Can Dembele retain Ballon d’Or at World Cup of stars? U.S. coach’s big offer: Day 16 recap
We are down to the final day of the marathon 72-game World Cup group stage.
The penultimate set of six games did not offer too many surprises on the pitch, but there was one powerful story at its heart: Cape Verde qualified from Group H after having the better of a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia.
A collection of 10 islands off the west coast of Africa, with a population of about 525,000, is now the smallest nation to ever reach the World Cup’s knockout phase.
The big star on Friday was France forward Ousmane Dembele, banging in a hat-trick against Norway and reminding the world what he can do, although it was a shame not to see Erling Haaland, who was rested by the opposition.
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Kevin De Bruyne rolled back the years to send Belgium into the knockouts, which meant the prospect of a United States-Iran meeting in the round of 16 was ended. Iran is now at risk of exiting the World Cup after a late and marginal VAR call denied it a winning goal against Egypt last night.
Based on projections, Iran is still fancied to progress but if Algeria-Austria is a draw in Group J, a result that sends both through, DR Congo beats Uzbekistan and Croatia gets at least a point against Ghana, then the Iranians are out. You can examine the possibilities here.
Another big story came away from the pitch — around the UMSNT and its impressive coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
Let’s dive in.
Day 16 results
You can see the full bracket as it stands, and the projected third-place qualifiers, here.
Can Dembele retain the Ballon d’Or at this World Cup of stars?
The remarkable thing about this France team is that you can easily forget that they have the reigning Ballon d’Or winner on the pitch.
So much of the talk so far has been about Kylian Mbappe and his freakish goals record in World Cups. The next most exciting player is Michael Olise, one of the best in the world last season with Bayern Munich. And yet Dembele, who won the annual award given to the global game’s leading player last September, is right there too, one of the stars of world football — even if he is not the biggest one on this French team.
When France played Norway at Gillette Stadium near Boston on Friday afternoon, Dembele took the opportunity to remind everyone just how good he is. This game was billed in advance as Mbappe vs Haaland, but Haaland was rested ahead of the knockout stage and the decisive player was not Mbappe, as good as he was. Instead, it was Dembele.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored three brilliant goals. The first was driven in with his right foot. The second and third came after cutting inside and whipping across the goalkeeper with his left. Yes, this was far from a full-strength Norway side, but it was still a demonstration of the skills that have brought him to the top of the game.
Dembele’s agility, quick thinking and capacity to get off shots in tight spaces is unlike anyone else’s skill set in the game. And if he plays like this against Sweden on Tuesday in the round of 32 then Graham Potter’s Scandinavians will have a hard time stopping him, too.
But should we really be so surprised? Dembele was not gifted the Ballon d’Or in a raffle. He was awarded it – ahead of Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane, all of whom will want to win it from him this year – because he was integral to the brilliant PSG team that won the 2024-25 Champions League.
Since then, PSG have won that competition again.
Dembele is clearly one of the best players in the world. Maybe we all needed him to remind us.
Pochettino offer shows why he’s such a coup for the U.S.
The big news on the USMNT was broken by The Athletic on Friday, with Adam Crafton reporting that Mauricio Pochettino has been offered a new four-year contract by U.S. Soccer, which would see him coaching the team all the way through the next World Cup in 2030. The proposal was made before the start of this tournament, and while no decision will be taken until after it is over, the news underlines the popularity of Pochettino, and the work he has done since taking the job in 2024.
Certainly, events of the past few weeks have underlined what a coup it was in the first place for U.S. Soccer to recruit Pochettino for this cycle. As co-hosts, the USMNT needed to make a positive impression on this World Cup, and needed to play in a way that connected with the American public at large. In those emphatic wins against Paraguay and Australia it certainly did that, and there was no shame in losing to Turkey on Thursday with a heavily-rotated side.
Winning Group D is no small achievement, as Pochettino made very clear in his post-match press conference. Perhaps he came across as defensive as he spoke to journalists, but like any coach, he wants his good work to be recognised.
Pochettino has given the U.S. side belief at this tournament (Getty Images)
The big question now is whether Pochettino can get his players to repeat that same level of performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, in a round-of-32 match-up at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. If they do that and progress, the Americans should have a winnable game, perhaps against Belgium, in the last 16 at Seattle’s Lumen Field on July 6.
We could soon be talking about the USMNT’s first run to the World Cup quarter-finals since 2002, and a defining moment for soccer in the United States. All of which explains why it would be so significant if Pochettino stays on to try to take this young side to another World Cup in Morocco, Portugal and Spain in four years’ time.
Are we OK with Norway resting Haaland?
While France went full strength to chase the win, Norway took the opposite approach. Coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes in Foxboro, keeping Manchester City’s prolific striker Haaland and Arsenal’s title-winning captain Martin Odegaard on the bench throughout. His second-string side got picked apart and the defeat left Norway as runner-up in Group I.
Solbakken was unrepentant afterwards, saying that it was a “no-brainer” to make those changes. He said that his players were so tired by the end of their second group game with Senegal that it would have been a physical struggle, and a risk, to send them back out again four days later. “It was not a decision that took a long time to arrive at,” he added in his post-match press conference.
Finishing second leaves Norway with a difficult path through the knockouts. Solbakken’s team plays Ivory Coast in the round of 32 on Tuesday, and then potentially the winner of Brazil vs Japan on July 5. France, meanwhile, will meet Sweden on Tuesday, with the winner of Germany vs Paraguay as the last-16 opponent for the victors on July 4. So neither route is easy.
Haaland watches from the sidelines during Norway’s defeat by France on Friday (Getty Images)
But maybe Norway will be in a better condition to progress with the best players rested.
If Haaland or midfielder Odegaard had picked up an injury on Friday, then it would not matter too much who they faced in the bracket. Every team with a superstar will try to protect them. And if Haaland is at his rampaging best against Ivory Coast, nobody will especially care. If he then resumes his rivalry with Arsenal and Brazil defender Gabriel in the last 16, it could be one of the tussles of the tournament.
And yet fans are still entitled to feel disappointed not to see one of the world’s most thrilling footballers in a game like this.
Some purists may also argue that, in a competition like this, which comes around so rarely, there is a moral responsibility for teams to go full strength every time.
What to know about Saturday
Saturday is the final day of this lengthy group phase, with Groups J, K and L to be completed. The game of the day is in Miami, where Colombia faces Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo and company needing a win to finish first in Group K. A draw would leave Portugal in second place, with a harder route through the tournament.
England needs to beat Panama at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to confirm top spot in Group L, with Croatia and Ghana competing to finish in second place. And then to round it all off comes Group J, which Argentina has already won.
We will not see Lionel Messi from the start, Golden Boot watchers, but Austria and Algeria will play for the right to face Spain on Thursday as group runners-up (though remember, a draw there sends both through). And then, at roughly midnight Eastern time, it will all be over.
On Sunday afternoon U.S. time though, the knockout phase will finally begin, with South Africa vs Canada in Los Angeles getting us started.
Saturday’s fixtures
- Group L: Panama vs England, kick-off 5pm ET/10pm BST
- Group L: Croatia vs Ghana, kick-off 5pm ET/10pm BST
- Group K: Colombia vs Portugal, kick-off 7.30pm ET/12.30pm BST
- Group K: DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, kick-off 7.30pm ET/12.30pm BST
- Group J: Algeria vs Austria, kick-off: 10pm ET/3am BST
- Group J: Jordan vs Argentina, kick-off: 10pm ET/3am BST
