On Sunday, a draw for England against Panama would knock the African team out of the World Cup.
MOSCOW (CBS SPORTS) — Belgium has all but assured itself a spot in the World Cup round of 16 after pounding Tunisia 5-2 on Saturday in its second group stage match. After starting slow in a 3-0 win over Panama, Belgium got off to an incredibly fast start, scoring three times in the first half. Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard each netted a brace, with Lukaku moving into a tie on the top scorer leaderboard with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Red Devils didn’t win the possession battle, finishing 50-50, but the team produced 22 shots, 12 on frame, and could have scored six or seven.
As for Tunisia, it is on the brink of elimination. On Sunday, a draw for England against Panama would knock the African team out of the World Cup.
Mexico continued to impress at the 2018 World Cup, winning its second game of the tournament on Saturday by beating South Korea 2-1. El Tri looked dominant at times and had a two-goal lead before a late goal from the Asian nation made the final score closer than the actual match was.
Carlos Vela scored in the first half on a penalty kick and Javier Hernandez doubled the score with a fine finish in the second half, as El Tri built off the win over Germany with another crucial victory that puts them a step closer to the round of 16.
The curse of champions nearly caught Germany like it caught Italy and Spain in the past two World Cups, but Germany cauterized the wound before the curse could kill them.
On Saturday, facing Sweden and elimination in their second group-stage game, Germany overcame a 1-0 first-half deficit with a pair of second-half goals, the second of which came in the final minute of stoppage time, to best Sweden by a final score of 2-1.
Germany needed all 95 minutes to get the result it needed. Now it heads into its final group-stage match against South Korea with an easier path to the knockout stages.
