The World Cup Bracket is now officially complete with the Round of 16. After a historic finish on July 7, the first 48-team FIFA World Cup is all but through with the Round of 32 and now the second knockout round. Co-hosts have fallen, a 41-year-old legend has made his final leg at the World Cup, Argentina has had one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history and Lionel Messi is now the only one leading the Golden Boot race. If you've been following all of the kickoffs or if you're just trying to make it up to the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium, here are all things sorted so far on the way to the end.
The Round of 32 run from June 28 to July 3 in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and provided six days of single-elimination hoopla that would set the tone for the remainder of the tournament. Three of sixteen ties required a penalty shootout to be decided: Paraguay downed Germany, Morocco beat the Netherlands and Egypt outlasted Australia. The other thirteen matches were played out in the normal or extended time, a few of which were at the very last moment.
The greatest surprises were from South America and North Africa. Paraguay beat Germany, sparking a national holiday in their home country, and Morocco scored their second penalty of the game against the Netherlands to end a promising start early. But Argentina did need to save themselves with a controversial own-goal move and with a touch of time to get rid of a spirited Cape Verde team which had already grown into one of the tournament's most cherished stories. On the other end of the drama scale, France and Spain delivered the two most emphatic results of the round, both winning 3-0, over Sweden and Austria respectively.
In other matches, the three co-host countries had each progressed – the United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina; Canada's console played to South Africa and Mexico downed Ecuador in front of a raucous Azteca crowd. The action of DR Congo came as a late threat for England, and a late scare saw Belgium bounce back from Senegal to send them home in the extra time. It established a Round of 16 that was always poised to become one of the most competitive in tournament history.
| Match | Result | Winner | How They Advanced |
| South Africa vs. Canada | 0-1 | Canada | Late goal sealed it in normal time |
| Brazil vs. Japan | 2-1 | Brazil | Won in normal time |
| Germany vs. Paraguay | 1-1 (3-4 pens) | Paraguay | Penalty shootout after extra time |
| Netherlands vs. Morocco | 1-1 (2-3 pens) | Morocco | Penalty shootout after extra time |
| Ivory Coast vs. Norway | 1-2 | Norway | Won in normal time |
| France vs. Sweden | 3-0 | France | Dominant win, no reply |
| Mexico vs. Ecuador | 2-0 | Mexico | Won in normal time |
| England vs. DR Congo | 2-1 | England | Won in normal time |
| Belgium vs. Senegal | 3-2 (AET) | Belgium | Comeback win in extra time |
| United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2-0 | United States | Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman scored despite a first-half red card to Balogun |
| Spain vs. Austria | 3-0 | Spain | Dominant win, no reply |
| Portugal vs. Croatia | 2-1 | Portugal | Won in normal time |
| Switzerland vs. Algeria | 2-0 | Switzerland | Won in normal time |
| Australia vs. Egypt | 1-1 (2-4 pens) | Egypt | Penalty shootout after extra time |
| Argentina vs. Cape Verde | 3-2 (AET) | Argentina | Messi opened the scoring; the winner arrived via a late own goal in extra time |
| Colombia vs. Ghana | 1-0 | Colombia | Jhon Arias' first-half strike settled a one-sided contest |
| Round of 16 Matchups |
| Canada vs. Morocco |
| Paraguay vs. France |
| Brazil vs. Norway |
| Mexico vs. England |
| United States vs. Belgium |
| Portugal vs. Spain |
| Switzerland vs. Colombia |
| Argentina vs. Egypt |
Canada finished Group B runners-up and Morocco finished second in Group C and then pulled off a shootout victory over the Netherlands. Paraguay, who finished Group D as one of the eight best third-placed teams, managed to squeeze through, while France of Group I sailed through. Brazil won Group C and Norway improved as one of the best third-placed teams following their victory against Ivory Coast. The winner of Group A was Mexico at home and the winner of Group L was England. The United States led Group D and the Belgium team won Group G before dominating Senegal. Portugal advanced as Group K runners-up and Spain routed through Group H and enjoyed a comfortable win over Austria. The Group B winners were Switzerland, the Group K winners were Colombia. Argentina won a tightly-contested Group J, and Egypt came through as Group G runners-up before winning on penalties.
All eight Round of 16 matches are now finished with Argentina and Switzerland finishing the round of 16 in dramatic style on July 7.
| Match | Result | Winner | Qualified for Quarterfinals |
| Canada vs. Morocco | 0-3 | Morocco | Yes |
| Paraguay vs. France | 0-1 | France | Yes |
| Brazil vs. Norway | 1-2 | Norway | Yes |
| Mexico vs. England | 2-3 | England | Yes |
| Portugal vs. Spain | 0-1 | Spain | Yes |
| United States vs. Belgium | 1-4 | Belgium | Yes |
| Argentina vs. Egypt | 3-2 | Argentina | Yes |
| Switzerland vs. Colombia | 0-0 (4-3 pens) | Switzerland | Yes |
Canada 0-3 Morocco - Azzedine Ounahi was the best man of the match in the second half, extending his league form by netting twice after a featureless, rough-and-tumble opening 45 minutes. Achraf Hakimi put in the opening score from a free kick in the 50th minute and Ounahi doubled again in the 82nd minute after a Brahim Díaz assist. Izaac Diaz, the same player who had scored the opener, put the ball in the net again in a third deep in stoppage time by Soufiane Rahimi who scored the winning goal. This year's initial co-hosts Canada were competitive for much of the game but failed to get past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Paraguay 0-1 France - A close, dirty contest set against the backdrop of the Philadelphia summer, but the 70th minute penalty for Kylian Mbappé, after VAR review for a foul on substitute Désiré Doué, did the job. The 19th goal of the tournament made Mbappé equal with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race, just two goals off the top of Messi's World Cup scoring record, which has been 21 goals. With his time-wasting strategy, Paraguay put France to the test for a good while, but failed to find the means to keep him off the field for extra time.
Brazil 1-2 Norway - One of the biggest surprises of the tournament thus far. With five-time champions Brazil out in the Round of 16 for the first time in 36 years thanks to a low finish from the edge of the box and a close finish through traffic from Erling Haaland in the last 12 minutes of normal time. Neymar's consolation stoppage-time goal was just a consolation in a match that he said would be his last for the national team. It was Haaland's seventh goal in the tournament, making him even with Messi and Mbappé for the Golden Boot award.
Mexico 2-3 England - The match of the tournament so far. Jude Bellingham struck twice in 98 minutes in the first half to give England a lead in the face of the roaring crowd in the Estadio Azteca. Julián Quiñones returned to level the score for Mexico before the break and England's numbers were cut down to 10 in the 54th minute after Jarrell Quansah was sent off for VAR. Harry Kane put England ahead from the penalty area before conceding a goal of his own from the box, but England hung around and secured the first-ever victory over Mexico at the Azteca in a World Cup game.
Portugal 0-1 Spain - Was a tight, tactical Iberian derby that went scoreless before the first minute of stoppage time when substitute Mikel Merino fired a low ball from Ferran Torres home to give Spain the lead. The match was the capstone of Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning World Cup career; the 41-year-old had announced before the World Cup kicked off that it would be his final appearance at the international competition.
United States 1-4 Belgium - Belgium never trailed for long. Hans Vanaken had scored in the first minute of stoppage time after Charles De Ketelaere had scored the first two in two minutes either side of a Malik Tillman equaliser to finish the match. It was an ugly pre-game incident involving striker Folarin Balogun's disciplinary record that had marred the match, but the result on the pitch was a far cry from a fair fight, as the co-hosts suffered their heaviest loss of the World Cup.
Argentina 3-2 Egypt - This may be the highlight of the tournament to date. In a Round of 16 debut for the first time in their history, Egypt were in front in 2-0 fashion after 11 minutes of normal time, and they had also witnessed a Zico goal disallowed correctly on review. The reigning champions pulled off a remarkable turnaround as Messi missed a first-half penalty, helped Cristian Romero with his header in the 79th minute, and found the back of the net just after Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir had denied him on the spot. Enzo Fernández then headed the game-winner in the second minute of stoppage time to make the turnaround, the first time in World Cup history that a team won a knockout game in regulation after a two-goal deficit with 15 minutes left in the game. Messi's eight goal tally was his fourth this year, bringing him to the top of the Golden Boot table ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, and his 13th in the World Cup's knockout stage.
Switzerland 0-0 Colombia (Switzerland won on penalties 4-3) - There was no time that the match tightened as the two teams played the most cautious of the round in Vancouver with the game's clearest chance coming from Jhon Lucumí's shot at the crossbar and Jaminton Campaz's blast from the edge of the box in extra time. The sides needed to be separated, though, and Colombia's Davinson Sánchez and Cucho Hernández saw both their shots go astray, while Sevilla winger Rubén Vargas missed a chance to shoot the game-winning fifth kick home. It is the first time in the country's history that they are making it to a World Cup quarter since they hosted the tournament in 1954.
All eight quarterfinal spots are now confirmed:
The field has now been locked with the quarterfinal bracket taking on one of the most star-studded knockout format ever:
The top half of the bracket is all European and North African quality, with France, Morocco, Spain and Belgium, whilst the bottom half is a mix of Argentina and England with surprise Norway and Switzerland. If the top seeds remain there, a potential semi final between France and Spain, or a repeat of the past knockout classics of England, is not far-fetched. Norway's performance behind Haaland and Switzerland's low-scoring gritty run have been one of the biggest shocks in the tournament, adding an element of surprise to the bottom half of the draw in the run-up to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Argentina proved that defending champions can never be ruled out and levelled Egypt's two-goal deficit in the last 15 minutes.
Lionel Messi has got away from the Golden Boot gang with his equaliser against Egypt, eight ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland and one ahead of Harry Kane. Argentina's turnaround from two goals down was one of the great Round of 16 stories of all time, and Messi's knack for scoring in knockout games remains alive to make his case for a historic second consecutive goal. Switzerland's qualification to face Argentina in their first quarter-final since 1954 has come almost entirely through defensive tenacity, creating a curious head-to-head match-up between two teams with very different styles. Haaland has been a key contributor to the Norwegian squad's inclusion in the last eight, while defender Ørjan Nyland has led the way in the defense. Morocco have come back from a memorable 2022 semifinal run to aim for another pair of quarterfinal berths, while France seem to be reaching the top of their game following Mbappé's record-breaking knockout-stage goals. All three of the co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States have been eliminated with tournament play moving into the second round without a co-host for the first time since the knockout stage started. The drama behind Folarin Balogun's overturned red card and the rumour of political pressure from the U.S. side has brought an unexpected turn in the business end of the World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo's departure with Portugal marked the end of the chapter for the Portuguese international's own World Cup career.
France come into the quarter finals in many analysts' dream team with Mbappé in knock-out form and a defense that has not let in more than one goal in any game. Spain, unbeaten, but yet to concede in the knockout rounds, are considered to be the biggest threat to France. The defending champions were not to be counted out after they broke out in Argentina's dramatic victory against Egypt, when Messi was in one of his best moments of the tournament when it mattered most, but after 120 tough minutes for several starters. Norway are the obvious dark horse of the tournament, as past sides have gone on runs to the World Cup in search of one talismanic striker to go deep, and Switzerland's shutout-heavy run makes them a very real threat to a weaker Argentina defence. Belgium and England are both viable to take a shot at the semifinals, but they will have tough quarter final opponents. The majority of neutral experts believe the match-up between France and Spain or France and Argentina is the best possible, but there is uncertainty heading into the year, as the rise of Norway and Switzerland introduces another factor.
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The Round of 32 was full of penalty drama, co-host heartbreak, and record-setting performances from individuals and the Round of 16 capped it all with an all-time classic. With Argentina beating Egypt on the wing in the final minute of the game, and Switzerland securing the victory with a penalty shootout against Colombia, all eight quarter-final places are now guaranteed in Morocco, France, Norway, England, Spain, Belgium, Argentina and Switzerland. The World Cup Bracket then leads into a quarterfinal round full of true title candidates and two surprise packages in Norway and Switzerland. Stay tuned for all the odds and markets for the rest of the World Cup since the path to the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium is developing.
Those in the Round of 32 were Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, Morocco, Norway, France, Mexico, England, Belgium and the United States, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Egypt, Argentina and Colombia. Three of those were achieved on penalties, with the other three being played out in normal or extra time from June 28 to July 3.
All eight quarterfinalists are now confirmed: Morocco, France, Norway, England, Spain, Belgium, Argentina and Switzerland. Argentina finished the field with a 3-2 win over Egypt, who had the lead twice, and Switzerland over Colombia, who had drawn 0-0, on penalties.
In the top half now, we have Morocco to France, and Spain to Belgium, while in the bottom half we have Norway to England and Argentina to Switzerland. The four quarters will take place July 9-11.
Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt in the final 15 minutes of the round is the highlight, as the defending champions have come back from a 2-goal deficit. There's a Jude Bellingham brace, two penalties at both ends and a red card to contend with on the way, too, and Mexico's 2-3 defeat of England is a close second in front of a packed Azteca home crowd.
At present, both France and Spain are considered the best two-team options, with their form and depth having seen them reach the knockout stage. Argentina are still in the mix after their late-season comeback win, featuring a right-hander Lionel Messi and have Norway and Switzerland as the tournament's dark horses.
The quarterfinals will be held from July 9-11, 2026 in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Kansas City.
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