Key events
Jennifer Rankin
And Maximus has spoken. The official Instagram account of the Belgian prime minister’s cat has offered a typically oblique response to the national team’s triumph over the US, following Donald Trump’s controversial intervention.
Maximus, the beloved cat of Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever, was shown on Instagram lying on a rug holding a soft toy in the image of the US president. “I slept really well last night. And you?” reads the speech bubble in Dutch.
Maximus’ Instagram account is managed by De Weve’s team and often strays into political territory, with sardonic, albeit indirect comments on fellow politicians or events.
De Wever’s spokesperson on Monday declined to comment on Trump’s controversial and successful lobbying to overturn a red card given to US striker Falorin Balogun. Instead local media were referred to another Maximus post, which offered a picture of the cat crouching by a red card: “Red card: I am going to play anyway!” read the speech bubble.
De Wever and Trump will both attend the Nato summit starting in Ankara later on Tuesday, although the Belgian leader will be on less comfortable ground. Belgium has pledged to meet Nato’s 5% of GDP defence spending target, but was forecast to meet the 2% spending target only in 2025 after years of delay.
The match official labelled “suspect” by US president Donald Trump has been praised by Fifa referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina.
Trump criticised the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after he sent off US striker Folarin Balogun following a VAR review in the last-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun’s red card was controversially suspended on Sunday, allowing him to play in the 4-1 defeat by Belgium on Monday.
Fifa issued a statement praising Claus as “one of the world’s leading professional referees and a valued member of Team One (the referees team) at the Fifa World Cup”.
It added: “Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
Collina said: “Raphael Claus is refereeing at his second Fifa World Cup having been with us in Qatar in 2022. He is an experienced and highly respected referee and we maintain full confidence in him as a trusted match official.”
Claus could be a contender to referee the final, with Brazil having exited the tournament.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was personally called by Trump to “review” the Balogun red card, offered up a general tribute to the match officials without mentioning Claus by name.
The Swiss wrote on Instagram: “The Fifa World Cup 2026 has been an overwhelming success and a major contributor to this is our fantastic group of match officials – Team One. The tournament is being officiated by the best in the world, selected through a rigorous process which considered their skills, consistency, and quality over a sustained period.
“Once more, I reiterate that we must respect the referees and respect the rules that govern our game. It is very simple and cannot ever be overstated – without referees, there is no football.” PA Media
Paul MacInnes
Erling Haaland saves his best content for Snapchat. Norway’s No 9, fresh off another decisive double to dispatch Brazil from the World Cup, posted clips overnight of what looked like a party on the team bus. Haaland was delirious, staggering around in the aisle, singing along to a largely forgotten summer tune by a French DJ called Kungs. “We are never going home,” runs the chorus.
Norway will go home at some point, maybe even on Saturday when they play England in a World Cup quarter-final in Miami. But there can be no doubt that the country, the team, the supporters and their superstar have been making the most of their time in the US. From the longboat rowing ceremony, to the accumulation of cowboy gear (T-shirt: “Y’all can kiss my Dallas”), to Haaland’s performative taking-it-all-in pose – hands on hips, eyes raised to the horizon, bemused smile – they’ve been loving every minute of it.
What’s that? More England content? Go on then. Just in case you missed these:
John Stones had to know the question was coming. With Mexico vanquished after one of the great England nights, the focus had turned in part to the quarter‑final against Norway in Miami on Saturday and some bloke up front with a ponytail. Stones knows Erling Haaland, having spent the past four seasons with him at Manchester City, but this was not a time for him to engage on the nitty-gritty of how to stop him.
Thomas Tuchel called the standard of refereeing at the World Cup unreliable and erratic as he insisted England are capable of going all the way following their dramatic 3-2 victory against Mexico.
“I’m sorry Tim Ream,” emails Charlie. “I can’t believe the Balogun decision didn’t have an impact on such a flat performance from a team that has been so energetic up until now … it must have affected them to see the rest of the world turn on them due to the actions of Trump and Fifa, and some of the players must have been asking themselves, “is this who we are? … They can’t say it out loud, but the performance told us everything.”
One thing to remember though, it fits Trump’s agenda to turn the world against the US, all the better to get Americans to support MAGA. This whole rescinding of the red card issue has been a ‘win’ for Trump.
The end of a very disappointing World Cup for Portugal.
I thought at the start of the tournament they were one of five teams capable of winning it, but in the end they never really got going.
The spectre of an ageing and well past his prime Ronaldo really hung over them as well as the stubborn inflexibility Martinez, who should have been able to do a lot better with this group of players, having also underwhelmed in his time with Belgium.
Mexico City, Guadalajara, Miami, Kansas City – Colombia’s World Cup journey has gradually been heading north for three weeks. Thousands of their supporters now descend on Vancouver looking to see Néstor Lorenzo’s side try to reach their first quarter-final in 12 years when they face Switzerland on Tuesday. After Mexico and the United States, “yellow fever” is about to hit Canada.
This sort of fan migration, which has filled host cities with vibrant colour and joy, has not been seen since that last quarter-final in 2014, when Colombia supporters travelled in massive numbers to Brazil, not only owing to its proximity but also to the fact that the selección had not qualified for a World Cup for almost a generation before. James Rodríguez, the breakout star of that tournament, addressed the fans before travelling to North America as captain this year as there had been trouble when Colombia were in the US for the 2024 Copa América.
“They should know that we always give everything and that this positive energy – in the right spirit, by posting on social media as well – is contagious,” said Rodríguez. “You feel it and I simply ask them to bring those good vibes, keep them going and that they do things properly.”
France’s Kylian Mbappé has hit back at a Paraguayan senator, describing her as a “despicable woman” after she launched a racist attack on him. Mbappé’s penalty proved the difference in an ill-tempered match as France beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals.
Celeste Amarilla wrote a long tirade on X, describing Mbappé as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and as a “brute who had not learned to write”. Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match, she added.
Mbappé, the France captain, responded with a strongly worded statement defending not only himself, but also the Paraguay players. “Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition,” he wrote.
Let’s talk about everyone’s favourite subject: England!
What a game that was against Mexico, by the way. I feel asleep about 1am (BST), woke up with England winning 2-1, just before Quansah got sent off and all hell broke loose. England’s defending in the final 20 minutes or so was an absolute work of art (thank you Dan Burn), even if Mexico’s attacking play lacked a certain amount of imagination. A magnificent performance by the players, not to mention Thomas Tuchel, who I feared had gone too early with the: ‘Play a back five, and just hack the ball anywhere’ strategy.
Here’s a piece in which Guardian readers recount their experience of a famous night.
“When I was 18, I vividly remember Gazza’s tears [in the 1990 World Cup] but this was more dramatic.”
OK, I just watched the highlights of USA 1-4 Belgium.
Oh dear. Dear oh dear. Deary me. Horrible defending by the co-hosts. Shambles!
BTL comments about BalogunGate, and other stuff, including soccer.
Can’t help but feel this is not really about the football, is it? I feel sorry for the US players and the genuine fans, and I also can’t help but feel that much of this, being beyond their control, has left a rather bad smell in the air and an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Geopolitically, the US is despised around the world, and that’s what’s really at the heart of this, isn’t it?
I don’t even think it’s about the red card business, either. Ronaldo’s suspension was deferred for this World Cup, and Bellingham’s disciplinary action was suspended for the European Championships, and there have been other decisions stretching way back into the past. But the trouble is, when you have a US administration that makes a habit of making itself the ‘main character’ all the time and is, to say the least, hardly taciturn (Calvin Coolidge, where are you now?) or inconspicuous, then this is how we get here.
It is little solace to the genuine US fans or their team, but perhaps this might be a good moment for reflection. As for the rest of the world, piling on the US team and their supporters when it’s not really them with whom you have a bone to pick is not necessarily the most magnanimous or sporting way to behave, either, is it?
I actually feel pretty bad for the United States players. It’s not their fault they were dragged into all this, and became the enemy of the piece. Hosting a world cup and playing for your country on home soil, should be a dream for any player, but Trump ruined everything for them from start to finish.
Right, lets try to keep things focused on the football:
The USA pretty much failed to turn up yesterday, have to assume that the Balogun events affected them. Belgium were good for the first time this tournament, they scraped past senegal but were far too good for the US team, who have to view this world cup as a missed opportunity. Belgium got their midfield balance just right and quite simply looked better than their opponents, who were completely flat.
Spain and Portugal were two good sides who cancelled each other out, Spain probably just about deserved it.
With the exception of the mexico v england game, the round of 16 games havent been great so far, not a patch on the round of 32. Heres hoping tonights games redress the balance, looking forward to the quarter finals though, three great looking ties so far.
“I am sad to leave like this but I have given everything, always given my best,” Ronaldo said. “I go with a clear conscience. This is football, it is the life of a footballer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. You have to carry on. It was my last World Cup, yes, but as far as the rest of it is concerned: there will be time to think, to be with my family, [I will] not make decisions in the heat of the moment.”
It was noticeable that none of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal teammates looked remotely interested in consoling, congratulating or interacting with him in any way in the aftermath of their defeat by Spain.
Enough said, in terms of the impact he has on the dressing room. It makes complete sense to put up with gynormous egos if they are also world-class players, of course, but not so much when they are so far past their best.
We thought Qatar 2022 might be his last hurrah, World Cup-wise, but this is surely it?
If you would like to offer an opinion on any of this, you can email me here.
In podcast news, Max Rushden hosted World Cup Daily with the stellar lineup of Barry Glendenning, Archie Rhind-Tutt, Nick Ames and Sid Lowe.
They pick over defeats for the USA and Portugal, reflect further on England’s memorable win against Mexico, and indulge in some first-class banter on the way:
Belgium: ‘Overturn this’
“Overturn this” is pretty good from Belgium’s social media team, it must be said.
Although not in the same league as “where’s you ham now?” from Barcelona v Metz, in the 1984-85 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Alexander Abnos was on the scene in Seattle to witness the USA go out against Belgium. Here’s his match report:
And some reaction from inside the co-hosts camp: Tim Ream, the USA captain, insisted the Folarin Balogun red-card farrago ‘had no impact’:
Preamble
Hello sports fans.
USA, the co-hosts, have been knocked out after a thumping 4-1 last-16 defeat by Belgium in Seattle. They insist the Donald Trump-induced Folarin Balogun red-card furore had nothing to do with the result.
Portugal are out too, the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup ending in tears after a 1-0 defeat by Spain in Dallas.
Argentina v Egypt and Switzerland v Colombia will round off the last 16 later, which will leave eight teams standing on the road to the final on 19 July. (Barring any unprecedented political interventions, of course …)
What does this all mean? Let’s talk about soccer/association football/the World Cup.
