Day 4 of the World Cup… Expect the Unexpected

Outline & Table of Contents

• Introduction
• England vs. DR Congo
• Belgium vs. Senegal
• USA vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Day 4 Takeaways
• Looking Ahead

Let’s get right into it, shall we? Day 4 reminded us why the World Cup captures the attention of the entire world. England survived a scare, Belgium escaped disaster, and the United States found a way to win despite playing nearly half the match with ten men.

England vs DR Congo

I predicted Harry Kane would show up. He didn’t disappoint. DR Congo put up a heck of a fight against England and I didn’t expect that. The Fox Broadcast Announcers all spoke as if they knew that the DR Congo would give England a run for their money but let’s be honest… no one really expected that. 

DR Congo took advantage of a lackluster back line for England to start the game. Primarily center midfielders just not keeping markings as the offense made deep runs. Harry Kane eventually started making his way back into the defensive half to assist and that proved to be very beneficial. The DR Congo are a perfect example of how fun the World Cup can be. Casual fans may not know much about DR Congo, but they put themselves on the map. Thomas Tuchel’s (head coach for England) team really clung to Harry Kane after getting duds from Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham… I don’t see England coming back out in the next round that lifeless. Huge compliments to the DR Congo and head coach Sébastien Desabre, because he’s had this team since 2022 and they keep getting better. 

Belgium vs Senegal

What. The. Heck. Happened. Senegal… oh my goodness. They were up 2-0 until the 86th minute when Romelu Lukaku scored a goal off the bench again for Belgium! I’ve said this numerous times, but I do not understand why Lukaku is coming off of the bench for the Belgians. The offense and team in general looks better when he’s on the pitch. Kevin de Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, who both are typically fantastic for Belgium were meh today. But luckily for them, Youri Tielemans and Lukaku saved them from elimination. I will give the Belgium head coach, Rudy Garcia, a compliment for using good substitutions. I’d like to see Lukaku start but the substitutions have worked the past two games. 

Now for Senegal. Head Coach Pape Thiaw and this team absolutely floundered. Belgium had no right to score two goals in the last 10 minutes to tie the game. The second half the Senegal team just sat back and did not push forward like they had in the first half. I think it was total mismanagement. Sure, Senegal wasn’t expected to win…. But they gave the game away. Even in extra time, Senegal made a very poor mistake and gave up a penalty kick, deep in extra time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Senegal finds a new head coach within the next few weeks. 

USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina 

Okay, it’s not that Bosnia lost… it’s how they lost. For the majority of the first half, they really outplayed the USA, besides Folarin Balogun’s goal. The second half led to a Balogun getting a red card (I won’t share my opinion because I’m a biased USA fan). Not only did Bosnia have more shots than USA, but they had an additional player once Balogun got the red card.

They played for almost 40 minutes that way. Bosnia didn’t score in those 40ish minutes AND let up a goal to Malik Tillman on a set piece, which was a terrific shot. Now I do need to criticize Balogun who got a red card and is suspended for the next game. Balogun changes the USA team so much. Ricardo Pepi isn’t Balogun’s equal. They’re different players, and losing Balogun for the next match is a significant blow. I’ll give a shoutout to Chris Richards and Tim Ream.

A back line that has taken its share of criticism delivered one of its best performances of the tournament. For almost 40 minutes those center backs played shut down defense and didn’t back down once. This entire team came together and played fantastic soccer to shut Bosnia down. USA Head Coach, Mauricio Pochettino, didn’t change the game plan, either. He stuck with his core group of guys until late in the game and trusted his players to get back on defense and still play offensively.

I do have to criticize the Bosnian coaching staff. For almost 40 minutes they were up a player and did practically nothing offensively. Their substitutions were not beneficial, their tactics didn’t work, their leadership didn’t lead. When you’re a man up for 40 minutes… the expectation should be to have the possession and really bring it home, right? Sergej Barbarez, head coach of Bosnia, needed to do a better job of getting his team in proper form. 

This day 4 of the knockout stage was all about expecting the unexpected. Bosnia wasn’t expecting to be up a man and honestly looked like they had no idea how to handle that situation. Expect the stars to show up, like Harry Kane. And the expectation for Senegal to hold a 2 goal lead… the unexpected happened. This has been a great knockout round. Expect the unexpected, and cheers until tomorrow!