Everything you need to know ahead of the World Cup knockout stage

The FIFA 2026 World Cup is down to the last 32 teams after the group stage concluded on Saturday night.

The knockout phase will kick off on Sunday when South Africa face cohosts Canada in Los Angeles, before Brazil meet Japan on Monday.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the knockouts.

Fixtures

Sunday 28 June:

South Africa vs. Canada - Los Angeles

Monday 29 June:

Brazil vs. Japan - Houston

Germany vs. Paraguay - Boston

Tuesday 30 June 2026

Netherlands vs. Morocco - Monterrey

Ivory Coast vs. Norway - Dallas

France vs. Sweden - New Jersey

Wednesday 1 July 2026

Mexico vs. Ecuador - Mexico City

England vs. DR Congo - Atlanta

Belgium vs. Senegal - Seattle

Thursday 2 July 2026

USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina - San Francisco Bay Area

Spain vs. Austria - Los Angeles

Friday 3 July 2026

Portugal vs. Croatia - Toronto

Switzerland vs. Algeria - Vancouver

Australia vs. Egypt - Dallas

Saturday 4 July 2026

Argentina vs. Cape Verde - Miami

Colombia vs. Ghana - Kansas City

Favourites

France have made a mightily impressive start to their campaign, scoring 10 goals in victories over Senegal, Iraq and Norway.

Head coach Didier Deschamps' star-studded team is looking to hit back after their defeat to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina in Qatar in 2022, and they look likely to make it far in the tournament.

Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé and 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé have already notched up four goals for Les Bleus, who play English coach Graham Potter's Sweden in the round of 32.

However, France could face a stern test in the knockout phase, with potential matchups against Germany in the round of 16 and Spain in the semifinals.

Argentina also came out swinging in the group stage, with Messi the tournament's top scorer on six goals in three games.

The Argentines, who beat Algeria, Austria and Jordan as they topped Group J, have been handed a relatively favourable path to the semifinals. They face Cape Verde, before one of Australia or Egypt to book a place in the quarterfinals, where they will play either Switzerland, Algeria, Colombia or Ghana.

Reigning European champions Spain were the bookmakers' pick to lift the trophy before the tournament, but a 0-0 draw in their opening match against World Cup newcomers Cape Verde - who have also managed to qualify for the knockouts - may have raised some question marks over their form.

They bounced back with a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia before knocking Uruguay out of the tournament with a 1-0 win.

A Spanish victory over Austria in the round of 32 could set up a crunch match against Portugal.

Portugal had also been tipped by some to make a run to the final, but they struggled to a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their first match and failed to score against Colombia.

They made up for the lack of goals with a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, who were making their first World Cup appearance, but doubts remain over their chances.

Roberto Martínez's side has one of the strongest midfields at the World Cup, with Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha and João Neves and Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes just some of the options available.

But the Portugal camp has also been swamped with noise around the inclusion of legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo, now 41, who has continued to make the team despite struggles in front of goal - although he managed to net twice against Uzbekistan.

Other contenders include Thomas Tuchel's England, who topped Group L, five-time winners Brazil and four-time champions Germany.

England and Brazil's side of the draw looks more open, and the two could meet in the quarterfinals. England will have to get past the DR Congo and one of either Mexico or Ecuador first, while Brazil face Japan before a potential matchup with Norway or the Ivory Coast.

Key stats

Messi has bagged six goals so far and leads the race for the Golden Boot. France's Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, Brazil's Vinícius Júnior and Norway striker Erling Haaland are on four goals each. Germany, France and the Netherlands have scored 10 goals apiece.

FIFA's Power Rankings, which assign players a score between 0-10 in the categories of attacking, creativity and defending, have Germany's Deniz Undav as the tournament's top performer so far.

Undav has three goals and two assists across just 106 minutes of gametime.

He's followed by the somewhat predictable trio of Messi, Mbappé and Vinícius.