Rise of a Football God-Chapter 483: FIFA World Cup 2026 [14]

Switzerland vs Costa Rica was the final Group K encounter of matchday 1, and it was also the final game of June 18th.

The next day, the FIFA World Cup continued.

June 19, 2026…

The new day games started with an epic Group L encounter between Belgium and Paraguay, 2 big representatives of European and South American football.

(GROUP L:)

(Belgium vs Paraguay)

(Venue: MetLife Stadium, USA) novelbuddy.cσ๓

(Date: June 19, 2026)

(Time: 16:00)

The atmosphere in the buildup to the game was filled with venom, both coaches attacking each other's playstyle and their opposition weaknesses publicly on social media.

All that and more promised football fans that the game 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 Gomez 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 Meunier, 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 Romelu Lukaku who seemed 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 game between 2 countries with distinct footballing styles. It was a game of European technicality versus South America's tenacity and team spirit, traits that Paraguay fully embodied.

During the first 20 minutes of the game, Belgium dominated, hoarding possession as with Kevin De Bruyne being the danger man as usual, they caused the most threat with his penetrative passes.

Romelu Lukaku was perhaps the only reason why Belgium didn't get their name 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 menace, dribbling past Paraguay's right back at some 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 game, to dominate a game of football like this for 90 minutes.

After 20 minutes, the Belgian energy reduced.

And with it, Paraguay surged to life.

The Paraguayan players came 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 game to turn it into an exciting one of end to end football.

Belgium still dominated, but Paraguay was no longer idle.

They threatened.

The game progressed past the 40th minute, still a goalless draw and just like it seemed 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 immediately 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 MetLife Stadium exploded.

BOOM!

South American fans roared, celebrating at the top of their lungs.

The first half came 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.

MetLife melted from the roars and chants of Belgian fans.

"Kevin… De… Bruyne!" They sang.

Just 4 minutes after the goal to drag the game level, Kevin De Bruyne crossed the ball into the box from the right side of the pitch, setting it up perfectly for Romelu Lukaku to pounce on, poking into the net.

BOOM!

MetLife stadium melted a second time from the roars of Belgian fans as their country finally took the lead in the game.

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 game changer on the afternoon.

Belgium won the game 3-1.

Kevin De Bruyne won the man of the match award.