So… after the ridiculous peace prize trump is now even forcing FIFA to manipulate the game in their favour.
If Europe had any balls we would just go home and start a new organisation to replace the corrupt FIFA. We should have never even accepted to play in trumpistan
OTOH, R16 is normally where the knockout rounds start, so the USA just got a free pass to what’s normally the real beginning of the tournament.
I’m saying this as a fan of Canada who didn’t make the round of 16 at all, but still had a wildly successful run by Canadian standards: first ever world cup goal, first ever world cup win, first ever advancement from a knockout round (but only from the round of 32 which normally doesn’t exist).
The US has a decent chance of getting past Belgium, but whoever wins that match faces either Spain or Portugal, and that will probably be the end.