America and Belgium are in an equal summit, and Egypt faces defending champion Argentina in the 2026 World Cup

DUBAI, 6 JULY / WAM / The round of 16 competitions of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, currently being held in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, will continue tomorrow, with two anticipated matches, the first bringing together the United States national team with its Belgian counterpart at Seattle Stadium, while the Egypt national team meets its Argentine counterpart at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with the four teams looking forward to continuing their journey in the tournament and reaching the quarter-finals.

The American team enters the match against Belgium, benefiting from the ground and crowd factors, after topping the fourth group, then surpassing the Bosnia and Herzegovina team with two unanswered goals in the round of 32, despite completing most of the second half with ten players. It also received a morale boost after the Disciplinary Committee of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) canceled the decision to suspend its striker Folarin Balojan, so that he became available to participate in the match.

The American team presented distinguished offensive levels during the tournament, achieving three victories over Paraguay (4-1), Australia (2-0), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-0), while its only loss came against Turkey with a score of (2-3).

The Belgian national team, led by its coach Rudi Garcia, is seeking to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time in its history and the third in the last four editions of the tournament, after topping the seventh group ahead of the Egyptian national team on goal difference, before overturning a two-goal deficit against Senegal in the round of 32 to an exciting victory (3-2) after the extension to extra time.

The Belgian team has not suffered any losses in the tournament so far, after drawing with Egypt (1-1) and Iran (0-0), and achieving wins over New Zealand (5-1) and Senegal (3-2). Digital indicators are also in his favor, as he occupies ninth place in the FIFA world rankings, compared to sixteenth place for the United States, and his marketing value amounts to 547.5 million euros, compared to 385.65 million euros for the American national team.

The direct confrontations support the chances of the Belgian team, after achieving 6 victories compared to one victory for the United States in 7 previous confrontations, while the winner of this match will meet the qualifier from facing Portugal and Spain in the quarter-finals.

In the second match, the Egyptian national team will play a historic confrontation against the defending champion, the Argentine national team, in its first appearance in the round of 16 of the World Cup, after achieving an unprecedented achievement by qualifying for this round after defeating Australia on penalties (4-2), after the original and extra time ended in a draw (1-1).

All eyes are on the upcoming confrontation between Egyptian national team captain Mohamed Salah and Argentine national team captain Lionel Messi, in a meeting during which the Egyptian national team aspires to continue writing history by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, while the Argentine national team seeks to continue the campaign to defend its title.

The Argentine national team had reached this round after topping its group with a full score following its victories over Algeria, Austria and Jordan, before narrowly surpassing the Cape Verde national team with a score of (3-2) after the extension to extra time.

The Egyptian national team will regain the services of midfielder Muhannad Lashin after the end of the suspension, while Ahmed Fattouh and Mohamed Abdel Moneim continue to be absent due to injury, while doubts remain about the readiness of Nico Gonzalez and Facundo Medina in the ranks of the Argentine national team.

The numbers give an advantage to the defending champion, as the Argentine team occupies second place in the world rankings, compared to the twenty-fourth place for the Egyptian team, and its marketing value is 807.5 million euros, compared to 116.48 million euros for the Egyptian team.

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