> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://verdeallday.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # World Cup Daily: Storylines and MLS matches(!) for July 16 - URL: https://verdeallday.com/world-cup-daily-mls-matches-july-16/ - Published: 2026-07-16T14:00:16.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-16T14:00:20.000Z - Description: Lionel Messi once again willed Argentina over the line, and his reward is facing a stultifying Spain team in the final. Also, MLS (remember that league?) resumes with four Thursday matches, including Dani Pereira's CFM debut. - Author: Phil West - Tags: world cup It's not coming home. Just minutes from closing out a 1-0 victory and a crucial step closer to its first World Cup title in 60 years, England met the fate of Cabo Verde, Egypt, and Switzerland before them. Namely: Argentina finds a way to win in the end. This time, it was Lionel Messi assisting on goals by Enzo Fernández (at 85') and Lautaro Martínez (at 90'+2') to complete the shocking 2-1 win on Wednesday in the 2026 World Cup's second semifinal. Now, it's Spain vs. Argentina in Sunday's final — which, based on the evidence, I think Spain will win, but based on what Argentina does late in matches, I just don't know – and England consoling itself with another trip to Miami to face France on Saturday. (There's a Golden Boot trophy still in play, and the third-place game counts toward it, so don't be surprised if Kylian Mbappé gets that as a consolation prize for France, who based on England's fresher and crueler heartbreak, seem more positioned to win.) In the meantime, as the ad implores you to do, and as covered on the most recent [Emergency Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-112-rudi-garcia-is-using-a-bic-multipen-emergency/id1742052077?i=1000776684189&ref=verdeallday.com), you *can* kick it. MLS resumes tonight with four matches, all on Apple TV, and compelling narratives (with some pale shades of Verde in there) persist: - **CF Montréal vs. Toronto FC**, 6:30 pm CT, which will very likely be Dani Pereira's debut for his new team. It will most definitely be disorienting to see him in black and blue stripes and wearing No. 7, but it's a thing to get used to. - **Chicago Fire FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC**, 7:30 pm CT, which not only puts two of the five best team in the league (by current standings) in the same match, it also gives us Gregg Berhalter coaching against a team featuring his son, former Austin FC midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, fresh off his World Cup appearance and heading for his second straight All-Star appearance. - **St. Louis City SC vs. Sporting Kansas City**, 7:30 pm CT, which seems the lesser of the two 7:30 pm matches, but as an Austin fan, you'll have a rooting interest in this one — an SKC win would bring SKC up to 14 points, and tied on points with Verde in the basement, but would also keep St. Louis just two points ahead of Austin, within easier reach for Verde's long attempted slog back to the playoff places. - **Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers FC**, 9:30 pm CT, which allows you to freshly associate Lumen Field with something other than the USMNT's ignoble exit from the World Cup, but also, a Seattle win keeps Portland tied with Austin on points and that much more able to be toppled should Verde find life. We get two more matches on Friday (Atlanta-Nashville and an El Tráfico in Carson), and then we're back to the World Cup for one last glorious weekend. ![2026 World Cup bracket](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/07/WC-2026-13-.png) ## Round of 32 ### Sunday, June 28 - **Canada 1, South Africa 0** ### Monday, June 29 - **Brazil 2, Japan 1** - **Paraguay 1(4), Germany 1(3)** - **Morocco 1(3), Netherlands 1(2)** ### Tuesday, June 30 - **Norway 2, Côte d'Ivoire** **1** - **France 3, Sweden 0** - **Mexico 2, Ecuador 0** ### Wednesday, July 1 - **England 2, DR Congo 1** - **Belgium 3, Senegal 2** - **United States** **2, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0** ### Thursday, July 2 - **Spain 3, Austria 0** - **Portugal 2, Croatia 1** - **Switzerland 2, Algeria 0** ### Friday, July 3 - **Argentina 3, Cabo Verde 2** - **Colombia 1, Ghana 0** - **Egypt 1(4), Australia 1(2)** ## Round of 16 ### Saturday, July 4 - **Morocco 3, Canada 0** - **France 1, Paraguay 0** ### Sunday, July 5 - **Norway 2, Brazil 1** - **England 3, Mexico 2** ### Monday, July 6 - **Spain 1, Portugal 0** - **Belgium 4, United States 1** ### Tuesday, July 7 - **Argentina 3, Egypt 2** - **Switzerland 0(4), Colombia 0(3)** ## Quarterfinals ### Thursday, July 9 - **France 2, Morocco 0** ### Friday, July 10 - **Spain 2, Belgium 1** ### Saturday, July 11 - **England 2, Norway 1** - **Argentina 3, Switzerland 1** ## Semifinals ### Tuesday, July 14 - **Spain 2, France** **0** ### Wednesday, July 15 - **Argentina 2, England 1** ## Third-place match ### Saturday, July 18 - **France vs. England**, 4 pm, Miami Gardens, Fla. ## Final ### Sunday, July 19 - **Spain vs. Argentina**, 2 pm, East Rutherford, N.J. ## What to read [Per Defector](https://defector.com/you-have-to-kill-argentina-dead?ref=verdeallday.com), "You have to kill Argentina dead." And here's [a finger pointed](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7442975/2026/07/15/thomas-tuchel-england-world-cup-argentina/?ref=verdeallday.com) at England manager Thomas Tuchel, the least popular person in England today. *Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out* Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) *wherever you get your podcasts.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/02/TrueEarnings2.png)