World Cup 2026: Round of 16 - Day 2

It's the second day of the Round of 16 and we had to fantastic matchups to look forward to. Historic powerhouse Brazil took on global superstar Erling Haaland and Norway. England traveled to the Azteca to face Mexico. Two incredible matches on paper. Did they live up to the hype? This is how I saw things as they all played out:

Norway 2-1 Brazil

What a result for Norway. And what a let down for Brazil. But first, let's talk about how we got there. Norway started the better team and had a goal in the 3rd minute chalked off for offside. They then conceded a penalty in the 10th minute but Bruno Guimarães took it and couldn't convert. He did the stutter-step run up that has become so common in recent years but Orjan Nyland did well to hold his ground and save a relatively tame effort. Both teams had chances during the rest of the first half but weren't able to score and we went to halftime at 0-0.

Endrick came on for Brazil in the 58th minute and nearly scored immediately. Vinicius Jr put him through on goal with a brilliant pass but a poor touch allowed Nyland to close him down and force Endrick to shoot wide. Nyland continued to look brilliant and Brazil couldn't get their goal. Then in the 79th, Erling Haaland rose up and beat Gabriel to put head the ball past Allison and give Norway a 1-0 lead. Nyland made an unbelievable save in the 86th when a deflected shot looped towards goal and he scrambled back to tip it wide. Then in the 90th minute, Haaland would drill a shot past Allison from just outside the box. Norway were now well on their way to victory. Brazil would get a late penalty that Neymar would convert after a lot of jawing back and forth with Nyland. But it was too little too late and Norway are on to the Quarterfinals.

I'll get to Norway but I have to talk about Brazil first. They came out so defensive in this game. Their plan was to sit back and hit Norway on the counter. While it may have been the best way on paper to get past Norway, it just feels so counter to what Brazil is supposed to be. I've only been following this sport for the past 20 years but all I've ever heard was "Joga Bonito". Joga Bonito feels dead.

Norway were fantastic in this game. It's about time I give them some more credit. My take has consistently been that they're an average European team that are elevated by Haaland. I now think they're a very good European team that are elevated by the beast up top. And that makes them extremely dangerous. No one will want to play them.

England 3-2 Mexico

What a game. An instant World Cup classic. As we all expected, Mexico came out with incredible energy. They were at home at the Azteca after all. And they almost got the game's first goal in the 15th minute when Raul Jimenez headed down and towards the corner but Jordan Pickford got down and made a fantastic save. England did well to weather the storm early and then struck Mexico with a couple haymakers. Jude Bellingham got England on the board in the 36th minute when he got on the end of a Bukayo Saka cross and put away a diving header. Just after kickoff, Gilberto Mora would lose the ball and England were away on the attack. Bellingham would score again as he crashed the six yard box and poked in a Harry Kane cross. Just like that, in less than two minutes, England were 2-0 up. Julian Quinones would pull one back for Mexico just four minutes later though, as England failed to properly clear a free kick and Quinones hit a volley from close range past Jordan Pickford. Mexico would keep the pressure on but England were able to escape. An electric first half would end with England leading 2-1.

The first big moment of the second half came under four minutes in when Nico O'Reilly hit the post for England. The bigger moment happened in the 54th minute when Jarell Quansah was shown a red card for a foul on Jesus Gallardo following a VAR review. It was the right call as Quansah's leg was raised on the follow through and his studs made contact with Gallardo. Mexico barely had any time to take advantage though before England won a penalty. Anthony Gordon was taken out by Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel in the 58th and Harry Kane dispatched the ensuing spot kick. Less than ten minutes later, Mexico would have a penalty of their own. Kane raised his leg to try to clear the ball away but made contact with Brian Gutierrez. Raul Jimenez would convert for Mexico and the game was back on. England had to defend for their lives from there on out. It was a conscious choice by Thomas Tuchel, who decided that with his team playing a man down, they just needed to put all nine players behind the ball. The game then turned into Mexico just sending in a bunch of crosses despite England having the height advantage. It didn't end up working and England survived to move on to the Quarterfinals.

I thought England were clearly the better team on the night. But honestly, that was expected. They have the better players by far. It was their grit in dealing with playing at Azteca and a man down for the last 40+ minutes (including stoppage time) that impressed me the most. England deserve a lot of credit for how they got through this game and their Quarterfinal against Norway should be brilliant.

I'm a biased USMNT fan so keep that in mind here as I assess Mexico. I think this was a successful tournament for them overall. In the group stage, they beat the two teams they were supposed to (South Africa and Czechia) and beat a tough South Korea side as well. Though a goalkeeper error gave Mexico the only goal of that game. They then impressed against an Ecuador side that clearly weren't ready for the occasion in the Round of 32. And then tonight, they just came up against a far superior England side. The talent level of the Mexican team wasn't good enough for them to be able to take down a giant. This was probably their ceiling but credit to them for reaching it.

Tomorrow's Predictions

• Spain 2-1 Portugal
  • I'd love to see Portugal go through here but I can't see it. They've shown me nothing to suggest they'll be able to get by Spain. Still, I think it'll be close but in the end Spain will get a winner in extra time
• USA 2-1 Belgium
  • It is absolutely wild that Folarin Balogun's red card was suspended by FIFA just a day before the game. Having him up top changes everything for the US. It also motivates Belgium, I feel. This is a really hard one to pick but I'm going with my heart here and saying the US just takes it

What a day we just had. Brazil are out and Mexico became the second of the three host nations to bow out of this World Cup. And now tomorrow we have Spain vs Portugal and USA vs Belgium. This World Cup just keeps getting better and better. Whatever happens, I'll be back here tomorrow to go over it all. Until then!