The United States had Folarin Balogun in the lineup but had its defensive shortcomings exposed by Belgium in a 4-1 loss in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday. Balogun started the match in Seattle after FIFA lifted his one-game suspension for a red card in the round of 32 against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Earlier Monday in Arlington, Texas, Spain beat Portugal 1-0 in the last World Cup appearance for 41-year-old Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer's career leader in international goals. Spain and Belgium will meet in the quarterfinals.

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said Sunday's painful World Cup last-16 exit at the hands of Norway should be used as "fuel" for the future as he insisted their disappointing tournament is "the start of a new cycle".

U.S. President Donald Trump's phone call to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to have the red card for the co-hosts star striker Folarin Balogun reviewed is the latest instance of political interference in the World Cup.

Balogun is free to play later on Monday in the last-16 match with Belgium after world football's governing body said the ban will be suspended for a year.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan waved a Palestinian flag on the pitch after his team's victory over Australia in the World Cup, saying he was dedicating it to both Egyptians and Palestinians.

"My heart and soul are with them," he said in an emotional postgame interview.

Although Spain arrived at this year's World Cup as a championship favorite and then went unbeaten through group play, those first three matches weren't overly impressive.

When the knockout rounds finally arrived Thursday, this star-studded team turned on its full talent and served notice that Spain can be just as good as everybody thought — and it's probably getting better.

Knockout matches continue Wednesday at the World Cup in the round of 32 with 2010 champion Spain advancing with a 3-0 victory over Austria in Inglewood, California, just outside Los Angeles. Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo in his sixth World Cup tournament, edged 2018 finalist Croatia 2-1 in Toronto, while Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 in Vancouver, British Columbia in the late game.

The World Cup is in the lose-and-go-home stage of the tournament and the pressure keeps rising with every minute of every match.

The biggest pressure cooker of them all: the penalty kick shootout. Exhausted players and goalkeepers face off in a tense one-on-one confrontation that carries the hopes and dreams of entire nations.

Win-or-go-home matches continued Tuesday at the World Cup in the round of 32.

Kylian Mbappé put France ahead in the 45th minute and added a second-half goal to set a World Cup knockout round scoring record, and Les Bleus beat Sweden 3-0 to set up a round of 16 match against Paraguay.

Football fans clashed with police in The Hague and celebrated in Casablanca after Morocco sent the Netherlands to its earliest World Cup exit, eliminating the Dutch on penalties on Monday night.

The Netherlands has a sizable Moroccan community and fans of the Morocco football team were in a festive mood after the win, though sporadic clashes also erupted.

Another World Cup, another early exit.

Germany should be getting used to disappointment, but it doesn't make it any less painful for a traditional football heavyweight that had been tentatively hoping for a fifth World Cup title to restore lost pride.