The expanded 48-team World Cup format promised more games and more drama. The Round of 32 delivered on both counts.
Over the past week, the last 32 teams were whittled down to 16. Giants fell. Underdogs stunned. Games went to extra time. Penalties broke hearts. And through it all, the tournament gave us enough to fill a highlight reel for a year. Here is what stood out, and what is coming next.
Round of 32: The Moments That Mattered
Portugal 2-1 Croatia - The Last-Gasp Thriller
This was the game of the round, and it was not particularly close.
Croatia - tough, resilient, and technically excellent - hung with Portugal for 90-plus minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up from the spot in the 68th minute to give Portugal the lead, but Croatia pulled level and pushed toward extra time with the game on the line.
Then, in stoppage time, Goncalo Ramos headed in the winner. A 94th-minute header. Portugal through to the Round of 16, Croatia heading home on the wrong side of one of the most dramatic knockout exits the tournament has seen. Ronaldo kissing the badge on a night that reminded everyone this Portugal side is not just here to make up the numbers.
Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde - A Scare No One Expected
On paper this was a comfortable Argentine victory waiting to happen. On the field, Cape Verde had other ideas.
Argentina required extra time to get past Cape Verde, who twice equalized and pushed one of the tournament favorites to the very edge. Cape Verde's performance was a reminder of why the expanded 48-team format creates chaos - smaller nations getting on the big stage and refusing to go quietly.
Argentina survived. But this was not a team that looked like a champion-in-waiting. They will need to be sharper.
Mexico Is Playing Like They Mean It
Mexico 2-0 Ecuador is a result. The manner of it was even more impressive.
Mexico have been the story of this tournament. Physical, organized, dangerous in transition - this is not the Mexico that sleepwalked out of the round of 16 six times in twelve years. They ended a 40-year World Cup knockout-stage victory drought against Ecuador and looked like they belonged in this stage of the tournament. Goals from Raul Jimenez and Julian Quinones. Clean sheet. Statement.
If the bracket keeps going the way it is trending, Mexico vs England in the Round of 16 could be the most unpredictable match of the round.
USMNT: 10 Men, No Problem
We covered the Bosnia match in full here, but it deserves a moment in the broader context of the round.
The United States went down to 10 men in the 64th minute, Folarin Balogun red-carded after a VAR review, protecting a 1-0 lead against a desperate Bosnia side. They held. Malik Tillman added a stunning free kick in the 82nd to put it away. USA 2, Bosnia 0.
Twenty-four years of knockout futility, done. No team in the Round of 32 did more with less.
Egypt Shocks Australia on Penalties
This was the most surprising result of the round.
Australia - a team with genuine quality, Premier League players across the roster, and a well-organized defensive structure - went to penalties and lost 4-2 to Egypt. The match finished 1-1 after extra time, and Egypt converted when it mattered most. Egypt is into its first World Cup Round of 16. Argentina awaits them next.
Germany Is Gone
Let that sink in for a moment. Germany was eliminated in the Round of 32.
Paraguay drew level and then won 4-3 on penalties, sending one of the most decorated programs in international soccer history home before the final 16. The expanded format was supposed to give bigger nations more runway to recover from a slow group stage. For Germany, it was not enough.
Round of 16 Schedule
| Matchup | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Canada vs Morocco | July 4 | 1 PM ET |
| Paraguay vs France | July 4 | 5 PM ET |
| Brazil vs Norway | July 5 | 4 PM ET |
| Mexico vs England | July 5 | 8 PM ET |
| Spain vs Portugal | July 6 | 3 PM ET |
| USA vs Belgium | July 6 | 8 PM ET |
| Argentina vs Egypt | July 7 | 12 PM ET |
| Switzerland vs Colombia | TBD | TBD |
Round of 16 Preview: The Matchups Worth Watching
Spain vs Portugal - July 6, 3 PM ET
This is the match of the round. Maybe the match of the tournament.
Two of the best squads at this World Cup, a rivalry that does not need any added hype, and enough individual talent across both rosters to fill a starting XI for either country. Pedri, Yamal, Morata against Ronaldo, Ramos, Bernardo Silva. The tactical matchup between Luis de la Fuente and Roberto Martinez should be one for the notebooks.
If the Round of 32 produced one game of the round, the Round of 16 may have already found it. Spain vs Portugal is the kind of fixture the World Cup was built for.
Mexico vs England - July 5, 8 PM ET
Mexico is playing their best football in a generation. England has the talent to win this tournament and the pressure of a country that has not won a World Cup since 1966.
Mexico's performance against Ecuador had shades of tournament-ready. Their press was sharp, their finishing clinical, and their defensive shape never wavered. England, for all their individual quality, can be lured into the exact kind of game Mexico thrives in.
This one will not be boring.
Canada vs Morocco - July 4, 1 PM ET
Canada had never won a World Cup knockout game before 2026. That changed this tournament. They have momentum, a passionate fanbase finally watching their team compete on the biggest stage, and enough quality to make this a genuine contest.
Morocco were the darlings of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar - the first African nation to reach the semi-finals, a team that made the whole world root for them. They are organized, difficult to score against, and play with a discipline that causes problems for possession-heavy sides.
This has the potential to be a tactically fascinating game, two teams that defend well trying to find a moment of quality in the final third. Morocco's experience in knockout rounds gives them the edge on paper. Canada has the crowd noise and the tournament momentum.
USA vs Belgium - July 6, 8 PM ET
The Americans did not get the easy road to the quarterfinals.
Belgium beat Senegal 3-2 in extra time - a hard-fought win that included a controversial penalty - and they have enough to make life very difficult for the USMNT. Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and a midfield full of experienced Premier League players will face a US side that must adjust without Balogun.
This is the biggest test American soccer has faced in this tournament. The Bosnia win proved the team can respond when things go wrong. Belgium will test a different quality - the ability to match a European heavyweight for 90 minutes and find ways to score.
We covered Balogun's suspension situation in the Bosnia recap. His one-game suspension is confirmed, leaving Pochettino with options up front: Ricardo Pepi, Pulisic shifted centrally, Haji Wright, or a more defensive-minded setup. None of those is a straight replacement for what Balogun brings. But this USA team has already been shorthanded once in this tournament and found a way.
Also to Watch
Brazil vs Norway (July 5, 4 PM ET) - Norway's Erling Haaland is in his first World Cup. Brazil are Brazil. If Haaland plays like he does at club level, this becomes a legitimate contest.
Argentina vs Egypt (July 7, 12 PM ET) - Egypt earned this. Argentina is the defending champion and will be favorites, but they were genuinely rattled by Cape Verde. Egypt will come to make this difficult.
Paraguay vs France (July 4, 5 PM ET) - France rolled through Sweden 3-0 with a Mbappe brace. Paraguay eliminated Germany on penalties. These two teams have very different energy heading in. France should win, but the tournament has already proven nothing is guaranteed.
The Bigger Picture
The Round of 32 gave us everything the expanded format promised: chaos, upsets, drama in stoppage time, and matches where the result was genuinely in doubt until the final whistle or beyond. Germany and Croatia are home. Egypt and Canada are still alive. Mexico looks like a team.
The Round of 16 raises the stakes again. Sixteen teams. Eight matches. One of them, Spain vs Portugal, could have passed for a final in another era.
The tournament is just getting started.
Make your World Cup Round of 16 picks at Crystal Ball Picks.
