2018 FIFA WORLD CUP
Various Networks, 10:00 a.m. ET
Every day, it seems, I write again about how amazing, and exciting, this year’s World Cup has been. But yesterday? Come on! In what was supposed to be the more boring game of the day, the heavily favored Belgium fell behind 2-0 to Japan, a team that made it to Knockout stage only because of a complicated tiebreaker that proclaimed it as more… polite. But then Belgium scored a couple of goals in the second half, and won the game with a third goal that entered the net virtually as play was ending. It was the first time a team had rallied from two goals down, in the knockout round, since West Germany did it to England in 1970. So that happened. And in the earlier game, Mexico, which had stunned the tournament earlier by beating defending champion Germany, was eliminated by Brazil, and its flamboyant player Naymar, in a dramatic 2-0 contest. So what’s on tap today? The final two games of the Round of 16 – one each on Fox Sports 1 and Fox. The first, on Fox Sports 1 at 10 a.m. ET, is Sweden vs. Switzerland. Whichever team wins today will advance to the quarterfinals, which Sweden hasn’t accomplished since 1994. And the last time Switzerland did it was 40 years before that. The second game, at 2 p.m. ET on Fox, is Colombia vs. England. Harry Kane and his British squad (pictured), after the unexpected early departure of so many powerhouse teams, suddenly have solid hopes of advancing in this World Cup, and maybe even winning. Just another day in Russia, at the Cup.