FIFA World Cup 2026 Last 16 results: Spain end Portugal’s run, Belgium knock out USA
World Cup 2026 last 16 results: Spain played Portugal for a place in the last eight, and Belgium took on co-hosts USA in the knockout contest.
Spain 1-0 Portugal
Spain progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a late win over Portugal in the last 16. The Iberian neighbours met at the same stage 16 years ago, and the outcome was a repeat.
The Euro 2024 winners started in dominant fashion and should have taken the lead as early as the third minute, but Mikel Oyarzabal put his shot wide after being put through on goal by Dani Olmo. Lamine Yamal then saw his superb curling effort saved by Diogo Costa before denying Alex Baena from the same play.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who announced before the game that it would be his final World Cup, saw his sharp volley saved by Unai Simon, and then Portugal nearly took the lead when Nuno Mendes’s left-foot shot took a deflection and came off against the crossbar.
The second half saw both teams have chances but failed to create a sustained spell of attack. Yamal had a free kick tipped over the bar by Costa, and Bruno Fernandes hit the side netting. Olmo also saw his shot blocked by Ruben Dias as the clock ticked towards the 90th minute mark.
Just when it seemed that the game could be headed to extra-time, two substitutes combined to give La Roja the lead in the first minute of stoppage time.
Ferran Torres took on Rodri’s pass, and he caught the Portuguese defence napping, slipping in a ball for Mikel Merino, who kept his composure to beat Costa and find the bottom left corner. The goal meant Portugal exit the World Cup and Ronaldo’s last dance at the global stage comes to an end.
Belgium 4-1 USA
USA became the final World Cup co-hosts to be knocked out of the tournament following a humbling defeat to Belgium. The clash in Seattle was dominated by the coverage of USA forward Folarin Balogun’s red card ban being suspended after interference from Donald Trump.
But right from the first whistle, Belgium made it clear that they were the ones who wanted to be in the headlines at the end of the 90 minutes. Fueled by a sense of injustice, they started the game on the front foot and saw Timothy Castagne draw a full stretch save from Matt Freese inside the opening minute.
They kept the foot on the pedal and had their breakthrough in the ninth minute. Nicolas Raskin’s ball across the US goal found Charles de Ketelaere, who tapped in from close range to make it 1-0.
But USA were back in the game just over the half-hour mark. Malik Tillman’s free-kick took a sneaky deflection and left Thibaut Courtois wrong-footed to draw the co-hosts level. Parity lasted two minutes.
De Ketelaere was at it again. The Atlanta forward leapt over Tim Ream to head in Leandro Trossard’s cross from the left side as Rudi Garcia’s men went in at the break with a lead.
The second half didn’t see much action until Freese’s blunder in the 57th minute. The US keeper appeared indecisive with the ball at his feet before De Ketelaere tackled him, and the ball reached Hans Vanaken, who put it in the net from the distance. Balogun had the chance to pull a goal back, shooting just wide from an angle, and Courtois kept out an effort from Sebastian Berhalter.
With the outcome inevitable, Romelu Lukaku capitalized on another defensive error to score in stoppage time. Chris Richards’s mistake at the back put Lukaku in, and he drove in a low shot from the left side to make it 4-1 for the Red Devils.
USA’s World Cup campaign ends here, and Belgium progress to the quarter-finals, where they will face Spain.
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