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Three teams considered favorites will play this Wednesday for their continuation in the : England, Belgium, and the United States are competing in their respective Round of 16 matches with the obligation to win or face elimination.
The day begins at 12:00 PM Cuba time with the match between England and the RD Congo at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, continues at 4:00 PM with Belgium facing Senegal at Lumen Field in Seattle, and concludes at 8:00 PM with the clash between the host team and Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
England arrives as the leader of Group L with seven points, achieved through victories over Croatia (4-2) and Panama (2-0), plus a goalless draw against Ghana. Coach Thomas Tuchel has Harry Kane as his offensive reference: the forward finished the group stage with three goals and has a total of 10 goals in World Cups, tying with Gary Lineker as the all-time leading scorer for the English national team in the competition.
In front will be a DR Congo that has been one of the great surprises of the tournament. The Leopards, who had never before reached a World Cup knockout stage, made their way among the best third-placed teams after drawing with Portugal, narrowly losing to Colombia, and coming back to defeat Uzbekistan 3-1.
Belgium, managed by Rudi García and captained by Youri Tielemans, had a tournament start that raised doubts: they drew 1-1 with Egypt and 0-0 with Iran in their first two matches.
However, the 5-1 victory over New Zealand —with goals from Trossard, De Bruyne, and Lukaku— restored their confidence and put them back at the top of Group G just before the knockout stage.
Senegal reached the limit to advance: it needed to win in the final match and responded with a 5-0 victory over Iraq, which allowed it to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams thanks to the goal difference. The African team arrives with the momentum of that performance and the ambition to eliminate another contender.
United States finishes the day with the support of its fans. The team led by Mauricio Pochettino was the highest-scoring in its group with eight goals, leading Group D after thrashing Paraguay (4-1) and defeating Australia (2-0), although it concluded the phase with a 3-2 loss to Turkey that did not affect its qualification.
Bosnia and Herzegovina returns to the World Cup for the first time since Brazil 2014, arriving with four points as the best third-place team, after drawing with Canada, losing to Switzerland, and defeating Qatar in the final match.
The context of the knockout stage adds pressure on the favorites: in the previous round of 16, Morocco eliminated the Netherlands in penalties, and Paraguay did the same with Germany, while France, Mexico, and Norway advanced without any issues.
The winner of the match between the United States and Bosnia will face the victor of Belgium against Senegal in the round of 16, making this day crucial for determining one of the matchups in the next round.
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