Overview
- The group stage of the 2026 World Cup finished and FIFA published the full round‑of‑16 bracket that starts the single‑elimination phase.
- Argentina closed the groups with a perfect record after a 3‑1 win over Jordan and Lionel Messi increased his tournament tally to six goals and 19 in World Cup history.
- Cabo Verde advanced as a surprise second‑place qualifier after drawing all three group games and thereby eliminated higher‑ranked Uruguay, setting up a round‑of‑16 tie with Argentina in Miami.
- All three host nations — United States, Mexico and Canada — reached the knockouts and the first match of the round opens Sunday with South Africa vs Canada at Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium.
- The expanded 48‑team format sent the top two from each group plus the best eight third‑placed teams into a 32‑team bracket and will resolve ties with 30 minutes of extra time followed by penalties and an additional substitution allowed in extra time.