The World Cup is a decisive stage, and each match carries the weight of history.
Argentina continue their mission to defend their world title against Egypt in Atlanta, while Switzerland and Colombia also compete for a spot in the quarter-finals, while the tournament continues to deliver key moments from Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup appearance to an emotional round-of-16 exit to political commentary and Kylian Mbappé’s stand against racism.
Here’s what we know:
What is the schedule for Tuesday?
Argentina vs. Egypt: Tuesday, Atlanta Stadium, noon local (16:00 GMT) Switzerland vs. Colombia: Tuesday, BC Place, Vancouver, 1pm local (GMT)
What are your predictions for Argentina vs. Egypt?
The last time the two countries met was in a friendly in Cairo in 2008, when Argentina won 2-0 with goals from Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Burdisso. Argentina’s star player Lionel Messi missed the match due to injury.
Argentina has dominated matches against African opponents at the World Cup.
Based on 25,000 pre-match simulations, Argentina go into the match as clear favorites, with a 69.1 percent chance of winning within 90 minutes, according to supercomputer Opta.
However, the possibility of Egypt cannot be ruled out as the data shows that the chance of an upset is 12.3%. On the other hand, 18.5% of simulations end in a draw and go into overtime.
What are your predictions for Switzerland vs. Colombia?
Three of the past four meetings have been international friendlies, with the most recent meeting occurring in March 2007. In that game, Edixon Perea, John Viafara and Andres Titiva found the back of the net for Los Cafeteros as Colombia won 3-1.
The Opta supercomputer had a slight advantage for Colombia ahead of this matchup, with the South American team winning 41.9% of 25,000 pre-match simulations over 90 minutes.
Switzerland normally has a 28.2% chance of winning, but in the simulation it ended in a draw 29.9% of the time.
What else is going on?
Ronaldo’s emotional World Cup exit
The football icon made his final World Cup appearance for his country, ending a historic six-tournament career and cementing his place among the game’s all-time greats.
After Portugal’s defeat, Ronaldo admitted this would be his last World Cup and admitted he was disappointed that his journey on football’s biggest stage had come to an end.
“It’s sad to leave the World Cup in this way,” Ronaldo said. “I gave everything I had, did my best and left here with a clear conscience. Yes, this was my last World Cup, but now I have time to reflect and spend time with my family. I will not make any decisions in the heat of the moment.”
The 41-year-old forward declined to say whether he also played in his final match for Portugal, explaining that he did not want his future to distract from the team’s efforts.
America’s World Cup dream ends in heartbreak
The images captured the disappointment of the United States’ World Cup exit.
Christian Pulisic injured his ankle and was left on the field in pain. Matt Freeze made a disappointing mistake and stood with his hands on his head, while Chris Richards collapsed onto the pitch in frustration. Manager Mauricio Pochettino also showed his emotions, kicking a rack near the bench as bottles were scattered about.
A merciless display by Belgium on Monday dashed the United States’ hopes of making it home to the World Cup. Charles de Ketelaer scored twice and added another goal for a 4-1 victory, sending the Red Devils into the last eight of the tournament.
“It stinks,” Tyler Adams said. “This was a moment where we had an opportunity to move forward and really try to do something special. We just fell short.”
Despite Folarin Balogun’s return after his controversial red card suspension was lifted by FIFA, the United States was negated by defensive mistakes. Belgium took the initiative with two mistakes in the first half, but in the second half they were deprived of an additional point due to a free mistake.
Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan uses World Cup platform to talk about Palestine
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan shifted his focus from their World Cup last-16 match against Argentina to deliver an emotional message about the situation facing the Palestinians.
Hassan, who carried a Palestinian flag after Egypt’s victory over Australia in the previous round, spoke for more than four minutes at a press conference on Monday, drawing applause from several journalists in attendance.
“If there is anyone in the world who does not sympathize with Palestinians, whether they are Arabs, Europeans or Americans, they are not human beings,” Hassan said.
He went on to compare the world’s response to the suffering of civilians in Gaza to the response to animal rights, and said that thousands of deaths a day should not become the norm.
Hassan’s comments came as Egypt prepare for the biggest game in the country’s soccer history, aiming to become the first Pharaohs to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
Mbappé accuses Paraguayan senator of racist remarks
France captain Kylian Mbappé has criticized Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla for making racist comments following Paraguay’s defeat to France in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Mbappe described Amarilla’s comments as “despicable” and said she was “unfit” to represent Paraguay’s parliament. In a post by X, the French forward accused racism of allowing racism to overshadow Paraguayan players’ performance during the tournament.
Amarilla wrote a lengthy racist rant filled with slurs about X, describing Mbappé as “a colonized Cameroonian desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and a “savage” who had never learned to write. She added that the Paraguayan players should have slapped him after the match.
In response, Mbappé issued a strongly worded statement defending not only himself but the Paraguayan players.
“Mrs. Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, who sweated passion and honor throughout the Games,” he wrote.
France will advance to the quarter-finals and face Morocco on Thursday.
Amarilla later deleted the post and wrote an open letter to Mbappe, saying she regretted the insults she suffered as a mixed-race person.
Translation: Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a vile woman and do not deserve your position. You are not the representative of Paraguay, who sweated out passion and honor throughout the tournament. Due to your recklessness and brazen racism, the whole world has already forgotten the journey and historic efforts made by the players during this World Cup, making way for an incompetent woman who will tarnish the image of her country in the worst way. I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread hatred and racism around the world.
