The 2026 World Cup begins its second phase, with the confirmation of the first knockout clash between the teams of South Africa and Canada. This stage, known as the round of 32, marks the beginning of the knockout stages in a single game, innovating the format by preceding the traditional round of 16 that fans are already familiar with and which are characteristic of other editions of the FIFA global tournament.
The opening match of this knockout phase will take place on Sunday, June 28, 2026, starting at 4 pm (local time), in the city of Los Angeles. The competition foresees that the two teams with the best performance in each group will advance to the knockout stages, together with the eight third-placed teams with the highest overall points.
Calendar and first duels of the 16th round are released
The following games already have a date and time scheduled for the round of 16 phase:
- Sunday, June 28, 2026
- 4pm – South Africa x Canada
- Monday, June 29, 2026
- 2pm – Brazil x 2nd place in Group F
- 5:30 pm – Germany (1st in Group E) x 3rd place in Groups A/B/C/D/F
- 10pm – 1st place in Group F x Morocco
- Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- 2pm – 2nd place in Group E x 2nd place in Group I
- 6pm – 1st place in Group I x 3rd place in Groups C/D/F/G/H
- 10pm – Mexico x 3rd place in Groups C/E/F/H/I
- Wednesday, July 1, 2026
- 1pm – 1st place in Group L x 3rd place in Groups E/H/I/J/K
- 5pm – 1st place in Group G x 3rd place in Groups A/E/H/I/J
- 9pm – United States (1st in Group D) x 3rd place in Groups B/E/F/I/J
- Thursday, July 2, 2026
- 4pm – 1st place in Group H x 2nd place in Group J
- 8pm – 2nd place in Group K x 2nd place in Group L
- Friday, July 3, 2026
- 00h – Switzerland x 3rd place in Groups E/F/G/I/J
- 3pm – 1st place in Group D x 2nd place in Group G
- 7pm – 1st place in Group J (Argentina) x 2nd place in Group H
- 10:30 pm – 1st place in Group K x 3rd place in Groups D/E/I/J/L