分类： sports

Two dramatic knockout round matches on Monday closed out the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16, delivering a lopsided upset for co-hosts the United States and a bittersweet farewell to one of football’s greatest icons, Cristiano Ronaldo.

First at Seattle’s Lumen Field, a motivated and clinical Belgian side turned in a dominant 4-1 victory over the USA, bringing the co-hosts’ World Cup run to an abrupt end and booking a quarter-final clash with European champions Spain. The match was overshadowed by 24 hours of pre-match controversy surrounding US striker Folarin Balogun, whose eligibility was the subject of a heated international debate after a last-minute intervention.

Balogun was originally handed a one-game suspension by FIFA, but the governing body reversed the ruling just 24 hours before kickoff following public lobbying from United States President Donald Trump. Named in US manager Mauricio Pochettino’s starting eleven, Balogun failed to make a meaningful impact on the match, failing to register a single shot on target throughout 90 minutes.

For Belgium, the eligibility controversy only served to galvanize the squad. Belgium captain Youri Tielemans told reporters post-match that the team held an emergency meeting when news of the ruling broke, and agreed to respond to the perceived injustice with their performance on the pitch. That promise translated to an explosive start: Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere broke the deadlock for Belgium after just nine minutes with a clinical low finish past US keeper Matt Freese.

The USA pulled an unlikely equalizer in the 31st minute, when Malik Tillman’s deflected free kick wrong-footed Belgian keeper Koen Casteels to level the score at 1-1. But the hosts’ fightback lasted barely two minutes: just two minutes after the equalizer, De Ketelaere nodded home a second goal from a corner to restore Belgium’s lead. The Belgians extended their advantage in the 57th minute, when Hans Vanaken capitalized on a catastrophic goalkeeping error from Freese. The US keeper charged out of his penalty area to clear a long through ball, but lost possession under pressure, gifting Vanaken an open goal to make the score 3-1. Substitute striker Romelu Lukaku put the final nail in the coffin for the USA, slotting home a fourth goal in second-half stoppage time to seal the rout.

Post-match, Pochettino admitted his side had failed to show up on the biggest stage. “Today we were not the same team that we have been during the tournament,” the Argentine manager said. “It was a very bad day — it wasn’t our day in a collective and individual way.” For the USA, the defeat brings an end to a campaign that captivated the host nation, falling short of their goal of reaching the first World Cup quarter-final in 24 years. Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin said the sense of injustice over Balogun’s eligibility fueled the team’s dominant performance. “There was a sense of injustice within the squad,” Raskin said. “We were determined to respond on the field.”

In the second late knockout match in Arlington, Texas, Spain edged out Portugal 1-0 to secure their spot in the quarter-finals, in what has been confirmed as the final World Cup appearance of Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo. The 41-year-old five-time Ballon d’Or winner, playing in his sixth consecutive World Cup, was a peripheral figure throughout the tight contest, as Portugal mustered only two shots on target compared to Spain’s six.

The match remained goalless through 90 minutes, until Spanish substitute Mikel Merino coolly slotted home the winner in the first minute of stoppage time, latching onto a quick free-kick through ball before beating Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa with a low finish. The result brings an end to Ronaldo’s decades-long dream of lifting the World Cup trophy, a honor that eluded him through a legendary career spanning three decades at the top of European club football.

Speaking after the match, Ronaldo said he would take time to reflect on his future in football, having closed the book on his World Cup career. “It was my last World Cup, yes, but I’ll have time to think about the rest, to be with my family, not make rash decisions, and just get on with life,” Ronaldo said. “That’s football, that’s the life of a footballer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and you have to move on.”

Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente praised his side’s gritty performance, calling the tight knockout clash an early final for his side. “It was a fantastic match — a final played early — and, inevitably, we had to sweat it out until the very end,” de la Fuente said. “We put in a complete performance.”

Belgium will now face Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals this Friday in Los Angeles, with a spot in the semi-finals on the line.

An explosive bench-clearing brawl between Collingwood and the Gold Coast Suns at Saturday’s Australian Football League clash has sparked a thoughtful balancing act from Collingwood head coach Craig McRae, who says he wants to bottle the raw ferocity his players displayed – without the costly rule breaches and heavy fines that followed the incident.

The chaotic scuffle broke out on the halftime siren after Gold Coast forward Ben Long delivered a hard gut punch to Collingwood’s veteran leader Brayden Maynard. Maynard responded immediately to the hit, triggering an all-in confrontation that drew every available player from both teams’ benches and left the AFL’s match review panel handing down multiple fines in the aftermath.

Speaking after the game, McRae admitted that the intensity and unity his players showed in the moments after the brawl was exactly the kind of fire most coaches spend the entire season trying to manufacture week in and week out. When his squad walked into the locker room at halftime, the sharp, focused determination in their eyes was something that cannot be easily manufactured through team talks or strategy sessions, he said.

“I think it’s great for the game this growing rivalry between our side and the Suns. Anyone who tuned into watch that match would have been gripped by the energy out there,” McRae told reporters. “Seeing our players walk in at halftime with that real look in their eye and that raw energy, as a coach you just think, ‘How do we get this every single week?’ Sometimes you have to manufacture that intensity, you want your players to be dialled in and hungry – that’s the culture we want to build inside our club. Now, that energy has to stay within the rules, because we don’t want to be coughing up $16,000 in fines every week. That doesn’t make any sense, and that’s not playing the game the right way. If we can walk that fine line, play on the edge without crossing it, we’ll hunt opposition sides every week, and that’s what we’ll aim to do this week within the rules.”

Maynard, the Collingwood captain, ended up copping fines for three separate incidents stemming from the melee, including a brush with an umpire as he moved to join the second cluster of the scuffle. McRae acknowledged there was room for match officials to issue a formal suspension charge over the umpire contact, but said he agreed with the grading that ruled the contact incidental.

“Oh look, I thought it was incidental as it was graded. I can see how you’d make a case for wanting to make a stand of protecting the umpires,” he said. “We want to make sure that’s the case too. I know they changed the positioning rules for contact with umpires in recent weeks, and there’s been a clear mandate from all clubs to make sure we look after them. We want to be a part of that, that’s significant in making sure this game operates well, but I do think it was incidental.”

The incident has shone a light on the growing on-field rivalry between the two AFL clubs, while prompting broader discussion about how the league balances on-field intensity with enforcement of game rules to keep players and officials safe.

Veteran Melbourne Football Club midfielder Jack Viney is clinging to his goal of returning to the pitch this season, even as a persistent combination of Achilles and back injuries has kept him sidelined and left his comeback timeline shrouded in uncertainty.

At 32, Viney has been unable to join his retooled Demons side under first-year senior coach Steven King throughout the 2024 campaign, sidelined by the complicated overlapping soft-tissue and spinal issues that have defied straightforward rehab timelines. Despite the setbacks, the club’s long-serving spiritual leader remains adamant he can still contribute to Melbourne’s push for September finals action as the Demons hold their position in a tightly contested top-four race.

Melbourne cemented its finals credentials with a crucial victory over third-placed Hawthorn in Launceston last Saturday, leaving the side locked in a congested battle for positions at the upper end of the AFL ladder ahead of this Sunday’s blockbuster clash against Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. A win would keep the Demons firmly in the hunt for a high seeding heading into the final rounds of the regular season.

While Viney still has not resumed running — a critical milestone required to map out a formal return to match action — he said his rehab program is making gradual progress, and he is prepared to contribute in any capacity if called upon this season. “They’re going OK, we’re ticking boxes, trying to keep pushing and play some footy this year, that’s the goal with the team going so well,” Viney said in an interview.

Unlike the clear-cut injury recoveries he has navigated throughout his career, the 32-year-old noted this current combination of Achilles and back pain has been far more complex to treat, with repeated revised targets forcing him to adapt to an unclear rehab process. “It hasn’t been a straightforward injury like I would’ve liked, it’s a more complex one we’re trying to find solutions to throughout the whole season,” he explained. “I feel like we’ll get there eventually, it’s just kind of hard to put an ETA on. Wherever, whenever the footy is, I’m just keen to get out there, play it, whether it’s a minute or 90, just get out there and play footy again.”

Viney added that the lack of a clear return date has created a unique mental challenge compared to previous long-term injuries he has overcome. “I am no stranger to injury, but they’ve been more like broken bones or ankle scopes, that kind of stuff, where once you have it done it’s pretty clear and linear,” he said. “Having the achilles and then having my back in the mix, it just hasn’t been as clear cut and it’s been focusing on the systems and building up my load again. It’s definitely tough… similar to an ACL or ruptured Achilles you know you’ve got 12 months of rehab. My process has been much more — (I) feel like we’re getting back … we thought we’d be back at round 8, but it didn’t seem to be the case.”

Until he can resume full running, Viney said the club’s strength and conditioning staff will continue to build his fitness base, with no formal projected return date set. All attention remains on Sunday’s clash with Richmond, where the Demons will look to solidify their place in the finals race as they wait for news on their inspirational leader’s recovery.

When Wednesday night’s State of Origin decider kicks off at Suncorp Stadium, the stakes stretch far beyond 12 months of interstate bragging rights and the potential end of a coaching tenure. Beyond the cheers and heartbreak that will define the final 80 minutes of the 2024 series, the match will shape the careers of two of Australian rugby league’s brightest halfback talents: Nathan Cleary of the New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons rookie Sam Walker. Both men enter the decider as co-winners of the opening two games’ man-of-the-match honours, carrying famous rugby league surnames and vastly different personal stakes into the biggest match of the series. For Cleary, 28, a win on enemy territory would put to rest an enduring narrative that has lingered despite an already legendary career. Over 11 years in professional rugby league, Cleary has claimed four NRL premierships, two Clive Churchill Medals for grand final player of the year, a World Cup title, an Ashes series win, and three previous Origin series. Yet critics have continually pointed to one gap in his resume: he has never won an Origin decider, holding an 0-3 record in final-game deciders, leading to ongoing claims he has yet to truly dominate the Origin arena. A series-clinching win for the Blues would not only end that debate permanently, it would also almost certainly hand Cleary the coveted Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series, following his standout performance in game one. While his teammates have downplayed the external pressure on the star, who anchors the most dominant club side of the modern NRL era, Cleary says he has learned to reframe the weight of expectation as a positive. “You definitely feel it, but I feel it every single week; not just the big games,” Cleary told reporters ahead of the match. “I think it’s more of a pressure on me because I want to play my best game every single week. It’s obviously not attainable, but I want to do my best for the team to put ourselves in the best position to win. Sometimes you’ll just get hit with nerves that you’re not even expecting, and that’s just the body’s reaction. But dealing with those and actually realising that we’re in such a great position and have such a great opportunity to turn that into a positive is what’s ultimately changed. Probably earlier in my career, once I started feeling nerves, it would make me even more nervous and would spiral a bit. Now I definitely frame it as a positive thing. If you went through life without nerves or any of those high emotions, it would be quite a boring life.” Like Cleary, Walker carries a legacy tied to rugby league royalty. Cleary’s father Ivan forged a successful playing career before becoming one of the NRL’s most decorated modern coaches. Walker’s father Ben and uncles Chris and Shane all played top-flight NRL, and the younger Walker has inherited their unconventional, creative approach to the game. At 24, four years Cleary’s junior, Walker has yet to play in an NRL grand final, but his introduction to State of Origin has already exceeded all expectations. Drafted into the Maroons side to replace injured starter Tom Dearden, the rookie has already turned heads with his performance across the first two games of the series, and a series win would land him one of the biggest paydays in recent halfback history. For years, Walker was written off by scouts and analysts who questioned whether his smaller frame could withstand the physical intensity of top-level rugby league. But his spontaneous, unpredictable style of play has drawn inevitable comparisons to Queensland legend Allan “Alfie” Langer, another small, dynamic Ipswich-bred halfback who defied expectations to dominate the Origin arena. “You hate comparing him to the Alfie Langer journey, but the similarities are there for all to see,” Queensland Rugby League chief executive Ben Ikin said. “A small blonde-haired Queensland halfback who people didn’t know whether he’d be resilient enough to dominate at that level. Beyond that, both of them have their own unique approach to how they see the game and play the game. Sam, like Alfie, stepped into the maroon jersey. For those who know him well, they weren’t surprised. But for the rest of us, any doubts we had about this kid have been dispelled.” Maroons coach Billy Slater’s decision to hand Walker a starting spot was seen as a risky gamble when it was announced, but the move has already paid off in spades, proving that unorthodox playing styles can thrive on the Origin’s biggest stage. Ikin notes that Walker’s upbringing in a family that prioritizes creative, flexible coaching has given him an edge that opposing teams struggle to prepare for. “Sam has this unique way of playing the game,” Ikin said. “For a couple of decades, there’s been a lot of cookie-cutter football that has been largely driven by coaches. But now we’ve got this bloke whose father and uncle have got their own unique style of coaching, and he’s learnt a lot from them. For me, that means that at the NRL level and in Origin, because he’s unpredictable, he’s hard to coach against. It’s pleasing for me that he’s been able to transition that style from NRL into the toughest version of our game.” As kickoff draws near, both players are poised to leave permanent marks on the 2024 series, regardless of the final score. For Cleary, a win will cement his status as an Origin great; for Walker, a breakout performance in a series-winning Maroons side will confirm he belongs among the game’s elite, and set him up for the massive contract that has already been within sight.