Morning, ladies and gentlemen,

Happy Monday. The knockout round is upon us. Let’s dig in.

• 🌎️ World Cup Updates

• 🇺🇸 USA vs. Turkey

• 🔢 World Cup By The Numbers

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweets of the Week

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World Cup Updates

The group stage is done, and the Round of 32 is already underway. Over the last week, the biggest names in the sport have given us a spectacular show. Messi, Mbappe, Ronaldo, and Haaland all scored braces in their second game, leading their countries to the knockout rounds.

England were held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana. England had 19 shots to Ghana's two, but the final touch wasn’t there. They then beat Panama 2-0 to win Group L. Harry Kane’s goal made him England’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup. They’ll play Congo DR in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.

Portugal demolished Uzbekistan 5-0 (goal highlights). Ronaldo silenced any doubters with a brace in the opening 39 minutes, making him the first player to score a goal in six different World Cup tournaments. They then tied Colombia 0-0 to finish second in their group. They play Croatia on Thursday.

France beat Iraq 3-0, then beat Norway 4-1. Mbappé grabbed a brace against Iraq, taking him to 16 career World Cup goals, tying Miroslav Klose for second all-time. Dembele scored a first-half hat trick against Norway. France will play Sweden on Tuesday. I would be shocked if this team doesn’t make at least a semi-final run again.

Norway beat Senegal 3-2 behind an Erling Haaland brace to advance, and then they rested their starters against France as they were okay getting second in the group. They’ll play the Ivory Coast on Tuesday. Here’s a cool behind the scenes video of Erling Haaland having the time of his life during the World Cup.

Ecuador rallied from behind to stun Germany with a 2-1 win in a game they had to win to advance. Gonzalo Plata scored the winner with a near-post flick through the arms of Manuel Neuer. Ecuadorian fans in New York erupted with joy. It’s the first time they’ve advanced to the knockout rounds in 20 years. They’ll play Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on Tuesday.

Argentina beat Austria 2-0, and, as usual, it was all about Lionel Messi making history. He scored his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals, becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. He surpassed both Miroslav Klose's men's record of 16 goals and Marta's overall record of 17. He then scored a free kick in their 3-1 win over Jordan to become the first player to ever score in 7 straight World Cup games, dating back to 2022. Argentina fans celebrated with raucous chants inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas. This team is clearly good enough to be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to repeat as champions. Up next is a Cape Verde team that shocked the World to get second in their group ahead of Uruguay.

The first knockout game of the tournament ended with Canada beating South Africa 1-0. LAFC midfielder Stephen Eustaquio scored the winner in stoppage time. Jesse March gave an impassioned speech to the team after the game, calling them Canadian heroes. It’s easily the biggest in Canadian soccer history. They’ll play the winner of the Netherlands and Morocco.

USA vs Turkey Recap

The US lost to Turkey 3-2 in their final group stage game. Pochettino made 9 changes to the starting lineup, giving most of our stars a rest. The result didn’t matter, but we still have some takeaways from the game.

I was surprised that Weston McKennie started and played nearly a full 90 minutes. He’s arguably our most important player and could’ve used the rest, but Pochettino thought otherwise. He was one of our few bright spots, along with Sebastian Berhalter. Others like Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, and Mark McKenzie either failed to make an impact or were downright bad, as was the case for Weah.

Auston Trusty scored his first international goal in the third minute with a great first touch off a Sebastian Berhalter cross before firing it past the keeper. Turkey responded minutes later with an Arda Guler goal. They added their second in the 31st minute to take the lead. After not scoring on their first 62 shots of the tournament, Turkey scored on their first two shots against us. Sebastian Berhalter tied it up with a bullet in the 49th minute.

The health of Christian Pulisic is clearer now. He came into the game in the 58th minute, and while his touch was a bit off, he was still able to make an impact. Turkey found their winner in the final seconds of the game, capitalizing on lazy defending in the box.

This was our 12th straight match without a win against a European opponent. We play Bosnia & Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara for a chance to end this streak and win our second-ever knockout game. Here’s a good tactical breakdown of the Bosnian team. This isn’t a team we can underestimate. They knocked out Wales and Italy to get into the tournament and looked very good against Qatar in their final group stage game. We’ll be ready, though.

Our stars are rested and healthy. Confidence remains high. The US Soccer Federation offered Pochettino a contract extension through the 2030 World Cup, but any decision will be deferred until after the tournament. The winner of this match will play the winner of Belgium and Senegal.

The biggest game in USMNT history awaits on Wednesday.

World Cup by the Numbers

Here are some fun stats for you.

0 - Panama finished the group stage without scoring a single goal, becoming the first country since Honduras and Algeria in 2010 to exit the tournament with zero goals. But hey, at least they made it.

9 - 9 out of the 10 African teams at the World Cup have qualified for the Round of 32. Tunisia was the only team not to move on. It’s a historic tournament for Africa.

27 - The number of matches it took for 2026 to hand out more red cards (8) than the entire 2018 and 2022 World Cups combined.

215 - The number of goals scored in the 72 group stage games, smashing the previous record of 172 goals scored across the entire 64-game 2022 World Cup. 2.99 goals per game is the highest rate since 1958.

5,049 - Minutes played by MLS players in the group stage of the World Cup, the 7th most of any league in the World. 31% of those minutes come from USMNT and Canada players.

358,610.48 - The total distance in meters covered by USMNT players in the group stage, the most in the World Cup. The US also ranked first in high-speed runs, third in sprints, and fourth in average running speed. These are common characteristics of Pochettino-led teams and another reason why it was so good for our starters to get some rest.

3,605,357 - The number of attendees at the World Cup as of Thursday, the most in World Cup history.

Goal of the Week

Nasty.

Tweets of the Week

Incredible.

They love ranch!

🤣 

Quick Hits

• NYCFC is interested in Christian Pulisic (Link)

• Chicago Fire will sign Robert Lewandowski (Link)

• US may bid to host 2038 World Cup (Link)

That’s a wrap, thanks for reading!

Max & Mason