And Then There Were Eight

There’s always next year four years from now.

The U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) fell 4-1 to Belgium Monday night, ending their hopes in the Round of 16 for their third World Cup in a row and completing the hat trick of host countries knocked out. In Head Coach Pochettino's words, the team never seemed to find “the flow of the game.”

The pre-match chatter was dominated by Folarin Balogun, the USMNT’s leading scorer, being unsuspended after President Trump asked FIFA’s president for a review, prompting an outcry from Europe. It ultimately didn’t matter: Belgium moves on to face a Spain squad that eliminated Portugal, sending Cristiano Ronaldo home from his final World Cup empty-handed.

The quarter-finals kick off Thursday with France taking on Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough at 4 p.m. ET.

Verse to consider whether success right now is winning a trophy, completing your errands, or just making it out of bed, “Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.”
1 Corinthians 9:25 (CSB) (read full passage)