Switzerland vs Costa Rica was the final Group K encounter of matchday 1, and it was also the final ga of June 18th.
The next day, the FIFA World Cup continued.
June 19, 2026…
The new day gas started with an epic Group L encounter between Belgium and Paraguay, 2 big representatives of European and South Arican football.
(GROUP L:)
(Belgium vs Paraguay)
(Venue: tLife Stadium, USA)
(Date: June 19, 2026)
(Ti: 16:00)
The atmosphere in the buildup to the ga was filled with venom, both coaches attacking each other's playstyle and their opposition weaknesses publicly on social dia.
All that and more promised football fans that the ga was going to be a thriller, and finally, D-day was here.
For Paraguay, they started in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Fernandez in between the posts and a defensive quadruple of Alonso, Alderete, Balbuena, and Caceres sitting in front of the goalkeeper to protect him.
In midfield was the duo of Goz and Cubas, while further ahead in attack was Galarza in left wing, Enciso in attacking midfield, and Miguel Almiron as the right winger of the team. Avalos led the team as the striker.
It was a formidable Paraguay lineup, but they went up against an equally formidable Belgium team if not an even more formidable one.
Belgium started in a 4-3-3 formation with Thibaut Courtois in between the posts as the goalkeeper, and his defensive protectors being unier, Faes, Debast, and Castagne. The midfield trio was led by a Belgian legend, the maestro Kevin De Bruyne who led Raskin and Vanaken in the midfield.
Further ahead in attack were 3 familiar faces, Leondro Trossard in right wing, Jeremy Doku in left wing, and Rolu Lukaku who seed to never age in attack as the sole striker of the team.
FWEEE!
The referee's whistle sounded and all hell broke loose.
It was an epic ga between 2 countries with distinct footballing styles. It was a ga of European technicality versus South Arica's tenacity and team spirit, traits that Paraguay fully embodied.
During the first 20 minutes of the ga, Belgium dominated, hoarding possession as with Kevin De Bruyne being the danger man as usual, they caused the most threat with his penetrative passes.
Rolu Lukaku was perhaps the only reason why Belgium didn't get their na on the scoresheet during the first 20 minutes.
In a way, it was vintage Lukaku as he burst into space with his speed and physicality, receiving killer passes from Kevin De Bruyne only to botch it by either shooting off target or straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.
"F*ck!" He kept cursing, grabbing his head in disbelief.
On the left and right sides of the pitch, Belgium's wingers also worked their asses off as they torched their markers with electric dribbles.
Jeremy Doku especially was a nace, dribbling past Paraguay's right back at so point before unleashing a curled shot that hit the post, sending an eruption of gasps across the stadium in the 18th minute.
And yet, Belgium didn't have the energy to do this all ga, to dominate a ga of football like this for 90 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the Belgian energy reduced.
And with it, Paraguay surged to life.
The Paraguayan players ca out of their shell, running everywhere, as Miguel Almiron and Jose Enciso led the sudden Paraguayan offensive charge.
Belgium didn't just roll over for their opponents though, they made it hard, stifling the ga to turn it into an exciting one of end to end football.
Belgium still dominated, but Paraguay was no longer idle.
They threatened.
The ga progressed past the 40th minute, still a goalless draw and just like it seed like it would end like that, a defensive lapse did one of the countries in, allowing their striker to take advantage.
It was Belgium. They were not the one who scored, rather, they were the ones with the defensive mistake.
Thibaut Courtois made a mistake that was uncharacteristic of him, passing the ball to his right back but he didn't add enough force to the kick, allowing Galazar to pounce on the ball.
The winger was imdiately closed down even as Courtois reacted to rectify his mistake but Galazar didn't even think to shoot with an open net before him. Rather, as they rushed towards him, including the goalkeeper, he passed.
Bam!
The ball rolled to his right, setting it up for Avalos, the striker.
It was too hard to miss, and Avalos didn't miss.
He simply pushed the ball, changing its direction into the net with the gentlest of touches.
It happened in the 44th minute and the tLife Stadium exploded.
BOOM!
South Arican fans roared, celebrating at the top of their lungs.
The first half ca to an end 0-1 to Paraguay.
And yet, it was in the second half when a Kevin De Bruyne who was already on the wrong side of 30 decided to roll back the years with a vintage performance.
BAM!
The second half barely started when the Belgian maestro took matters into his own hands, striking the ball from outside the box in the 56th minute to score when Belgium needed it the most.
Paraguay was stunned.
tLife lted from the roars and chants of Belgian fans.
"Kevin… De… Bruyne!" They sang.
Just 4 minutes after the goal to drag the ga level, Kevin De Bruyne crossed the ball into the box from the right side of the pitch, setting it up perfectly for Rolu Lukaku to pounce on, poking into the net.
BOOM!
tLife stadium lted a second ti from the roars of Belgian fans as their country finally took the lead in the ga.
But it was not enough. Not yet, said De Bruyne.
In the 86th minute, when most of the Paraguayan players pushed upward in search of the equalizing goal, Belgium won back possession and the ball eventually found its way to De Bruyne's feet.
He kicked it, sending a penetrative through pass that cut Paraguay's defense open like a hot knife through butter, sending Lukaku on his way to heaven.
Lukaku chased the ball, arrived before the goalkeeper, raised the ball above the goalkeeper, chased after it, before rifling a shot into the now empty net.
"GOALLLLLL...!!!" The stadium exploded.
Lukaku celebrated excitedly, pointing towards Kevin De Bruyne who was the ga changer on the afternoon.
Belgium won the ga 3-1.
Kevin De Bruyne won the man of the match award.
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