Round of 32 Bracket Set: Every Tie, Date and Venue for the World Cup Knockouts

The group stage of the 2026 World Cup is done, and the knockout bracket is locked in. For the first time, the men’s World Cup goes to a Round of 32: the top two from each of the 12 groups plus the eight best third-placed teams — 32 sides, 16 single-elimination ties, no second chances. The action runs from Sunday, June 28 through Friday, July 3, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Below is the full schedule, in US Eastern Time, with confirmed pairings, kickoff times and host cities only — no predicted results.

The full Round of 32 schedule

Sunday, June 28

• South Africa 0-1 Canada (FT) — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles · Eustáquio 90+2’. Canada advance to the Round of 16

The knockouts open with a single match, and it is a co-host occasion: Canada, roared on at home through the tournament, face a South Africa side back in the World Cup knockouts for the first time in decades.

Monday, June 29

• Brazil 2-1 Japan (FT) — NRG Stadium, Houston · Casemiro 56’, Martinelli 90+5’; Sano 29’. Brazil reach the Round of 16
• Germany 1-1 Paraguay (Paraguay win 4-3 on pens) — Gillette Stadium, Boston · Havertz 54’; Enciso 57’. Paraguay knock out Germany
• Netherlands vs Morocco — 9:00 p.m. ET · Estadio BBVA, Monterrey

Tuesday, June 30

• Ivory Coast vs Norway — 1:00 p.m. ET · AT&T Stadium, Dallas
• France vs Sweden — 5:00 p.m. ET · MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey
• Mexico vs Ecuador — 9:00 p.m. ET · Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Wednesday, July 1

• England vs DR Congo — 12:00 p.m. ET · Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
• Belgium vs Senegal — 4:00 p.m. ET · Lumen Field, Seattle
• United States vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — 8:00 p.m. ET · Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area

Thursday, July 2

• Spain vs Austria — 3:00 p.m. ET · SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
• Portugal vs Croatia — 7:00 p.m. ET · BMO Field, Toronto
• Switzerland vs Algeria — 11:00 p.m. ET · BC Place, Vancouver

Friday, July 3

• Australia vs Egypt — 2:00 p.m. ET · AT&T Stadium, Dallas
• Argentina vs Cape Verde — 6:00 p.m. ET · Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
• Colombia vs Ghana — 9:30 p.m. ET · Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City

The ties that jump off the page

Portugal vs Croatia is the headline draw — two golden-generation sides, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal meeting Luka Modrić’s Croatia in what could be a last World Cup dance for both veterans, in Toronto. France vs Sweden pits the free-scoring French against the group stage’s surprise package, while Netherlands vs Morocco in Monterrey is a rematch of the 2022 semi-finalists’ era of heavyweights.

For the host nations, the storylines write themselves: Canada open the whole knockout round at home, Mexico get a home Azteca tie against an Ecuador side that stunned Germany in the group stage, and the United States face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bay Area with a place in the last 16 on the line.

And the champions-elect names are all still here: Argentina, perfect through Group J, meet debut knockout side Cape Verde; Brazil face a Japan team that has impressed; and Spain, fresh off topping their group, draw third-placed Austria.

How the eight third-placed teams qualified

Alongside the 24 automatic qualifiers (each group’s top two), eight of the 12 third-placed teams advanced. The six confirmed on the final group days include Ecuador (Group E), Senegal (Group I), Algeria (Group J), DR Congo (Group K) and Ghana (Group L), who all turned third place into a knockout ticket. For the rest of the qualified field and how the math worked, see our Round of 32 watch.

What’s next

The 16 winners advance to the Round of 16, which begins on Saturday, July 4. The bracket then narrows through the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey. We’ll preview each knockout tie as it comes — starting with the opener in Los Angeles.

Sources: Al Jazeera, NBC Sports, FIFA. Bracket and schedule confirmed against at least two sources.