The 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 continued on Wednesday, with several top teams fighting for their spot in the knockout rounds.
England, Senegal and the U. S. Men’s National Team won out in the end to seal their positions in the tournament’s Round of 16; the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium and Bosnia and Herzegovina were eliminated.
Here are the key takeaways from a full day of World Cup action:
England set up a date with destiny
Picture it: Mexico City, mid-June, 1986. The air at the high-elevation Azteca stadium was hot and thin, and England and Argentina were lined up to play one of the most meaningful World Cup matches of their respective histories.
The two nations were just a few years out of the ill-fated Falklands war, a military conflict that saw Argentina challenge England for control of the Patagonian archipelago known as either the Islas Malvinas or the Falkland Islands, depending on which nation you asked. Argentina entered the conflict believing the Malvinas were their national birthright; England entered it believing the Falklands were theirs through exploration and conquest. Multiple years of bitter disputes ensued, and no serious resolution ever came.
The men on the field weren’t part of the Falklands War themselves, but they carried plenty of national resentment on their shoulders nonetheless. The two countries had faced off in a World Cup quarterfinal 20 years earlier, and Argentina had found itself eliminated by England on the back of an incorrect refereeing call. It entered the match hungry for revenge…and it found it in the second half when Diego Maradona scored the breakthrough goal with what definitely appeared to be his hand. The goal stood, though, and England went home furious.
