[{"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",[108,120,131],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":112,"author":113,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":116,"readTime":90,"image":117,"imageAlt":111,"tags":118,"excerpt":119},"sam-kerr-gotham-fc-return-nwsl-tactical-analysis","\u002Farticles\u002Fsam-kerr-gotham-fc-return-nwsl-tactical-analysis","Kerr's Gotham Return: Nostalgia Meets Championship Architecture","category","Elena Rossi","SportPulse Contributor","ER","2026-07-09 00:50:10","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fsam-kerr-gotham-fc-return-nwsl-tactical-analysis.webp","NWSL, Gotham FC, Sam Kerr, Australia","Sam Kerr rejoins a transformed Gotham FC seven years after leaving Sky Blue, facing a radically evolved NWSL landscape and tactical system.",{"id":121,"stem":121,"path":122,"title":123,"category":85,"badge":124,"badgeType":125,"author":87,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":126,"date":127,"readTime":90,"image":128,"imageAlt":123,"tags":129,"excerpt":130},"london-city-lionesses-transfer-spree-kang-wsl-shakeup","\u002Farticles\u002Flondon-city-lionesses-transfer-spree-kang-wsl-shakeup","Kang's Millions Reshape WSL as London City Lionesses Stun Rivals","Transfers","tag","MW","2026-07-16 01:49:48","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F208a25ac83e7edf2997d15c280b7dd0d691816ef\u002F0_2179_5464_4369\u002Fmaster\u002F5464.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6baf9d87b637b1062c276ddb686dbab3","WSL, Women's Football, Transfers","Michele Kang's London City Lionesses are signing world-class talent, leaving rival WSL clubs questioning how it fits within salary cap rules.",{"id":132,"stem":132,"path":133,"title":134,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":112,"author":135,"authorRole":136,"authorInitials":137,"date":138,"readTime":139,"image":140,"imageAlt":134,"tags":141,"excerpt":142},"salah-fitness-race-egypt-australia-world-cup","\u002Farticles\u002Fsalah-fitness-race-egypt-australia-world-cup","Salah Wins Fitness Race as Egypt Eye Australia Upset","Sarah Martinez","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-01 12:03:18","5 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F076c\u002Flive\u002F1f949ef0-753b-11f1-9510-1546718f668b.jpg","FIFA World Cup, Egypt, Australia","Egypt camp sources confirm Mohamed Salah is on track to face Australia in Friday's round-of-32 clash in Dallas."]