tuchel’s right-back situation has gone from bad to worse. Newcastle’s Tino Livramento withdrew from the squad days before the first match with injury, leaving Spence as the only recognized right-back in the squad. Should he need reinforcement at the position, Tuchel will likely ask Aston Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa to slot in on the right. Tuchel’s decision to leave Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold at home looms large.

There is better injury news in the midfield, though, with Declan Rice available for selection. The Arsenal star missed out on the Panama match after picking up a calf injury against Ghana. Still only 27, Rice needs 25 more appearances for a century of England caps.

Congo DR’s participation in the knockout round was very much on a knife’s edge back on Saturday evening. After a draw with Portugal in their Group K opener, followed by a loss to Colombia, the Leopards needed a win against Uzbekistan on the final matchday to move on as one of the eight-best third-place squads. Things got off to an inauspicious start with Uzbekistan up after only 10 minutes on a goal from Eldor Shomurodov. That 1-0 scoreline would hold through halftime.

But the Leopards finally found a breakthrough midway through the second half. Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov was adjudged to have taken Yoane Wissa down in the area. The Newcastle man stepped up to the spot and converted in the 68th to even the match. Minutes later, Congo DR was ahead through Fiston Mayele before Wissa added a third in stoppage time, his third of the tournament, to wrap up the three points and a momentous victory for Congolese football.

Wednesday’s match will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides. Still, that doesn’t mean there won’t be familiarity between the two teams. Along with Wissa, four more Congo DR players are England-based in West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe of Burnley, Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki and Edo Kayembe of Watford.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will head to Mexico City to take on Mexico at the Azteca on Sunday.

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Belgium vs. Senegal

Belgium vs. Senegal, 4pm ET/1pm PT on TSN1/3/4, CTV, Crave, TSN.ca and the TSN App

Two teams who needed wins on the final matchday to advance meet in Seattle for a spot in the Round of 16 when Belgium takes on Senegal. Both teams saw offensive explosions in their last group-stage matches to move on. Wednesday’s match will be a first-time encounter for the two nations.

The Red Devils’ frustrations were beginning to boil over on Saturday night in Vancouver. While Belgium dominated play against New Zealand and had chance after chance, a goal proved elusive. Finally, in the 28th, Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard took advantage of some comical defending from New Zealand to put Belgium ahead and the Red Devils wouldn’t look back. Trossard added a second in the 50th before goals from Napoli duo Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku and a stoppage-time marker from Alexis Saelemaekers of Milan in a 5-1 win.

The victory ended up being the Red Devils’ biggest-ever World Cup win, helping them top Group G, and it came with a weird quirk. Belgium became the first European side since England in 1990 to win a group after failing to win their first two matches. The most important aspect of the victory for Rudi Garcia’s side heading into the knockout round was the ability to finally score some goals.

Just how big was the offensive output for Belgium? The five goals against New Zealand were more than the Red Devils scored in seven combined matches at the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. Belgium’s attacking talent is undeniable. It’s just a matter of getting it going. If the match against New Zealand was a sign of things to come, then an extended run at the 2026 World Cup could be in the cards.

The Lions of Teranga reach the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time thanks to a big win over Iraq in Toronto on Friday. Senegal entered the match with losses in their first two matches, to France and Norway, and a -3 goal differential. The Round of 32 looked to be out of reach without goals galore.

Senegal got the start they needed with a fourth-minute marker from Habib Diarra, but the door was blown wide open in the 13th. Just outside the Iraq area, Rebin Sulaka coughed up the ball to Sadio Mané. Before the ex-Liverpool star could break on goal, he was tugged back by the defender. Referee Anthony Taylor initially gave Sulaka a yellow card for the foul, but upon VAR review, it was upgraded to a straight red for taking away a goal-scoring opportunity.

SENEGAL AT THE WORLD CUP

It took a while, but the Lions of Teranga made the man advantage count. Senegal got second-half goals from Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye of Everton and a brace from Spurs’ Pape Sarr for a 5-0 win. The commanding victory erased the negative goal differential and vaulted Senegal into a top-eight third-place spot.

The winner of Wednesday’s match gets to stay in Seattle for the Round of 16. In that match, set for Monday night, Belgium or Senegal welcomes the winner of Wednesday’s late match between the co-hosts the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina

United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 8pm ET/5pm PT on TSN1/3/4, CTV, Crave, TSN.ca and the TSN App

The United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina enter Wednesday night’s Round of 32 tie on the back of very different experiences in the final matchday. After cruising through its first two matches to claim Group D, the USMNT got a wake-up call ahead of the knockouts from Turkiye. For BIH, a win was needed against Qatar to continue their World Cup dream and they got just that with a deserved victory.

Mauricio Pochettino’s United States side got very little pushback in its opening two matches. After crushing Paraguay 4-1 in its first match, the USMNT got a comfortable 2-0 win over Australia on Matchday 2. Monaco’s Folarin Balogun led the way offensively with two goals.

The match against an already eliminated Turkiye appeared to be headed the same way. Celtic’s Auston Trusty opened the scoring in just the third minute. It marked the third straight match in which the USMNT was ahead within the first 11 minutes.

But Real Madrid’s Arda Guler leveled in the 10th and Turkiye took the lead in the 31st from Galatasaray’s Baris Alper Yilmaz. After the restart, Sebastian Berhalter of the Vancouver Whitecaps pulled the USMNT even in the 49th, which set the stage for a dramatic finish. In the eighth minute of stoppage, Gala’s Kaan Ayhan was johnny on the spot to poke home to give Turkiye a 3-2 win to leave the tournament with their heads held high.

After the match, Pochettino was expecting a more jubilant mood from the American press than the one he saw. The Argentine said he was expecting congratulations for topping the group.

“It’s very positive to finish in the way that we finished,” the former Spurs and Chelsea manager said. “It cannot be possible, I’m sorry, guys. It cannot be possible that Turkey finish celebrating the three points and Australia celebrating the qualification but I was celebrating the qualification and come here and for you not to say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad. But only that. I need to remember you and everyone that we won the group. Sorry, guys. We won.”

Winning the group sets up a date with Bosnia and Herzegovina. After drawing with Canada in their opener and losing to Switzerland on Matchday 2, BIH needed a win over a Qatar side that had already been eliminated to reach the knockouts for the first time in their second tournament appearance. Goals from the impressive Kerim Alajbegovic and Ermin Mahmic sandwiched around a Mahmud Abunada own goal gave Bosnia a 3-1 win to advance.

Wednesday’s game will be the fourth meeting between the two teams and the first in a competitive matchup. The USMNT is undefeated in the previous encounters, winning two and drawing the other. The last time the two teams met was a 2021 friendly in Los Angeles when the U.S. were 1-0 winners on a late goal by Cole Bassett.

USMNT’S LAST NINE MATCHES AGAINST UEFA SIDES

While history between the two teams doesn’t go in the favour of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States’ history against European teams at the World Cup – and in recent years – gives BIH some hope. The USMNT’s last victory over a European side at the World Cup came in 2002, a 3-2 win over Portugal. Since then, the United States is 0-6-6 against European competition at the World Cup and has never defeated a European side in the knockout round.

Even outside of World Cup play, the USMNT’s record against European opposition is poor. Since the friendly victory over Bosnia in 2021, the United States has played 11 games against European teams, including the loss to Turkiye. The USMNT’s record in those matches is 0-2-9 with the team currently on a nine-game losing streak against UEFA squads. The door for an upset is ajar.