2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 Recap
2026 World Cup™ Round Of 32 Recap
The new Round of 32 is over for the 2026 World Cup™ and we saw a lot of great matches and a couple upsets. Let's break down the bracket and all 16 matches.
How The Knockout Stage Works
The knockout stage is played in a single elimination format with 5 rounds, starting with the newly introduced round of 32. In the knockout stage, if the score is tied and normal playing time expires, 30 minutes of extra time will be played. If still tied at the end of extra time, a penalty shootout will be used to determine the winner.
How A Penalty Shootout Works
If a game is tied after extra time then the game goes to penalty kicks each team gets 5 penalty kicks and whoever has more goals wins. But if both teams are still tied after 5 rounds then it's one round at a time until a team wins.
Canada 1
South Africa 0
The last time these teams played each other was in a 2007 friendly where South Africa won 2-0. After the first 90 minutes the score was tied 0-0 and in the 92nd minute Canada centered the ball which a South African defender headed it a little back to where Stephen Eustaquio was. He gets the ball and rips a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal where a diving Ronwen Williams just missed it. Canada scores and ends up winning this game 1-0. Canada had a really good game with a lot of scoring opportunities but they only got 1 goal here. Canada will face Morocco in the round of 16. South Africa gets eliminated in the round of 32 with this being one of their best runs in the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. South Africa had a couple scoring opportunities that did not go their way and they ran out of time to score a goal.
Brazil 2
Japan 1
The last time these teams played each other was in 2025 at the Kirin Challenge Cup in October where Japan won 3-2. In the 29th minute Kaishu Sano got the ball at the midfield line and made a solo push and found a gap in the Brazilian defense and shot for the bottom left corner right by goalkeeper Alisson for Japan to take a 1-0 lead. In the 56th minute Gaberial Magalhaes sliced the ball across the field looking for a header and Carlos Casemiro headed the ball right past Zion Suzuki's right hand to tie the game up 1-1. In the 91st minute Bruno Guimarães passed the ball through two Japan defenders. Gabriel Martinelli shoots the ball instantly with three defenders not having enough time to react and shoots for the right side of the net past Zion Suzuki. The ball hits the goal post and goes in to give Brazil a 2-1 win over Japan. Brazil will go on to face Norway in the round of 16. Japan got eliminated in the Round of 32 after playing really well in this tournament. Japan had one of the hardest groups and hardest first matches in the round of 32. Japan was also Asia's best ranked team at 18 in the world and probably Asia’s best chance to win a World Cup™ in 2026.
Paraguay 1 (4)
Germany 1 (3)
The last time these teams played each other was in a 2013 friendly where Germany and Paraguay tied 3-3. In the 41st minute, Matías Galarza crossed the ball looking for a header. Julio Enciso headed the ball, it hit the ground and went into the top left side of the net to give Paraguay a 1-0 lead. In the 53rd minute, Florian Wirtz kicked the ball toward the net looking to make a play and Kai Havertz headed the ball right into the bottom right corner of the net tying up the game 1-1. After extra time the match was still tied 1-1 and penalties were going to decide this game. Kai Havertz was Germany’s first penalty kick and this was blocked by Orlando Gill, the next 5 penalty attempts were all goals, going into round 4 Paraguay is up 3-2. In round 4 both goalkeepers made saves and in round 5 Germany tied it up and the score was 3-3 going into round 6. In round 6 Jonathan Tah who has never done a penalty kick in his professional soccer career kicked the ball way over the net. Jose Canale steps up for Paraguay and shoots it in the top right corner and wins the game for Paraguay upsetting Germany in the round of 32. Paraguay will play France in the round of 16. Heartbreaking for Germany as they were expected to win this game and put up a fight in the round of 16. It's been downhill for Germany since they won the World Cup™in 2014 but we will see if they will bounce back in 2030.
Morocco 1 (3)
Netherlands 1 (2)
The last time these teams played each other was in a 2017 friendly where the Netherlands won 2-1. In the 71st minute after the series of passes up the field it's a 2 on 3 situation where Crysencio Summerville get a breakaway with 2 defenders on him he passes it to his teammate Cody Gakpo, who takes a shot in the middle of the goal and scored bringing Netherlands the lead 1-0. In the 90th minute Chemsdine Talbi kicked the ball toward the net looking for a header and Issa Diop headed the ball with the back of his head changing direction of the ball and it went into the top right corner tying the game up 1-1. In round 1 of penalty kicks, Teun Koopmeiners scored for the Netherlands while Neil El Aynaoui for Morocco missed the net. In round 2 Justin Kluivert missed the net for the Netherlands while Soufiane Rahimi scored after the goalkeeper kicked it in by mistake tying it up 1-1. In round 3 both teams scored making it 2-2. In round 4 both goalkeepers make saves keeping the score 2-2. In round 5 Yassine Bounou makes a great save on Crysencio Summerville kick keeping Morocco alive, Ismael Saibari makes a great shot to the bottom right corner giving Morocco the win 3-2 in penalty kicks. Morocco will play Canada in the round of 16. The Netherlands get eliminated and this is a huge disappointment considering the Netherlands made it to the Quarterfinals in 2022. They played well this whole tournament and had a lot of good opportunities to score in this game.
Norway 2
Ivory Coast 1
This is the first time ever this matchup has happened. In the 39th minute, Antonio Nusa got the ball on the left side of the field and did a curling move to get around a defender and make a great kick putting the ball in the top right hand corner of the net to give Norway a 1-0 lead. In the 74th minute, Amad Diallo with the help of his teammates was able to get around some defenders and get close enough to goal and kick the ball with his left leg into the left side of the net with the goalkeeper and one defender almost blocking it. In the 85th minute, Norway found a gap in the defense with Patrick Berg bringing the ball up with 3 defenders on him he passed the ball to Erling Haaland who was wide open and pokes the ball and scores a goal easily making it 2-1 Norway lead. Norway will play Brazil in the round of 16. Ivory Coast was eliminated and they played really well in this game with lots of scoring opportunities that they could not capitalize on or Norway had better defense. This is Ivory Coast’s best tournament as this is the first time getting out of the group stage.
France 3
Sweden 0
The last time these teams played each other was in 2020-2021 UEFA Nations League A where France won 4-2. In the 45th minute, Kylian Mbappé gets the ball on the left side of the field, curls the ball around 2 defenders and rips a shot between 2 more defenders and scores on the right side of the goal to give France a 1-0 lead. In the 53rd minute, a series of passes from France in the middle of the field bringing the ball up allowed Bradley Barcola to shoot the ball from the top of the box and he scored making it 2-0 France. In the 73rd minute, Kylian Mbappé bring up the ball on the left side of the field, makes a pass to his teammate Michael Olise and Mbappé find a gap and get behind 2 defenders Olise makes a great pass and Mbappe shoots for the right side of the net and scores, getting it right past the goalkeeper making it 3-0 France. France will move on to the round of 16 versus Paraguay. Sweden was eliminated and played very well in this tournament a lot of close games and France just outmatched them here with a lot of defense mistakes and not too many scoring opportunities.
Mexico 2
Ecuador 0
The last time these teams played each other was in a 2025 friendly where it ended in a draw 1-1. In the 21st minute, Roberto Alvarado made a great pass to Julián Quiñones who made a good cut and had the ball in the breakaway situation and he made a move on the closest defender and shot the top middle of the net and scored making it 1-0 Mexico lead. In the 31st minute, a bad turnover by Ecuador on their side of the field allowed Mexico to set up an attack and Raúl Jiménez got by 2 defenders in the middle of the field and shot for the top right of the net and scored making it 2-0. Mexico will play England in the round of 16. Ecuador was eliminated and they played well in the group stage but this was always going to be a hard matchup for them and too many little defensive mistakes allowed for Mexico to score and not enough scoring opportunities with only 8 shots and only 1 being on target.
England 2
DR Congo 1
This is the first time ever that this matchup has happened. In the 7th minute, DR Congo kicks the ball up the field. A missed header by Noah Sadiki allows the ball to get to Brian Cipenga on the left side of the field and shoots for the bottom left corner and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford tips the ball but it goes past him allowing DR Congo to take an early 1-0 lead. In The 74th minute, Anthony Gordon gets the ball on the left side of the field. Harry Kane calls for the ball with his hand and Gordon shoots toward Kane who is in the middle of the field right on the goal box and heads the ball, Lionel Mpasi tips the ball with his left hand but the ball had enough room to go into the net making it 1-1. In the 86th minute, Anthony Gordon in the middle of the field passes to Harry Kane at the top of the goal box who goes to his right past 2 defenders and takes a shot for the top right of the net and nails it giving England a 2-1 lead. It would stay that way the rest of the game and England moves on to the round of 16 versus Mexico. DR Congo was eliminated. They played very well in this tournament and had a couple of scoring opportunities but England was able to get the better of them in the second half. This is the first time DR Congo have won a game and got any points in a World Cup™.
Belgium 3
Senegal 2
This is the first time ever that this matchup has happened. In the 24th minute, Senegal had the ball on the left side and Sadio Mané shot the ball close to the net looking for a header which happened from Ismaïla Sarr which went off the right post and Habib Diarra stepped up and kicked it in making it 1-0 Senegal. In the 52nd minute, Moussa Niakhaté makes a long pass to Ismaïla Sarr in a breakaway situation with 3 defenders chasing him down but he shoots for top right of the net and scores making it a 2-0 Senegal. In the 86th minute, Thomas Meunier gets the ball on the right side of the net and passes to Romelu Lukaku who is right in front of the net and scores in the top middle of the net making it 2-1 Senegal. In the 89th minute, Leandro Trossard is on the left side of the field with the ball and shoots toward that net for a header and Youri Tielemans heads the ball into the left side of the net tying up the game 2-2. In the 116th minute, Diego Moreira is on the left side of the field with the ball and he shoots it for his teammate Youri Tielemans who is tripped in front of the net and after a VAR review he is awarded a penalty kick. Tielemans shoots top right and scores, giving Belgium the lead 3-2. Belgium would hang on for the win with a comeback victory they will play the United States in the round of 16. Senegal is eliminated after choking this game up 2-0 after 85 minutes and losing. Senegal played well in this tournament but they were not able to stop Belgium after the substitutions came in from them scoring 3 goals in 45 minutes. This was Senegal’s worst placing at the World Cup™.
United States 2
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
The last time these teams played was in a 2021 friendly where the United States won 1-0. In the 45th minute, after a series of passes from the United States, Malik Tillman passed the ball up the field to Folarin Balogun with 1 defender on him he shot for the bottom left corner and just got it under Nikola Vasilj legs scoring making it 1-0 United States lead. In the 82nd minute, from a free kick, Malik Tillman shoots for the left side of the net and it tips Nikola Vasilj left hand and goes in making 2-0 United States. The United States would hold on the rest of the game and win. The United States is moving on to the round of 16 versus Belgium. Bosnia and Herzegovina was eliminated and they had scoring opportunities, but their shots were not good. A lot of them missed the net completely or they were easy for Matt Freese to block. This was Bosnia and Herzegovina’s best placing at a World Cup™ since becoming an independent nation.
Spain 3
Austria 0
The last time these teams played was in a 2009 friendly where Spain won 3-0. In the 36th minute, Marc Cucurella was on the left side of the field and crossed the ball past 3 defenders to Mikel Oyarzabal who tapped the ball into the bottom left side of the net and scored making it 1-0 Spain. In the 66th minute, Cucurella was on the left side of the field and crossed up a defender passing it to Álex Baena who brought the ball up and crossed it. Pedro Porro came out of nowhere and headed the ball in the net making it 2-0 Spain. In the 89th minute, Cucurella had the ball on the left of the field and kicked the ball around a defender right to Oyarzabal with no defenders around him and kicked it to the bottom left side of the net and scored making it 3-0. Spain would hold on to win and they would move on to the round of 16 versus Portugal. Austria was eliminated and this was going to be a hard match for them to win. This is the first time Austria has made it to the knockout stage since 1982.
Portugal 2
Croatia 1
The last time these teams played was in 2024-2025 UEFA National League A where it was 1-1 draw. In the 53rd minute, Josip Stanišić has the ball on the right side of the field. He crossed the ball to the left side of the field after some missed headers, to Ivan Perišić who gets the ball and shoots for the bottom left side of the net and the ball goes right under the goalkeeper’s leg to go in and Croatia had a 1-0 lead. In the 68th minute, after a VAR penalty was awarded to Portugal on a corner kick for pushing Renato Veiga to the ground on a header he almost had, Cristiano Ronaldo would step up to take the penalty kick and he shot for the center of the net after the goalkeeper Dominik Livaković dived to one side, Portugal would tie the game up 1-1. In the 94th minute, Rafael Leão gets the ball on the left side of the field and sees Gonçalo Ramos in the middle of the field with 3 defenders on him. Leão shoots the ball toward Ramos looking for a header and he heads the ball over a defender and past the goalkeeper to give Portugal a 2-1 lead. Portugal would go on to win this game moving on to the round of 16 where they will play Spain. Croatia is eliminated after playing well with a lot of opportunities they just could not score in this one. This is going to be disappointing for Croatia as they lost in the finals in 2018 and got third place in 2022. I don't think they were expecting to be out in the round of 32.
Switzerland 2
Algeria 0
The last time these teams played was in a 1986 friendly that Switzerland won 2-0. In the 10th minute, Johan Manzambi has the ball on the left side of the field with 2 defenders on him he crosses the ball past the goalkeeper and a defender to Breel Embolo who taps the ball into the net giving Switzerland a 1-0 lead. In the 46th minute, after a failed cross a defender kicked the ball right to Dan Ndoye trying to clear it, he got the ball and took a shot right away for the bottom left side of the net and he would score giving Switzerland a 2-0 lead. Switzerland will move on to the round of 16 versus Colombia. Algeria is eliminated after failing to have a lot of scoring opportunities a lot of their shots were not hard for the goalkeeper to stop. Algeria was hoping for a better performance considering their last World Cup™ in 2014 they made it to the round of 16.
Egypt 1 (4)
Australia 1(2)
The last time these teams played was in a 2010 friendly that Egypt won 3-0. In the 13th minute, Karim Hafez has the ball on the right side of the field and shoots the ball toward Emam Ashour who heads the ball and scores on the left side of the net, giving Egypt a 1-0 lead. In the 55th minute, a penalty kick by Aiden O'Neill on the left side of the field kicked the ball toward the center of the net and after a lot of missed headers Mohamed Hany heads the ball into his own net tying up the game 1-1. It would stay like this after 120 minutes of extra time which means this game was going to penalties. In round 1 Harry Souttar missed the net completely while Mahmoud Saber scored, shooting the ball to the left center of the net giving Egypt a 1-0 lead in penalties. In round 2 and 3 both teams would score making it 3-2 Egypt. In round 4 Lucas Herrington would hit the crossbar with the ball flying out while Hossam Abdelmaguid scored on the left side of the net and Egypt moved on to the round of 16 versus Argentina. Australia played well in this tournament in one of the harder groups but they could not score against Egypt when they were bringing the ball down. The penalties were not great if they put those 2 shots on target they had a shot to win or go to sudden death.
Argentina 3
Cape Verde 2
This is the first time ever that this matchup has happened. In the 29th minute, Lisandro Martínez has the ball right around midfield and he kicks the ball toward Lionel Messi on the right side of the net and and Messi gets the ball and shoots the ball right past a defender’s leg and right past the goalkeeper Josimar Vozinha’s left hand scoring and making it a 1-0 Argentina lead. In the 59th minute, Ryan Mendes gets the ball on the right side of the field and passes to Deroy Duarteit through a defender's legs and he shoots it right under the goalkeeper's leg to score for Cape Verde tying the game up 1-1. In the 92nd minute, Argentina has a corner kick where the ball bounces off a couple of players in front of the net. Lisandro Martínez has the ball on the right side of the net and shoots for the top right of the net and beats the goalkeeper and scores making it 2-1 Argentina in extra time. In the 103rd minute, Sidny Lopes Cabral had the ball on the left side of the field. He makes a move around a defender and shoots for the top right of the goal and scores with a perfect shot tying the game at 2-2. In the 111th minute, Lionel Messi had a corner kick, which he placed in front of the net looking for a header. Cristian Romero heads the ball but it goes off Edilson Diney’s hand making it an own goal. Argentina would lead 3-2.. Argentina will play Egypt in the round of 16. Cape Verde was eliminated and this was their first World Cup™ and they played some of the best soccer countries in the world and almost won multiple times by drawing Spain, Uruguay, and almost beating Argentina. Josimar Vozinha for Cape Verde was probably the best goalie of the tournament so far with many saves versus Spain and Argentina and they almost were able to make an upset versus Argentina. We hope Cape Verde can qualify for the 2030 World Cup™.
Colombia 1
Ghana 0
This is the first time ever that this matchup has happened. In the 14th minute, Luis Suárez has the ball on the right side of the ball and crosses it across the net and after a missed header by Luis Díaz. Jhon Arias gets the ball and shoots for the bottom right corner and scores making it 1-0 Colombia. Colombia would go on to hold that lead for the rest of the game. Colombia will move on to the round of 16 and play Switzerland. Colombia was in control for most of this game and they did not create a lot of scoring opportunities to get goals.
Round Of 16 Matches
These are the round of 16 matches
Canada Vs Morocco in Houston
Paraguay Vs France in Philadelphia
Brazil Vs Norway in New York
Mexico Vs England in Mexico City
Portugal Vs Spain In Dallas
United States Vs Belgium in Seattle
Argentina Vs Egypt in Atlanta
Switzerland Vs Colombia in Vancouver
Conclusion
From 32 teams down to 16 teams as the World Cup™ continues into the Round of 16. We will be making recaps for each round of the World Cup™ so stay tuned for those posts soon. Enjoy the rest of the World Cup™ Mansfield!
