After the group stage of the 2026 World Cup closed, the list of 32 teams participating in the knockout round has been determined.
This is the first World Cup to apply the 48-team format, with 24 first and second place teams in the group and 8 third place teams with the best results to advance.
The top candidates for the championship did not encounter obstacles in passing the group stage. Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium all participated in the round of 16.
3 co-host teams including the USA, Mexico and Canada also completed the goal of winning tickets to the knockout round in front of the cheers of home fans.
Besides familiar faces, the 2026 World Cup also recorded many notable phenomena.
Cabo Verde for the first time passed the group stage right in their debut tournament. DRC, South Africa and Bosnia & Herzegovina also created a surprise when they joined the group of 32 strongest teams.
In the opposite direction, some highly rated teams or teams with a long history have stopped early, making the situation of the tournament unpredictable.
The knockout round will officially begin with 16 knockout matches, expected to bring many notable confrontations between championship candidates and teams that create phenomena, opening the decisive race at the 2026 World Cup.
World Cup 2026 Round of 16 schedule:
June 29:
02:00: South Africa vs Canada
June 30th:
00:00: Brazil vs Japan
03:30: Germany vs Paraguay
08:00: Netherlands vs Morocco
Day 1. 7:
00:00: Ivory Coast vs Norway
04:00: France vs Sweden
08:00: Mexico vs Ecuador
11:00 PM: England vs DRC
Day 2. 7:
02:00: Belgium vs Senegal
07:00: USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
July 3rd:
02:00: Spain vs Austria
06:00: Portugal vs Croatia
10:00 AM: Switzerland vs Algeria
July 4th
01:00: Australia vs Egypt
05:00: Argentina vs Cabo Verde
08:30: Colombia vs Ghana
