[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-usmnt-belgium-world-cup-2026-round-of-16-preview":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-usmnt-belgium-world-cup-2026-round-of-16-preview":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":95,"_path":96},"USMNT Face Belgium in World Cup Last 16: Fiery Clash Awaits","usmnt-belgium-world-cup-2026-round-of-16-preview","football","Feature","Marcus Wright","The USMNT stumble into a blockbuster Last 16 clash against Belgium, riding a wave of unprecedented home-soil energy.","2026-07-06 22:03:30","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F1c21cc8ac867dbc49c701b56ff4fa4ed037e9052\u002F461_0_4609_3688\u002Fmaster\u002F4609.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=890439ef715d632eb0faa8d658ce3adc",[9,93,94],"USMNT","Belgium","The United States’ quest to get \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Ffootball\u002F2026\u002Fjul\u002F06\u002Fbelgium-appeal-fifa-lifting-folarin-balogun-red-card-ban-last-16-us-world-cup\">Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned\u003C\u002Fa> may have opened a Pandora’s box – one specifically designed to contain the national team’s worst nightmares.\n\nWith a country on the verge of falling in love with this team, and tens of millions eager for a reason to embrace the glory and pride this sport can provide, there were instead questions of fairness and propriety. A star striker, who made an honest, unintentional mistake – and said and did all the right things – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Ffootball\u002F2026\u002Fjul\u002F06\u002Ftrump-fifa-balogun-red-card-review-intervention\">turned into a talking point\u003C\u002Fa>. And a day later, on an otherwise beautiful Monday evening in the Pacific Northwest – the United States’ World Cup dream ended with a thud as Belgium’s players mocked Donald Trump’s signature dance.\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Ffootball\u002F2026\u002Fjul\u002F06\u002Fusa-belgium-world-cup-2026-match-report\">Continue reading...\u003C\u002Fa>\n\n> *Updated: 2026-07-07 — Confirmed USMNT elimination following 16th-place defeat to Belgium and post-match controversy.*","\u002Farticles\u002Fusmnt-belgium-world-cup-2026-round-of-16-preview",[98,99,100,101,85,102,103,104,105,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[108,120,130],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":112,"author":87,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":114,"date":115,"readTime":116,"image":117,"imageAlt":111,"tags":118,"excerpt":119},"austin-macphee-scottish-set-piece-guru-portugal-world-cup","\u002Farticles\u002Faustin-macphee-scottish-set-piece-guru-portugal-world-cup","The Scottish Set-Piece Guru Plotting Portugal's World Cup Glory","category","SportPulse Contributor","MW","2026-06-29 04:46:28","5 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F6bbb\u002Flive\u002F7e9eabb0-5eb7-11f1-9877-71c2729415b9.jpg","Premier League, World Cup, International Football","Austin MacPhee vaulted from Aston Villa's dead-ball mastermind to Portugal's tactical weapon for the 2026 World Cup.",{"id":121,"stem":121,"path":122,"title":123,"category":85,"badge":124,"badgeType":125,"author":87,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":114,"date":126,"readTime":116,"image":127,"imageAlt":123,"tags":128,"excerpt":129},"man-city-loans-exhibition-day-summer-transfer-window-showcase","\u002Farticles\u002Fman-city-loans-exhibition-day-summer-transfer-window-showcase","Inside Man City's Loans Exhibition Day: The Transfer Market's Hidden Engine","Transfers","tag","2026-07-17 10:32:57","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F8dca\u002Flive\u002F8abd2bf0-8131-11f1-b525-63787292c170.png","Premier League, Champions League, EFL, Transfers","Manchester City opened its training ground to clubs worldwide, turning loan management into a calculated art form.",{"id":131,"stem":131,"path":132,"title":133,"category":85,"badge":55,"badgeType":112,"author":134,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":135,"date":136,"readTime":90,"image":137,"imageAlt":133,"tags":138,"excerpt":139},"bouaddi-morocco-tactical-masterclass-brazil-world-cup","\u002Farticles\u002Fbouaddi-morocco-tactical-masterclass-brazil-world-cup","Bouaddi's Tactical_Masterclass Silences Brazil's Midfield","Elena Rossi","ER","2026-06-29 23:47:13","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F1be45c672c7b00744116249caf80ac283e2a27ad\u002F306_0_5777_4621\u002Fmaster\u002F5777.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=459e15b5700bb20506442032e788a9a8","World Cup, Ligue 1","Ayyoub Bouaddi dominated Brazil with tactical maturity beyond his years, controlling Morocco's tempo in a statement World Cup draw."]