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Mikel Merino once again came off the bench to win a game for Spain as the European Champions beat Belgium 2-1 to progress to the semi-finals of the World Cup. La Roja unsurprisingly dominated possession from the first whistle in Los Angeles and, after plenty of patient probing, they took a deserved lead when Fabian Ruiz fired home from close range, after Thibaut Courtois had failed to parry a Dani Olmo shot to safety.

Four years can transform a player pool. GOAL picks the established stars, rising prospects and wild cards who could form the USMNT’s next World Cup lineup.

Argentina have found themselves at the centre of a storm in the wake of their scintillating World Cup last-16 victory over Egypt on Tuesday, amid sensational accusations of corruption and favouritism. However, this is one occasion where the demonisation of the Albiceleste doesn't feel justified. Two goals down against the rank underdogs in the second half, the holders survived by the skin of their teeth - coming from behind to miraculously turn the tie on its head in the space of 14 minutes at the very end of the match. But since the final whistle in Atlanta, the gravity of that feat has been overshadowed.

Erling Haaland has carried the hopes of a nation upon Norway's return to football's biggest stage after a 28-year absence, but while his goals have been vital to their cause, the Manchester City hitman hasn't been shouldering that burden alone. The Scandinavians are back at the World Cup having built a solid team unit that isn't solely reliant on its star striker, and the supporting cast have been showing what they can do in North America.

This is no doubt the biggest selection decision of Thomas Tuchel's England tenure to date. The Three Lions are favourites going into Saturday's World Cup quarter-final clash with Norway in Miami. England really should have too much quality all over the field for their Scandinavian opponents. But that doesn't mean Tuchel has it easy. England have a handful of tricky decisions to make.

It’s fair to say that Keira Barry’s first senior England call-up was unexpected. After injuries plagued the early years of her professional career, it was in February that the young forward ended her 10-year association with Manchester United and moved to the United States to sign for Bay FC. Exactly a month after her debut, she was on the bench as the Lionesses beat Spain 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.

Hansi Flick is regularly left astounded by the maturity of Pau Cubarsi's displays for Barcelona. "It's incredible to watch how well he defends," the German coach admitted last season. "He's young, he's only 19, but then you realise how long he’s already been playing at this level. We're very fortunate to have him. In terms of his performances, he's right up there with Lamine Yamal."

France eased into the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup by seeing off a stubborn Morocco side in Boston on Thursday. Predictably, Kylian Mbappe was the protagonist, making amends for an abysmal first-half penalty miss by scoring a sublime goal and teeing up another for Ousmane Dembele as Les Bleus secured a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Everyone is out to get the winger this week and, after so many years of excitement, his reputation is now, at the very least, up for debate

U.S. Soccer needs to think bigger after the USMNT’s World Cup exit, from coaching and player development to ticket prices and true road tests.

There's a lot to like about England's World Cup quarter-final clash with Norway on Saturday evening. It's a game laden with storylines. England have star power at numerous positions. Norway are the more cohesive team, geared towards serving one star. England have won at the Azteca. Norway knocked out Brazil. England have won the World Cup. Norway have not.

Liverpool fans may well be casting a keen eye over France's World Cup showdown with Morocco on Thursday, as a brewing transfer saga provides an intriguing subplot to the quarter-final. Something of a merry-go-round could well see Les Bleus winger Bradley Barcola end up at Anfield this summer - ironically a result of the Reds losing out to his current employers Paris Saint-Germain in the battle to sign Yan Diomande.

GOAL breaks down where each player of the 2026 USMNT World Cup squad stands as a new cycle begins.

We're in the end game now! With only eight teams remaining, the 2026 World Cup is about to reach boiling point, with the stakes unspeakably high for each of the quarter-finalists. The next round has a lot to live up, too, after this thrilling tournament continued to deliver moments of magic on an almost daily basis.

The final 20 minutes of England's dramatic, round-of-16 win over Mexico suited Jordan Pickford down to the ground. The Three Lions were down to 10 men, and Thomas Tuchel made the remit clear: To bunker in and keep the ball as far away from goal as possible. Pickford performed his task to a tee.

Wayne Rooney described Cristiano Ronaldo's final appearance at a World Cup as "a sad day for football". It wasn't, though. Not really. Ronaldo may be one of the most iconic figures in sporting history, but Spain's victory over an insipid Portugal side, taken in conjunction with Belgium battering the United States, actually made July 6, 2026 a pretty good day for the game.

The team's World Cup exit wasn't defined by a singular moment, but by a series of factors that doomed them on the day

In the moments after the United States' World Cup ended, Mauricio Pochettino was asked about his future as manager. It wasn't the time to discuss it, he said, and he was right. The aftermath of a nightmare 4-1 thrashing by Belgium was not the time to talk about whatever comes next, especially when he was the coach in charge of that collapse.

Lionel Messi made amends for missing a second penalty at the 2026 World Cup by inspiring the most dramatic of comebacks, as Argentina came from 2-0 down with just over 10 minutes remaining to beat a heroic Egypt side 3-2 in a last-16 clash for the ages in Atlanta. Lionel Scaloni's side started as sluggishly as they had performed in their lucky win over Cape Verde by the same scoreline, and Egypt took advantage, with an unmarked Yasser Ibrahim burying a cross from Marwan Attia past Emiliano Martinez with just 15 minutes gone.

The USMNT collapsed against Belgium, and suffered an emphatic loss in the biggest game in the program's history

The inquest into Brazil's disastrous World Cup exit is well underway after the five-time winners were unceremoniously dumped out of the tournament at the hands of dark horses Norway and the goals of Erling Haaland. In truth, the Selecao never really got going in North America - hamstrung by an ageing, rag-tag squad that was yet to gel as they often relied on Vinicius Jr to deliver the goods.

The USMNT had a chance to change perceptions on home soil, but a 4-1 loss to Belgium instead raised familiar questions about progress, pressure and missed opportunity.

Christian Pulisic went quiet, Mauricio Pochettino fell short and the USMNT’s dream run ended with a brutal reality check against Belgium.

After building so much goodwill through the summer, the U.S. saw it all fall apart with their worst performance of this World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career was brought to a bitterly disappointing close as Portugal were defeated 1-0 by their neighbours Spain in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup on Monday. The legendary attacker was peripheral before Mikel Merino's stoppage-time strike settled an underwhelming heavyweight tie in Dallas.

Substitute Mikel Merino scored a late winner as Spain edged Portugal 1-0 in an unexpectedly drab World Cup round-of-16 clash on Monday. The Arsenal midfielder was introduced in the 85th minute and won the game in the 91st with a tidy finish that was just about deserved. La Roja were ineffective for long stretches, and created little, but Merino proved to be the difference-maker.

Chris Wondolowski backs the USMNT to make a World Cup run as the Quakes legend reflects on his own tournament journey and the Bay Area’s soccer buzz.

Every USMNT World Cup goal has sparked joy far beyond the pitch, with families, friends, and loved ones sharing in moments years in the making.

The World Cup was actually becoming somewhat enjoyable. After the almost complete removal of jeopardy from the group stage caused by the tournament's farcical format, the overdue start of knockout football has unsurprisingly provided us with some genuine excitement - so much so, in fact, that you've probably already forgotten how disgracefully Iran were treated by the United States. Or that referee Omar Artan - along with millions of other Africans - wasn't even allowed to attend.