The knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. Played from June 28 to July 19, 2026, the knockout stage ended with the final, held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The top two teams from each of the twelve groups, along with the best eight third-place teams, advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. There were 32 matches in the knockout stage, including a match for third place.
Format The knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was contested between 32 teams that qualify from the group stage. Matches in the knockout stage were played to a finish. If the score of a match was level at the end of 90 minutes of playing time, 30 minutes of extra time were played. If the scores were still tied, a penalty shootout determined the team that prevailed. All times listed are local.
In the round of 32, four of the group winners played group runners-up. The other eight group winners played advancing third-place teams. The eight remaining group runners-up played against each other.
FIFA set out the following schedule for the round of 32: Match 73: Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group B Match 74: Winner Group E vs Third-place Group A/B/C/D/F Match 75: Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group C Match 76: Winner Group C vs Runner-up Group F Match 77: Winner Group I vs Third-place Group C/D/F/G/H Match 78: Runner-up Group E vs Runner-up Group I Match 79: Winner Group A vs Third-place Group C/E/F/H/I Match 80: Winner Group L vs Third-place Group E/H/I/J/K Match 81: Winner Group D vs Third-place Group B/E/F/I/J Match 82: Winner Group G vs Third-place Group A/E/H/I/J Match 83: Runner-up Group K vs Runner-up Group L Match 84: Winner Group H vs Runner-up Group J Match 85: Winner Group B vs Third-place Group E/F/G/I/J Match 86: Winner Group J vs Runner-up Group H Match 87: Winner Group K vs Third-place Group D/E/I/J/L Match 88: Runner-up Group D vs Runner-up Group G
Combinations of matches in the round of 32 The specific matchups involving the third-place teams depended on which eight third-place teams qualified for the round of 32. The 495 possible combinations were published in Annex C of the tournament regulations.
The following eight groups had their third-place teams finish in the top eight of the ranking: B, D, E, F, I, J, K, and L. According to the combinations table (outcome #67), the matchups involving third-place teams were therefore as follows: 1A (Mexico) vs 3E (Ecuador) 1B (Switzerland) vs 3J (Algeria) 1D (United States) vs 3B (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 1E (Germany) vs 3D (Paraguay) 1G (Belgium) vs 3I (Senegal) 1I (France) vs 3F (Sweden) 1K (Colombia) vs 3L (Ghana) 1L (England) vs 3K (DR Congo)
The full combination table was as follows:
Qualified teams The top two teams from each of the twelve groups, along with the eight best-ranked third-placed teams, qualified for the knockout stage.
Group Winners Runners-up Third-placed teams(Best eight qualified) A B C D E F G H I J K L
Bracket The tournament bracket is shown below, with bold denoting the winners of each match.
Round of 32
Round of 16
Canada vs Morocco The teams had faced each other four times previously, with Morocco being unbeaten in any of these matches. Their most recent match was in the group stage of the previous World Cup, which Morocco won 2–1.
A special ceremony commemorating the United States Semiquincentennial, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, was held on the stadium grounds 25 minutes before kickoff.
In the 50th minute, Morocco took the lead when Azzedine Ounahi received the ball after a free-kick was cut-back to him from the right by Achraf Hakimi, before he shot from the edge of the penalty area, low into the bottom right corner of the net. Ounahi got a second goal in the 82nd minute with a finish from twelve yards out high to the top right corner of the net after a pass from Brahim Díaz from the right. Soufiane Rahimi made it 3–0 in the 98th minute with a low finish under the goalkeeper to the right corner of the net from the left of the penalty area after another pass from Díaz.
With this result and Egypt's loss to Argentina, Morocco was the only African team to proceed to the quarterfinals while co-host Canada was eliminated, marking its best finish since its group-stage exits in 1986 and 2022.
GK 16Maxime CrépeauRB 2 Alistair JohnstonCB 15Moïse BombitoCB 4 Luc de Fougerolles LB 22Richie Laryea RM 17Tajon Buchanan CM 23Niko Sigur CM 7 Stephen Eustáquio (c)LM 20Ali Ahmed CF 10Jonathan David CF 12Tani Oluwaseyi Substitutions:FW 9 Cyle Larin FW 24Promise David MF 14Jacob Shaffelburg FW 26Jayden Nelson MF 21Jonathan Osorio Manager: Jesse Marsch GK 1 Yassine BounouRB 2 Achraf Hakimi (c) CB 14Issa Diop CB 25Redouane Halhal LB 3 Noussair MazraouiCM 6 Ayyoub Bouaddi CM 24Neil El AynaouiRW 10Brahim DíazAM 8 Azzedine Ounahi LW 23Bilal El Khannouss CF 11Ismael Saibari Substitutions:FW 9 Soufiane Rahimi MF 7 Chemsdine Talbi MF 4 Sofyan Amrabat DF 5 Marwane Saâdane MF 15Samir El Mourabet Manager:Mohamed Ouahbi
Man of the Match: Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco)
Assistant referees: Stuart Burt (England) James Mainwaring (England) Fourth official: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands) Reserve assistant referee: Hessel Steegstra (Netherlands) Video assistant referee: Jarred Gillett (England) Assistant video assistant referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands) Support video assistant referee: (Poland)
Paraguay vs France
Paraguay had never defeated France in their five previous encounters, including two matches at the FIFA World Cup: a 7–3 group stage loss in 1958 and a 1–0 round of 16 defeat via golden goal at the 1998 FIFA World Cup (which France hosted and current manager Didier Deschamps also played in). Their latest meeting was a 5–0 friendly in 2017.
The match was played in extreme heat, with temperatures up to at kickoff time. In the 70th minute, France was awarded a penalty after a VAR intervention when substitute Désiré Doué was fouled inside the box by Diego Gómez. Kylian Mbappé scored a penalty with a low shot to the right corner, sending Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill the wrong way. Paraguay committed 13 fouls to France's 11 during the game, but escaped without a single yellow card while France received three. Global media were almost unanimous in condemning the Paraguayan team's systematic foul play,"«Football dégoûtant», «totalement honteux»: la presse internationale étrille le Paraguay après son match face à la France", Radio France internationale, 6 July 2026 as well as Ilgiz Tantashev's poor refereeing.""Je n'avais jamais joué un match avec autant de coups, de coups en traître" : l'arbitrage de France-Paraguay au centre des débats à la Coupe du monde", France Info, 5 July 2026
Alongside the Canada vs Morocco match in Houston, a special ceremony commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence was held on the stadium grounds 25 minutes before kickoff.
After the match, Paraguayan Senator, Celeste Amarilla, racially abused Mbappé on social media and the latter made a statement on X in response. Amarilla made a response which was not well received.
GK 12Orlando GillCB 2 Gustavo VelázquezCB 15Gustavo Gómez (c)CB 3 Omar Alderete RWB4 Juan José CáceresLWB6 Júnior AlonsoRM 10Miguel Almirón CM 8 Diego Gómez CM 14Andrés CubasLM 23Matías GalarzaCF 19Julio Enciso Substitutions:DF 13José Canale MF 24Gustavo Caballero FW 21Gabriel Ávalos MF 11Maurício Other disciplinary actions: — Carlos González Manager: Gustavo Alfaro GK 16Mike MaignanRB 5 Jules KoundéCB 4 Dayot UpamecanoCB 17William SalibaLB 3 Lucas DigneCM 6 Manu Koné CM 14Adrien RabiotRW 7 Ousmane Dembélé AM 11Michael Olise LW 12Bradley Barcola CF 10Kylian Mbappé (c)Substitutions:FW 20Désiré Doué MF 24Rayan Cherki Manager:Didier Deschamps
Man of the Match: Orlando Gill (Paraguay)
Assistant referees: Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan) Timur Gaynullin (Uzbekistan) Fourth official: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar) Reserve assistant referee: Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Video assistant referee: (Chile) Assistant video assistant referee: Marco Di Bello (Italy) Support video assistant referee: Joe Dickerson (United States)
Brazil vs Norway The teams had met four times previously, including once in the World Cup, a 2–1 group stage victory for Norway in 1998, and most recently in 2006, a 1–1 draw in a friendly to keep Norway's unbeaten head-to-head record. Norway is the only team that Brazil has played but never defeated.
With Brazil's loss, this marks the first time the team was eliminated in the round of 16 since the 1990 edition, when Brazil lost to Argentina 1–0. This was Neymar's last match for Brazil; following the defeat, he announced his international retirement.
GK 1 AlissonRB 13Danilo LuizCB 4 Marquinhos (c)CB 3 Gabriel MagalhãesLB 16Douglas SantosDM 5 CasemiroCM 8 Bruno Guimarães CM 22Gabriel Martinelli RF 26Rayan CF 9 Matheus Cunha LF 7 Vinícius JúniorSubstitutions:FW 19Endrick MF 18Danilo Santos FW 10Neymar MF 2 Éderson Silva Manager: Carlo Ancelotti GK 1 Ørjan NylandRB 26Julian Ryerson CB 3 Kristoffer AjerCB 17Torbjørn HeggemLB 5 David Møller Wolfe DM 8 Sander BergeCM 10Martin Ødegaard (c)CM 6 Patrick BergRF 7 Alexander Sørloth CF 9 Erling HaalandLF 20Antonio Nusa Substitutions:FW 22Oscar Bobb FW 21Andreas Schjelderup MF 14Fredrik Aursnes DF 4 Leo Østigård Manager:Ståle Solbakken
Man of the Match: Erling Haaland (Norway)
Assistant referees: Corey Parker (United States) Kyle Atkins (United States) Fourth official: Saíd Martínez (Honduras) Reserve assistant referee: Walter López (Honduras) Video assistant referee: Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua) Assistant video assistant referee: Leodán González (Uruguay) Support video assistant referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)
Mexico vs England
The teams had previously faced each other nine times, most recently in 2010, a 3–1 win for England in a friendly match. They also met at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, when England, as the host, won 2–0 in the group stage. Additionally, they encountered each other at Estadio Azteca in a friendly that ended with a 1–0 victory for Mexico in 1985. This was also the first time that England had played at Estadio Azteca since its infamous match against Argentina in the 1986 World Cup, in which England famously conceded Maradona's "hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century".
Before the match, it was reported that the game would be moved up to noon due to reports of inclement weather and lightning. However, after protests from both Mexico and England, FIFA reversed the decision and kept the kickoff at the original time. An hour before the kickoff, FIFA delayed the match by one hour due to the aforementioned inclement weather.
In the 36th minute, Jude Bellingham scored to put England into the lead with a diving header to the left of the net from just inside the six yard box after a cross from Bukayo Saka from the right. 98 seconds later it was 2–0 when Bellingham scored again with a low side-foot finish from just inside the six yard after a low cross from Harry Kane from the right. In the 42nd minute, Julián Quiñones pulled a goal back when he shot high to the net from eight yards out after the ball broke to him after a free kick from the left.
In the 54th minute, Jarell Quansah was sent off when he dived in with a high challenge on Jesús Gallardo. England was awarded a penalty in the 60th minute when Anthony Gordon was brought down by the diving Mexican goalkeeper Raúl Rangel. Kane scored the penalty with a shot to the left of the net to restore England's two-goal lead. In the 69th minute, Mexico was awarded a penalty when Kane kicked the foot of Brian Gutiérrez in the penalty area. Raúl Jiménez scored with a shot to the left corner, but Mexico was unable to find an equalizer, with 11 minutes added on at the end.