Day 28: Spain end Ronaldo era, Belgium end USA run

Spain and Belgium turned the July 6 North American slate into a bracket reset. Spain beat Portugal 1-0 in Dallas on Mikel Merino's 90+1' winner; FIFA's match centre logged Spain with 59% possession and 15 attempts to Portugal's 10. 1

Belgium ended the USA's home run 4-1 in Seattle. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, Hans Vanaken added the third, Romelu Lukaku finished it in stoppage time, and Malik Tillman had the USA goal. 2 ESPN framed it as a reality check for a co-host that had looked ready for a deeper run. 3

The third card leans on verified stat posts and official match data: FIFA named Charles De Ketelaere player of the match, OptaJoe logged Romelu Lukaku as the first player to score as a substitute in four different World Cup matches, and OptaJoe also credited Belgium substitutes with nine goal contributions at this tournament. 456

Social pulse, verified only: FIFA World Cup posted that Belgium's quarter-final ticket was punched, OptaJoe supplied the Lukaku record, and USA TODAY posted that Team USA lost 1-4 to Belgium, ending its run. 78

Next bracket note: Spain vs Belgium is set for July 10 in Inglewood; France vs Morocco opens the quarter-finals on July 9. 9