It was the day the United States’ dreams of going deep in this World Cup were ended
The co-hosts were resoundingly beaten by Belgium in the last 16, despite being able to select striker Folarin Balogun, whose ban was controversially suspended
Portugal’s loss to Spain means Cristiano Ronaldo has made his last World Cup appearance, after scoring in a record six editions
His old rival, Lionel Messi, has a chance to take another step towards a second World Cup triumph when Argentina take on Egypt on Tuesday, before the winners of Switzerland vs Colombia complete the quarter-final line-up
With no hosts left and more contending nations eliminated, here are our latest team rankings
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1. France
FIFA ranking: 1
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Having dismantled four opponents in a row, France were largely nullified in the last 16 by a stubborn Paraguay side, but still made it through with a 1-0 win
Paraguay showed that with unscrupulous methods, France can be got at, and you wonder if better opponents (i.e. Morocco in the quarter-finals) will take note and attempt to rile Didier Deschamps’ side
However, France remain clear favourites to win the tournament given the ridiculous attacking talent they possess. Kylian Mbappe is level with Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot with seven goals, while creator-in-chief Michael Olise is top of the assists chart with five
They deservedly remain top of our rankings — and The Athletic’s live projection tool forecasts a 31 per cent chance of them winning the World Cup
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2. Spain
FIFA ranking: 3
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Another clean sheet and another win after defeating Portugal thanks to Mikel Merino’s 91st-minute winner
Once more, they limited their opposition to relatively few chances. The curious thing about Spain in this tournament is that their star player, Lamine Yamal, has not hit the heights we know he can yet (one goal, no assists)
But Ferran Torres combined with fellow substitute Merino for the winning goal against Portugal, showing the strength in depth of a team that would become even more dangerous if Yamal steps it up a notch. They face Belgium next in the quarter-finals on Friday
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3. Argentina
FIFA ranking: 2
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Argentina made much tougher work of Cape Verde than most expected, twice being pegged back before an own goal in the 111th minute sent them through to the last 16 with a 3-2 win after extra time
Having won the 2022 World Cup, it is difficult to overlook Argentina as a serious contender, and with Messi joint-top of the World Cup goalscorer rankings with his seventh of the tournament against Cape Verde, he looks just as potent as ever
Lionel Messi is still producing great performances (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
But having had a relatively straightforward group stage, Argentina are yet to be properly tested by a top team. World Cup debutants Cape Verde proved their toughest opponents yet, and there will be much more to come from the quarter-final onwards, should they beat Egypt in the last 16
