England and Belgium fought tooth and nail to secure their spots in the World Cup 2026 Round of 16, as they needed to mount massive comebacks to eliminate DR Congo and Senegal, respectively. On the other hand, the tournament’s co-hosts, the United States, had a pretty straightforward victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday night.
The Three Lions fell behind early against the Leopards, and it looked like their finals campaign was about to come to a premature end. However, Harry Kane had other plans. The Red Devils also experienced something similar against the Teranga Lions, and it took them a lot of time and Youri Tielemans’ heroics to eke out the win.
As for the United States, they remain one of the top-performing teams in the competition, but they’re guaranteed to miss one of their key players in the next round.
Check out the recap of today’s World Cup 2026 results, courtesy of SBOTOP.
England 2-1 DR Congo
England were in trouble when DR Congo took a one-goal lead inside the first seven minutes of their contest, as Chancel Mbemba picked out Brian Cipenga for his first international goal for the Leopards. After they drew first blood, Sebastien Desabre’s men planned to park the bus for the rest of the game.
Harry Kane thought he won a penalty when he was tripped inside the box by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi in the 43rd minute, but the referee didn’t call anything. Mpasi did everything he could to preserve DR Congo’s slim lead, making several outstanding saves until the 75th minute.
Kane would get on the scoresheet for England by heading in Anthony Gordon’s lob pass from the left side. And the same duo combined for the winner four minutes from time, with Kane firing the ball into the roof of the net after Gordon rebounded Jude Bellingham’s blocked angled effort.
England had to survive one more scare when Bellingham conceded a free-kick deep into stoppage time, but Yoane Wissa’s effort didn’t go into the back of the net, much to head coach Thomas Tuchel’s relief.
The Three Lions had never won a World Cup match when trailing at halftime, losing seven and drawing two of their previous such matches. But they finally ended the unwanted record, thanks to Kane, who surpassed Pele (12) in the tournament’s all-time scoring list with 13 goals.
Belgium 3-2 Senegal (aet)
Belgium overcame a bigger deficit to dispatch Senegal, who will rue their missed opportunities after Youri Tielemans saved the day for the Red Devils.
Senegal were off to a lively start, as their pace caused problems for Belgium from the get-go. After Ismaila Sarr missed a glorious opportunity to put his squad ahead in the 13th minute, Habib Diarra scored the first goal for the Teranga Lions by poking the ball into an empty net after Sarr’s header (from a corner) hit the woodwork.
Pape Thiaw’s side doubled their lead six minutes after halftime, as Moussa Niakhate picked off Sarr, who received the long ball well and fired into the back of the net. At the time, it looked like Belgium were headed for another early exit.
The World Cup 2026 odds were stacked against Belgium until the final four minutes of regulation. Romelu Lukaku – who came on as a sub – got them back with a sweeping finish from Thomas Meunier’s cross. Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans – who were in a heated exchange during the second-half hydration break – then combined for the equaliser.
Tielemans completed the comeback in the 125th minute by converting the penalty after drawing a foul on Lamine Camara inside the box.
USA 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina made a bright start when Ermedin Demirovic fired straight at Matt Freese, who also had to punch Kerim Alajbegovic’s corner off the line. But after that, it was all United States.
Folarin Balogun thought he had broken the deadlock in the 31st minute when he tipped the ball into the bottom-right corner from Weston McKennie’s pass, but he was called for offside. He made sure his next chance counted before halftime, as Malik Tillman’s pass was deflected to him before he slid the ball past goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
After a quiet start to the second half, the United States were reduced to 10 men when Balogun received a straight red card for his studs-up challenge on Tarik Muharemovic. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s reprieve didn’t last long, as Tillman’s curling free-kick doubled their lead in the 82nd minute. The United States have won a World Cup knockout match for the first time since 2002.
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