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Tue, Jul 1, 3:00 PM on ESPN • Round of 16
Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
Let's do this. All of this.
Belgium headed into the World Cup burdened with great expectation. Coach Marc Wilmots has a plethora of incredibly talented young players at his disposal, who may well collectively make up the greatest national side in the Red Devils' history. An underwhelming start in retrospect was perhaps inevitable; they'd have had to blow their group stage opponents off the continent to live up to the hype. But there's now no doubt, they're a flawed side, and one the United States could well beat on Tuesday.
However, if the USMNT are to stand a chance, they'll have to hope they're on a good day, as their performances have been more than a little erratic so far. They squeaked unconvincingly past Ghana in their opening fixture, before being unfortunate to pick up a shock victory against Portugal in their second match. In their most recent fixture against Germany, they lost 1-0 and barely put up a fight. A repeat performance wold make life much easier for the Red Devils.