Hello and welcome to another edition of Offside. First, the Spanish team defeated Portugal to win the Iberian derby, while the Belgian team defeated the host United States team 4-1, ensuring that the American team was redeemed without a red card and won worldwide recognition.There’s a saying that old age is a lot like childhood, and Ronaldo’s late career as chief mirrored his youth: a grumpy, complaining boy. It was a tough watch, especially for those of us who followed his career and watched him go from a teenager who touched the ball and teased it to a swashbuckling winger to a goalscoring machine and becoming a master of the penalty area.As he has grown older, Ronaldo’s scope of influence has shrunk to the point where he can remain a threat only within the D team, but even that seems to be gone at this World Cup. His majestic leaps, incisive finishing and ability to seize opportunities were all abandoned in his final days. To add to his embarrassment, his rival, two years his junior, looked like he had discovered the fountain of youth.Perhaps the romantics want a final showdown between Ronaldo and his great rival, but one that ends with the Merino instead of Messi. Merino is that kind of versatile player who could be called the “John O’Shea phenomenon”: poor at one position but giving you 8/10 performance at multiple positions. During the Premier League season, he even scored four goals in the run-in period in the absence of Victor Chokeres, but suffered a broken foot in a 2-3 home loss to Manchester United and missed the championship run-in period. Merino didn’t think he would play in the World Cup, but he was there to write the final footnote to the former Goat’s career.
It wasn’t a particularly pretty game, but Spain finally broke through. Incidentally, Spain have still not conceded a goal at this World Cup, which seems to be an ominous sign for other teams given the depth of their bench and their ability to call upon the likes of Ferran Torres and Merino to decide games. It was clear to everyone apart from Piers Morgan or iShowSpeed ​​that Ronaldo would no longer be promoted in the top flight.His World Cup and football career can be summed up in two images: a wink in 2006 and a complaint in 2026. The first was Wayne Rooney’s rude wink after he stepped on Ricardo Carvalho’s family jewels at the 2006 World Cup. The adversity he faced in the Premier League has since forged a beast that dominates world football, and although his skill level is not as good as Messi’s, he can still compete with him at the highest level. The second is Ronaldo in the 2026 World Cup, crying after being eliminated, he is a heavy burden on Portugal’s talented generation who don’t have the guts to tell their national legend that he has become a heavy burden around their necks.
Belgium player Youri Tielemans (8) reacts after Belgium’s victory against the United States during their World Cup round of 16 soccer match, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Speaking of albatross around the neck, Belgium earned worldwide recognition by defeating the United States 4-1. The hosts sparked outrage from fans around the world after Donald Trump used what KBC fans called a “phone call to a friend” to cancel Balogun’s red card. Ironically, this was the first time a leader of the free world had acted in a corrupt manner that benefited his country rather than him personally, but it meant that, overnight, the United States was subjected to the scorn of the global football community that is usually directed at the British national team.Belgium have looked rather listless at this World Cup so far, but the red card reversal seems to have energized the team. Charles de Cotrare scored twice and provided an assist, while Romelu Lukaku added another goal in stoppage time. Soon the conversation turned to why football isn’t a real sport, how Belgium has returned to a rules-based international order, and how it’s still two years away from nuclear weapons.The red card reversal took some of the shine off a U.S. team that looked like it had finally found a way to love a sport more associated with orange peels, suburban moms and Ted Russo. Hopefully we’ll see a different Team USA than we have now.As it stands, the quarter-finals will be Spain versus Belgium, and while the smart money would be on Spain, Belgium are known to pull off an upset or two.
Argentina vs Egypt
July 7, 9:30 pm (Indian Standard Time)Kings and Masters. All eyes will be on Argentina when they take on Mohamed Salah’s Egypt. Pharaohs are making up for lost time at the World Cup, while Cape Verde showed Argentina can equalize.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) applauds to the crowd after the match against Cape Verde during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Miami Gardens, Florida, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
warrior watchLionel Messi He has scored 7 goals so far in this World Cup and is competing with the next generation of superstars Mbappe and Haaland for the Golden Boot. But beyond the goals, the heart of Argentina is Messi’s passing, and that’s where the challenge lies.Mohamed Salah may not be 100%, but the King can decide his own moments.battle planArgentina’s best version saw them slowly tighten the noose on their opponents until Messi found the gap between midfield and defence. Against Cape Verde, they failed to press after conceding a goal. Defensively, Argentina will try to stop free passes from Malmouche or Salah.Meanwhile, Egypt must find more balance and composure against Argentina. The ideal plan is to intercept mid-low and selectively target the Argentinian full-backs.The key battle will take place on the Egyptian right wing and the Argentinian left wing, where Tagliafico and Lisandro Martinez will meet Salah.Table Talk: Can the Pharaohs succeed in sealing Argentina’s World Cup hopes in the pyramid?
Colombia vs Switzerland
July 7, 1:30 am (IST)Colombia versus Switzerland is one of the knockout rounds, making one wonder if it’s worth staying up late to watch. Switzerland are once again in the knockout stages, while football-obsessed Colombia are hoping to keep the chaos going.
Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi (9) celebrates after scoring during a soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in World Cup Group B on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
warrior watchJohn Manzambi has emerged as a breakout star in the Swiss competition and also had a stellar club season, helping Freiburg reach the Europa League final where they lost to Aston Villa. Manzambi was named the best young player in the Europa League this season and has scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists so far. Luis Diaz, on the other hand, is running a superlative tournament where he hopes to bring a little chaos to the world order in Switzerland.battle planColombia has conceded just one goal so far and has a versatile system with head coach Lorenzo prone to making tactical changes and positional shifts during games. Switzerland, on the other hand, are a team built on order, and their victory over Algeria was built on tactical sophistication, which allowed them to switch to a modern 4-2-3-1 formation, with Manzembe given the freedom to roam.One theme is the volume of travel from Colombia, which flies from Mexico to Miami, Kansas and Vancouver. Switzerland, on the other hand, played in Vancouver, which gave them a slight advantage.table talkThe second law of thermodynamics states that in an isolated system, entropy always increases with time. The match between Switzerland (order) and Colombia (chaos) will tell us whether this is a good thing in football.
