2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

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

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

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)

Qualified teams

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

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 qualify)
A	Mexico	South Africa	—N/a
B	Switzerland	Canada	Bosnia and Herzegovina
C	Brazil	Morocco	—N/a
D	United States	Australia	Paraguay
E	Germany	Ivory Coast	Ecuador
F	Netherlands	Japan	Sweden
G	Belgium	Egypt	—N/a
H	Spain	Cape Verde	—N/a
I	France	Norway	Senegal
J	Argentina	Austria	Algeria
K	Colombia	Portugal	DR Congo
L	England	Croatia	Ghana

Bracket

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

The tournament bracket is shown below, with bold denoting the winners of each match.

	Round of 32				Round of 16				Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	June 29 – Foxborough
	Germany	1 (3)
					July 4 – Philadelphia
	Paraguay (p)	1 (4)
					Paraguay	0
	June 30 – East Rutherford
					France	1
	France	3
									July 9 – Foxborough
	Sweden	0
									France	2
	June 28 – Inglewood
									Morocco	0
	South Africa	0
					July 4 – Houston
	Canada	1
					Canada	0
	June 29 – Guadalupe
					Morocco	3
	Netherlands	1 (2)
													July 14 – Arlington
	Morocco (p)	1 (3)
													France	0
	July 2 – Toronto
													Spain	2
	Portugal	2
					July 6 – Arlington
	Croatia	1
					Portugal	0
	July 2 – Inglewood
					Spain	1
	Spain	3
									July 10 – Inglewood
	Austria	0
									Spain	2
	July 1 – Santa Clara
									Belgium	1
	United States	2
					July 6 – Seattle
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
					United States	1
	July 1 – Seattle
					Belgium	4
	Belgium (a.e.t.)	3
																	July 19 – East Rutherford
	Senegal	2
																	Spain (a.e.t.)	1
	June 29 – Houston
																	Argentina	0
	Brazil	2
					July 5 – East Rutherford
	Japan	1
					Brazil	1
	June 30 – Arlington
					Norway	2
	Ivory Coast	1
									July 11 – Miami Gardens
	Norway	2
									Norway	1
	June 30 – Mexico City
									England (a.e.t.)	2
	Mexico	2
					July 5 – Mexico City
	Ecuador	0
					Mexico	2
	July 1 – Atlanta
					England	3
	England	2
													July 15 – Atlanta
	DR Congo	1
													England	1
	July 3 – Miami Gardens
													Argentina	2			Match for third place
	Argentina (a.e.t.)	3
					July 7 – Atlanta												July 18 – Miami Gardens
	Cape Verde	2
					Argentina	3											France	4
	July 3 – Arlington
					Egypt	2											England	6
	Australia	1 (2)
									July 11 – Kansas City
	Egypt (p)	1 (4)
									Argentina (a.e.t.)	3
	July 2 – Vancouver
									Switzerland	1
	Switzerland	2
					July 7 – Vancouver
	Algeria	0
					Switzerland (p)	0 (4)
	July 3 – Kansas City
					Colombia	0 (3)
	Colombia	1
	Ghana	0

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.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>16</td><td>Maxime Crépeau</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Alistair Johnston</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>15</td><td>Moïse Bombito</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Luc de Fougerolles</td><td> 49'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>22</td><td>Richie Laryea</td><td> 40'</td><td> 78'</td></tr><tr><td>RM</td><td>17</td><td>Tajon Buchanan</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>23</td><td>Niko Sigur</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>7</td><td>Stephen Eustáquio (c)</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>20</td><td>Ali Ahmed</td><td></td><td> 78'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Jonathan David</td><td> 43'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>12</td><td>Tani Oluwaseyi</td><td></td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>9</td><td>Cyle Larin</td><td> 67'</td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>24</td><td>Promise David</td><td></td><td> 78'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Jacob Shaffelburg</td><td></td><td> 78'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>26</td><td>Jayden Nelson</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>21</td><td>Jonathan Osorio</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Jesse Marsch</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Yassine Bounou</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Achraf Hakimi (c)</td><td> 40'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>14</td><td>Issa Diop</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>25</td><td>Redouane Halhal</td><td> 20'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Noussair Mazraoui</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>6</td><td>Ayyoub Bouaddi</td><td></td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>24</td><td>Neil El Aynaoui</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>10</td><td>Brahim Díaz</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>8</td><td>Azzedine Ounahi</td><td> 45'</td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>23</td><td>Bilal El Khannouss</td><td> 45+6'</td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>11</td><td>Ismael Saibari</td><td></td><td> 22'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>9</td><td>Soufiane Rahimi</td><td></td><td> 22'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>7</td><td>Chemsdine Talbi</td><td></td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>4</td><td>Sofyan Amrabat</td><td></td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>5</td><td>Marwane Saâdane</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>15</td><td>Samir El Mourabet</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Mohamed Ouahbi</td></tr></tbody></table>

Paraguay vs France

During the match between Paraguay and 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 (/wiki/1958FIFAWorldCup) 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 38 °C (100 °F) 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, as well as Ilgiz Tantashev's poor refereeing.

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.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>12</td><td>Orlando Gill</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>2</td><td>Gustavo Velázquez</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>15</td><td>Gustavo Gómez (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Omar Alderete</td><td></td><td> 58'</td></tr><tr><td>RWB</td><td>4</td><td>Juan José Cáceres</td></tr><tr><td>LWB</td><td>6</td><td>Júnior Alonso</td></tr><tr><td>RM</td><td>10</td><td>Miguel Almirón</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Diego Gómez</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Andrés Cubas</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>23</td><td>Matías Galarza</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>19</td><td>Julio Enciso</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>13</td><td>José Canale</td><td></td><td> 58'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>24</td><td>Gustavo Caballero</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>21</td><td>Gabriel Ávalos</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>11</td><td>Maurício</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Other disciplinary actions:</td></tr><tr><td>TS</td><td>—</td><td>Carlos González</td><td> FT</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Gustavo Alfaro</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>16</td><td>Mike Maignan</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>5</td><td>Jules Koundé</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Dayot Upamecano</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>17</td><td>William Saliba</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Lucas Digne</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>6</td><td>Manu Koné</td><td> 81'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Adrien Rabiot</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>7</td><td>Ousmane Dembélé</td><td></td><td> 84'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>11</td><td>Michael Olise</td><td> 90+7'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>12</td><td>Bradley Barcola</td><td> 19'</td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Kylian Mbappé (c)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>20</td><td>Désiré Doué</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>24</td><td>Rayan Cherki</td><td></td><td> 84'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Didier Deschamps</td></tr></tbody></table>

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 (/wiki/1998FIFAWorldCup), 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 (/wiki/1990FIFAWorldCup) edition, when Brazil lost to Argentina 1–0. This was Neymar's last match for Brazil; following the defeat, he announced his international retirement.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Alisson</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>13</td><td>Danilo Luiz</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Marquinhos (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Gabriel Magalhães</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>16</td><td>Douglas Santos</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>5</td><td>Casemiro</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Bruno Guimarães</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>22</td><td>Gabriel Martinelli</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>26</td><td>Rayan</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Matheus Cunha</td><td></td><td> 58'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>7</td><td>Vinícius Júnior</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>19</td><td>Endrick</td><td></td><td> 58'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>18</td><td>Danilo Santos</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>10</td><td>Neymar</td><td> 90+6'</td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>2</td><td>Éderson Silva</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Carlo Ancelotti</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Ørjan Nyland</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Julian Ryerson</td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Kristoffer Ajer</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>17</td><td>Torbjørn Heggem</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>5</td><td>David Møller Wolfe</td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>8</td><td>Sander Berge</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>10</td><td>Martin Ødegaard (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>6</td><td>Patrick Berg</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>7</td><td>Alexander Sørloth</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Erling Haaland</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>20</td><td>Antonio Nusa</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Oscar Bobb</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>21</td><td>Andreas Schjelderup</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Fredrik Aursnes</td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Leo Østigård</td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Ståle Solbakken</td></tr></tbody></table>

Mexico vs England

Pre-match ceremony between Mexico and 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.

Mexico’s defeat marked the first time it lost a World Cup match at the Azteca and made it the second co-host to be eliminated after Canada. This was also the first time Mexico hosted the tournament without reaching the quarterfinals, failing to match its runs in 1970 and 1986. Additionally, this was the final game played in Mexico for the tournament.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Raúl Rangel</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Jorge Sánchez</td><td> 71'</td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>César Montes (c)</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>5</td><td>Johan Vásquez</td><td> 90+8'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>23</td><td>Jesús Gallardo</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>6</td><td>Érik Lira</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>19</td><td>Gilberto Mora</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>7</td><td>Luis Romo</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>25</td><td>Roberto Alvarado</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Raúl Jiménez</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>16</td><td>Julián Quiñones</td><td></td><td> 81'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Edson Álvarez</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>26</td><td>Brian Gutiérrez</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>11</td><td>Santiago Giménez</td><td></td><td> 61'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>8</td><td>Álvaro Fidalgo</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Guillermo Martínez</td><td></td><td> 81'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Javier Aguirre</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Jordan Pickford</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Jarell Quansah</td><td> 54'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>2</td><td>Ezri Konsa</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Marc Guéhi</td><td> 68'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Nico O'Reilly</td><td> 72'</td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Elliot Anderson</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>4</td><td>Declan Rice</td><td> 1'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>7</td><td>Bukayo Saka</td><td></td><td> 57'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>10</td><td>Jude Bellingham</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>18</td><td>Anthony Gordon</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Harry Kane (c)</td><td></td><td> 90'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>5</td><td>John Stones</td><td></td><td> 57'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>15</td><td>Dan Burn</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>25</td><td>Djed Spence</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>17</td><td>Morgan Rogers</td><td></td><td> 90'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Other disciplinary actions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Jordan Henderson</td><td> 90+8'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Thomas Tuchel</td></tr></tbody></table>

Portugal vs Spain

The teams had faced each other in 41 previous matches including at the FIFA World Cup on two previous occasions: their first meeting was a 1–0 round of 16 win for Spain at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and then a 3–3 group stage draw at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Their latest match was the 2025 UEFA Nations League final in which Portugal won 5–3 on penalties following a 2–2 draw.

In the third minute, Mikel Oyarzabal dragged a shot from the left wide of the right post. In the 41st minute Nuno Mendes hit the crossbar for Portugal after his shot deflected off Pedro Porro. In the 91st minute substitute Mikel Merino received a pass from fellow ‌substitute Ferran Torres on the left of the penalty area before shooting low left-footed to the left corner of the net for the only goal of the match. Portugal's defeat ended Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career after he had confirmed earlier that this tournament would be his last.

Following the result, Portugal coach Roberto Martínez announced his resignation with immediate effect. Meanwhile, Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed that this was his last World Cup match ahead of his expected retirement.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Diogo Costa</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>20</td><td>João Cancelo</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Rúben Dias</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>13</td><td>Renato Veiga</td><td> 90+3'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>25</td><td>Nuno Mendes</td><td></td><td> 56'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>15</td><td>João Neves</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>23</td><td>Vitinha</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>18</td><td>Pedro Neto</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>8</td><td>Bruno Fernandes</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>11</td><td>João Félix</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>7</td><td>Cristiano Ronaldo (c)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>2</td><td>Nélson Semedo</td><td></td><td> 56'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Rafael Leão</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>5</td><td>Diogo Dalot</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>26</td><td>Francisco Conceição</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>10</td><td>Bernardo Silva</td><td> 89'</td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Roberto Martínez</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Unai Simón</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>12</td><td>Pedro Porro</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>22</td><td>Pau Cubarsí</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>14</td><td>Aymeric Laporte</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>24</td><td>Marc Cucurella</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>16</td><td>Rodri (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>10</td><td>Dani Olmo</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>20</td><td>Pedri</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>19</td><td>Lamine Yamal</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>21</td><td>Mikel Oyarzabal</td><td></td><td> 90+7'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>15</td><td>Álex Baena</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Ferran Torres</td><td> 90+8'</td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Mikel Merino</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>8</td><td>Fabián Ruiz</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>26</td><td>Borja Iglesias</td><td></td><td> 90+7'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Luis de la Fuente</td></tr></tbody></table>

United States vs Belgium

Matt Freese committing an error that led to Belgium's third goal by Hans Vanaken during the match.

The teams had previously faced each other seven times, most recently on March 28, a 5–2 win for Belgium in a friendly. They had also met twice in the FIFA World Cup: a 3–0 group stage win for the United States at the first World Cup (their only win ever against Belgium) and a 2–1 round of 16 win for Belgium in (/wiki/2014FIFAWorldCup). The reversal of the suspension for Folarin Balogun, who received a red card in his previous match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, has drawn condemnation of political manipulation from UEFA and the Royal Belgian Football Association, whose appeal was overturned.

The United States was the final co-host to be eliminated after Canada fell to Morocco and Mexico lost to England, with all three exits occurring in the Round of 16. Folarin Balogun's participation proved insignificant, as he and the rest of the U.S. team struggled for most of the match while Belgium easily breached the host team's defense.

The United States registered their largest margin of defeat in a World Cup match since they lost 3–0 to the Czech Republic in (/wiki/2006FIFAWorldCup), and their worst goals-against performance in a World Cup match since a 5–1 defeat to Czechoslovakia in the 1990 World Cup.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>24</td><td>Matt Freese</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>16</td><td>Alex Freeman</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Chris Richards</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>13</td><td>Tim Ream (c)</td></tr><tr><td>RM</td><td>2</td><td>Sergiño Dest</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>17</td><td>Malik Tillman</td><td> 69'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>4</td><td>Tyler Adams</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Weston McKennie</td><td> 35'</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>5</td><td>Antonee Robinson</td><td></td><td> 90+2'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Christian Pulisic</td><td></td><td> 59'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>20</td><td>Folarin Balogun</td><td></td><td> 90+2'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>7</td><td>Giovanni Reyna</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Sebastian Berhalter</td><td></td><td> 59'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>9</td><td>Ricardo Pepi</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>19</td><td>Haji Wright</td><td></td><td> 90+2'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>18</td><td>Max Arfsten</td><td></td><td> 90+2'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Mauricio Pochettino</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Thibaut Courtois</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>21</td><td>Timothy Castagne</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>25</td><td>Nathan Ngoy</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Brandon Mechele</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>5</td><td>Maxim De Cuyper</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>24</td><td>Amadou Onana</td><td> 21'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>23</td><td>Nicolas Raskin</td><td> 89'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>14</td><td>Dodi Lukébakio</td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>8</td><td>Youri Tielemans (c)</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>10</td><td>Leandro Trossard</td><td> 89'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>17</td><td>Charles De Ketelaere</td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>20</td><td>Hans Vanaken</td><td> 21'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>11</td><td>Jérémy Doku</td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>9</td><td>Romelu Lukaku</td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>22</td><td>Alexis Saelemaekers</td><td> 89'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Axel Witsel</td><td> 89'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Rudi Garcia</td></tr></tbody></table>

Argentina vs Egypt

Mostafa Shobeir saving the Lionel Messi penalty during the match.

Argentina had faced Egypt twice previously, a 6–0 victory in the semifinals of the 1928 Summer Olympics, and a 2–0 friendly win in 2008.

In the 15th minute Egypt went in front when Yasser Ibrahim headed into the right corner of the net from six yards out after a cross from the right by Marwan Attia. Six minutes later, Argentina was awarded a penalty when Haissem Hassan tripped Nicolás Tagliafico on the right of the penalty area. Lionel Messi took the penalty, which was saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir down low to his left.

A second goal for Egypt, scored by Mostafa Ziko in the 60th minute after a counter-attack was ruled out after a VAR review brought it back for a foul on Lisandro Martínez at the start of the move. In the 67th minute Ziko made it 2–0 when he finished from six yards out after a low cross from Haissem Hassan from the right.

In the 79th minute Argentina pulled a goal back when Cristian Romero headed powerfully to the right of the net from six yards out after a cross from the right from Messi. In the 83rd minute, Messi made it 2–2 when he half-volleyed the ball high in off the underside of the crossbar from twelve yards out on the right of the penalty area. In the 93rd minute, Argentina broke and Lautaro Martínez crossed from the right for Enzo Fernández to head into the right corner of the net from seven yards out to win the game 3–2 for Argentina. The winning goal was the 3,000th goal in tournament history.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Emiliano Martínez</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Nahuel Molina</td><td> 73'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>13</td><td>Cristian Romero</td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Lisandro Martínez</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Nicolás Tagliafico</td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>5</td><td>Leandro Paredes</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>7</td><td>Rodrigo De Paul</td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>24</td><td>Enzo Fernández</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>20</td><td>Alexis Mac Allister</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Lionel Messi (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Julián Alvarez</td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Lautaro Martínez</td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>15</td><td>Nicolás González</td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Gonzalo Montiel</td><td> 73'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>19</td><td>Nicolás Otamendi</td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>25</td><td>Facundo Medina</td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Lionel Scaloni</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Mostafa Shobeir</td><td> 90+3'</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>3</td><td>Mohamed Hany</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>5</td><td>Ramy Rabia</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>2</td><td>Yasser Ibrahim</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>15</td><td>Karim Hafez</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>17</td><td>Mohanad Lasheen</td><td></td><td> 90+6'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>19</td><td>Marwan Attia</td><td> 90+8'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>12</td><td>Haissem Hassan</td><td> FT</td><td> 73'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>10</td><td>Mohamed Salah (c)</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>8</td><td>Emam Ashour</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>11</td><td>Mostafa Ziko</td><td></td><td> 80'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Hamdy Fathy</td><td> 90+4'</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Trézéguet</td><td></td><td> 73'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Omar Marmoush</td><td></td><td> 80'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>25</td><td>Zizo</td><td></td><td> 90+6'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Other disciplinary actions:</td></tr><tr><td>TS</td><td>—</td><td>Saafan El-Sagheer</td><td> 21'  90+4'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Hossam Hassan</td><td> 90+9'</td></tr></tbody></table>

Switzerland vs Colombia

The teams had met four times prior, including Colombia's 2–0 group stage victory at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Their most recent meeting was also won by Colombia, a 3–1 friendly in 2007.

With this game, Colombia became the only team in the 2026 World Cup to play matches in all three host countries—Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The game finished 0–0 after extra time and went to a penalty shoot-out. Colombia's Davinson Sánchez missed his penalty when he hit the underside of the bar with the ball bouncing back out, Switzerland's Manuel Akanji also missed when he kicked high over the bar. Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved down to his right from Cucho Hernández, with Rubén Vargas scoring the winning penalty with a shot low to the left, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Switzerland reached the quarterfinals for the fourth time (after (/wiki/1934FIFAWorldCup), (/wiki/1938FIFAWorldCup), and (/wiki/1954FIFAWorldCup)), their first in 72 years (since (/wiki/AustriavSwitzerland(1954FIFAWorldCup)), when it hosted the tournament). Colombia's elimination from the tournament confirmed that Argentina became the sole representative from the Americas to proceed to the quarterfinals following their win against Egypt.

This was the final game of the tournament played in Canada, as the remaining knockout matches—the quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place playoff, and final—were played entirely in the United States.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Gregor Kobel</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>6</td><td>Denis Zakaria</td><td> 59'</td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>5</td><td>Manuel Akanji</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Nico Elvedi</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>13</td><td>Ricardo Rodriguez</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>10</td><td>Granit Xhaka (c)</td><td> 51'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Remo Freuler</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Ardon Jashari</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>22</td><td>Fabian Rieder</td><td></td><td> 103'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>7</td><td>Breel Embolo</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>11</td><td>Dan Ndoye</td><td></td><td> 90+1'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>15</td><td>Djibril Sow</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>2</td><td>Miro Muheim</td><td> 105'</td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>26</td><td>Cedric Itten</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>3</td><td>Silvan Widmer</td><td></td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Rubén Vargas</td><td></td><td> 90+1'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>23</td><td>Zeki Amdouni</td><td></td><td> 103'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Murat Yakin</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>12</td><td>Camilo Vargas</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Daniel Muñoz</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>23</td><td>Davinson Sánchez</td><td> 94'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Jhon Lucumí</td><td></td><td> 118'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>17</td><td>Johan Mojica</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>16</td><td>Jefferson Lerma</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>11</td><td>Jhon Arias</td><td></td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Gustavo Puerta</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>10</td><td>James Rodríguez (c)</td><td></td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>25</td><td>Luis Suárez</td><td> 60'</td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>7</td><td>Luis Díaz</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>20</td><td>Juan Fernando Quintero</td><td></td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>21</td><td>Jaminton Campaz</td><td></td><td> 66'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Richard Ríos</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>19</td><td>Cucho Hernández</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>13</td><td>Yerry Mina</td><td></td><td> 118'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Other disciplinary actions:</td></tr><tr><td>TS</td><td>—</td><td>Luis Amaranto Perea</td><td> 95'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Néstor Lorenzo</td></tr></tbody></table>

Quarterfinals

France vs Morocco

During the match between France and Morocco.

The two teams had met six times before, with France winning four matches. Their most recent meeting took place in the semifinals of the last World Cup, when France won 2–0.

In the 28th minute, France was awarded a penalty when Kylian Mbappé was fouled inside the penalty area on the left by Noussair Mazraoui. After a delay of over three minutes, Mbappé took the penalty and shot low to the right which was saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Désiré Doué also had a low shot to the left from inside the penalty area saved by Bounou. In first-half stoppage time Lucas Digne's hit a long range swerving shot from the left off the top of the crossbar and go over.

In the 60th minute, France went in front when Mbappé received the ball from Doué on the left before curling a shot from just inside the penalty area into the top right corner of the net. It was his eighth goal of the World Cup. Six minutes later it was 2–0 when Ousmane Dembélé scored with a low shot from just outside the penalty area to the right corner which Bounou got a hand to but couldn't keep out. Morocco was missing injured forward Ismael Saibari and failed to get a shot on target until the 84th minute. As a result, this was the first time it failed to advance further in the knockout stage after its surprising success in (/wiki/2022FIFAWorldCup) where they finished fourth.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>16</td><td>Mike Maignan</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>5</td><td>Jules Koundé</td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Dayot Upamecano</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>17</td><td>William Saliba</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Lucas Digne</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>6</td><td>Manu Koné</td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Adrien Rabiot</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>7</td><td>Ousmane Dembélé</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>11</td><td>Michael Olise</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>20</td><td>Désiré Doué</td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Kylian Mbappé (c)</td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>18</td><td>Warren Zaïre-Emery</td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Jean-Philippe Mateta</td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>12</td><td>Bradley Barcola</td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>2</td><td>Malo Gusto</td><td> 87'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Didier Deschamps</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Yassine Bounou</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Achraf Hakimi (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>14</td><td>Issa Diop</td><td> 63'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Noussair Mazraoui</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>26</td><td>Anass Salah-Eddine</td><td></td><td> 74'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>6</td><td>Ayyoub Bouaddi</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>24</td><td>Neil El Aynaoui</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>10</td><td>Brahim Díaz</td><td></td><td> 74'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>8</td><td>Azzedine Ounahi</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>7</td><td>Chemsdine Talbi</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>23</td><td>Bilal El Khannouss</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>4</td><td>Sofyan Amrabat</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>9</td><td>Soufiane Rahimi</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>13</td><td>Zakaria El Ouahdi</td><td></td><td> 74'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>16</td><td>Gessime Yassine</td><td></td><td> 74'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Amine Sbaï</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Mohamed Ouahbi</td></tr></tbody></table>

Spain vs Belgium

SoFi Stadium during the match between Spain and Belgium.

The teams had previously met 23 times, including twice in the World Cup: a 1–1 quarterfinal draw (Belgium won 5–4 on penalties) in (/wiki/1986FIFAWorldCup) and a 2–1 group stage win for Spain in (/wiki/1990FIFAWorldCup). Their most recent meeting took place in 2016, when Spain won 2–0 in a friendly match.

This was the only match in the entire tournament where Spain conceded a goal.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Unai Simón</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>12</td><td>Pedro Porro</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>22</td><td>Pau Cubarsí</td><td> 43'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>14</td><td>Aymeric Laporte</td><td> 90+3'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>24</td><td>Marc Cucurella</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>16</td><td>Rodri (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Fabián Ruiz</td><td></td><td> 55'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>19</td><td>Lamine Yamal</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>10</td><td>Dani Olmo</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>15</td><td>Álex Baena</td><td></td><td> 55'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>21</td><td>Mikel Oyarzabal</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Ferran Torres</td><td></td><td> 55'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>20</td><td>Pedri</td><td></td><td> 55'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Nico Williams</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Mikel Merino</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Luis de la Fuente</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Thibaut Courtois</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>21</td><td>Timothy Castagne</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>25</td><td>Nathan Ngoy</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Brandon Mechele</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>5</td><td>Maxim De Cuyper</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>20</td><td>Hans Vanaken</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>23</td><td>Nicolas Raskin</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>10</td><td>Leandro Trossard</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>7</td><td>Kevin De Bruyne (c)</td><td> 85'</td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>11</td><td>Jérémy Doku</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>17</td><td>Charles De Ketelaere</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Axel Witsel</td><td> 90+5'</td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>18</td><td>Joaquin Seys</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>9</td><td>Romelu Lukaku</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>12</td><td>Senne Lammens</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>22</td><td>Alexis Saelemaekers</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Rudi Garcia</td></tr></tbody></table>

Norway vs England

The teams had previously faced each other 12 times, most recently in 2014, a 1–0 win for England in a friendly match.

Norway went ahead after 36 minutes when Andreas Schjelderup's left-footed strike from just inside the penalty area went over England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. England restored parity in first-half stoppage time when Jude Bellingham took a pass from Anthony Gordon and struck past Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland.

Declan Rice, who had been struggling with illness and injury leading into the fixture, was substituted at halftime, as well as Noni Madueke, being replaced with Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka.

In the second half, a goal by Norway midfielder Torbjørn Heggem was ruled out due to Erling Haaland fouling midfielder Elliot Anderson, and David Møller Wolfe's header struck the bar.

In extra time, Bellingham scored the second goal for England when Nyland parried a shot towards him from substitute Morgan Rogers. The Norwegians claimed the ball struck one of the Spidercam wires in the build-up to Bellingham's equalizing goal, but Snickometer ruled there was no contact. Had the decision been made that the ball struck the wire, the goal would have been ruled out and play restarted with a dropped ball.

Jude Bellingham's two goals meant this England team was the first in FIFA World Cup history to have two players score six or more goals in a tournament, with Harry Kane having reached six in the previous match against Mexico. Also, Bellingham's six goals in the tournament, none of which were penalties, is the joint-most non-penalty goals by an England player in a major men's tournament, along with Gary Lineker in the 1986 edition of the tournament.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Ørjan Nyland</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Julian Ryerson</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>3</td><td>Kristoffer Ajer</td><td> 117'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>17</td><td>Torbjørn Heggem</td><td></td><td> 91'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>5</td><td>David Møller Wolfe</td><td></td><td> 90'</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>8</td><td>Sander Berge</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>10</td><td>Martin Ødegaard (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>6</td><td>Patrick Berg</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>7</td><td>Alexander Sørloth</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Erling Haaland</td><td></td><td> 106'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>21</td><td>Andreas Schjelderup</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Fredrik Aursnes</td><td></td><td> 60'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>22</td><td>Oscar Bobb</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>20</td><td>Antonio Nusa</td><td></td><td> 67'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>16</td><td>Marcus Holmgren Pedersen</td><td></td><td> 90'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Leo Østigård</td><td></td><td> 91'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>11</td><td>Jørgen Strand Larsen</td><td></td><td> 106'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Ståle Solbakken</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Jordan Pickford</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Ezri Konsa</td><td></td><td> 89'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>5</td><td>John Stones</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Marc Guéhi</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Nico O'Reilly</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Elliot Anderson</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>4</td><td>Declan Rice</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>20</td><td>Noni Madueke</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>10</td><td>Jude Bellingham</td><td></td><td> 111'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>18</td><td>Anthony Gordon</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Harry Kane (c)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Bukayo Saka</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>21</td><td>Eberechi Eze</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>24</td><td>Reece James</td><td></td><td> 71'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>25</td><td>Djed Spence</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>17</td><td>Morgan Rogers</td><td></td><td> 89'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>15</td><td>Dan Burn</td><td></td><td> 111'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Thomas Tuchel</td></tr></tbody></table>

Argentina vs Switzerland

Pre-match ceremony between Argentina and Switzerland.

This was Switzerland's first World Cup quarterfinal since the 1954 edition of the tournament.

Argentina had never lost to Switzerland in their seven previous encounters, winning five of those matches. Their first meeting took place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, when Argentina won 2–0 in the group stage and their latest match was also at the World Cup, a round of 16 1–0 win (after extra time) in (/wiki/2014FIFAWorldCup).

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring for Argentina after 10 minutes when he scored off a corner kick taken from Lionel Messi. Half way through the second half, shortly after Dan Ndoye scored the equalizer for Switzerland, Leandro Paredes was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo–however, VAR revealed Embolo falling before Paredes made any contact. Since Embolo had already received a booking, he was sent off. It was the second time a yellow card had been overturned at the tournament due to the "mistaken identity" protocol.

The match ended Lionel Messi's record run of scoring in nine consecutive FIFA World Cup matches, stretching back to the Round of 16 match against Australia in (/wiki/2022FIFAWorldCup).

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Emiliano Martínez</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Nahuel Molina</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>13</td><td>Cristian Romero</td><td></td><td> 106'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Lisandro Martínez</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Nicolás Tagliafico</td><td></td><td> 78'</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>5</td><td>Leandro Paredes</td><td></td><td> 110'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>7</td><td>Rodrigo De Paul</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>24</td><td>Enzo Fernández</td><td></td><td> 91'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>20</td><td>Alexis Mac Allister</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Lionel Messi (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Julián Alvarez</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>15</td><td>Nicolás González</td><td></td><td> 78'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Gonzalo Montiel</td><td></td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Lautaro Martínez</td><td> 98'</td><td> 85'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>16</td><td>Thiago Almada</td><td> 97'</td><td> 91'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>19</td><td>Nicolás Otamendi</td><td></td><td> 106'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>21</td><td>José Manuel López</td><td> 114'</td><td> 110'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Lionel Scaloni</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Gregor Kobel</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>6</td><td>Denis Zakaria</td><td></td><td> 96'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Nico Elvedi</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>5</td><td>Manuel Akanji</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>13</td><td>Ricardo Rodriguez</td><td></td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Remo Freuler</td><td></td><td> 115'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>10</td><td>Granit Xhaka (c)</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>15</td><td>Djibril Sow</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>22</td><td>Fabian Rieder</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>11</td><td>Dan Ndoye</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>7</td><td>Breel Embolo</td><td> 44'  72'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>3</td><td>Silvan Widmer</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>23</td><td>Zeki Amdouni</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>2</td><td>Miro Muheim</td><td></td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>18</td><td>Eray Cömert</td><td></td><td> 90+5'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>14</td><td>Ardon Jashari</td><td></td><td> 96'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Rubén Vargas</td><td></td><td> 115'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Murat Yakin</td></tr></tbody></table>

Semifinals

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

This is the first time in tournament history that the top four teams in the FIFA Men's World Ranking (as of June 11, 2026) have all qualified for the World Cup semifinals. It's also only the third time in tournament history in which all four semifinalists are previous champions (along with the (/wiki/1970FIFAWorldCupknockoutstage) and (/wiki/1990FIFAWorldCupknockoutstage) editions).

France vs Spain

During the match between France and Spain.

France and Spain had faced each other in 38 previous matches since 1922, including the UEFA Euro 1984 final (when host France won 2–0) and a 3–1 round of 16 win for France at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their latest encounter in a major tournament was at the UEFA Euro 2024 semifinals, won 2–1 by Spain.

In the 22nd minute, Spain was awarded a penalty when Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal with his swinging left leg when trying to clear the ball. Mikel Oyarzabal scored the penalty with a powerful shot to the right of the net to make it 1–0. In the 58th minute it was 2–0 when Pedro Porro played a one-two with Dani Olmo on the edge of the penalty area before a side-foot finish with his right foot to the right corner of the net from the right of the penalty area. The game finished 2–0 and Spain progressed to its second World Cup final.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>16</td><td>Mike Maignan</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>5</td><td>Jules Koundé</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>4</td><td>Dayot Upamecano</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>17</td><td>William Saliba</td><td></td><td> 30'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Lucas Digne</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Aurélien Tchouaméni</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Adrien Rabiot</td><td> 8'</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>7</td><td>Ousmane Dembélé</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>11</td><td>Michael Olise</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>12</td><td>Bradley Barcola</td><td></td><td> 57'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Kylian Mbappé (c)</td><td> 86'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>26</td><td>Maxence Lacroix</td><td></td><td> 30'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Manu Koné</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>20</td><td>Désiré Doué</td><td></td><td> 57'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>24</td><td>Rayan Cherki</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>19</td><td>Théo Hernandez</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Didier Deschamps</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Unai Simón</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>12</td><td>Pedro Porro</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>22</td><td>Pau Cubarsí</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>14</td><td>Aymeric Laporte</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>24</td><td>Marc Cucurella</td><td> 31'</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>16</td><td>Rodri (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>10</td><td>Dani Olmo</td><td></td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Fabián Ruiz</td><td></td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>19</td><td>Lamine Yamal</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>21</td><td>Mikel Oyarzabal</td><td></td><td> 74'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>15</td><td>Álex Baena</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Ferran Torres</td><td></td><td> 74'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Mikel Merino</td><td></td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>20</td><td>Pedri</td><td></td><td> 77'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Nico Williams</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>5</td><td>Marcos Llorente</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Luis de la Fuente</td></tr></tbody></table>

England vs Argentina

The teams had faced each other in 14 previous matches since 1951, with five of those encounters taking place at the World Cup: a 3–1 group stage win for England in (/wiki/1962FIFAWorldCup), a 1–0 quarterfinal win for England (as host) in (/wiki/1966FIFAWorldCup), a 2–1 quarterfinal win for Argentina in (/wiki/1986FIFAWorldCup) (a match famous for Diego Maradona's "hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century"), a 2–2 round of 16 draw (Argentina won 4–3 on penalties) in (/wiki/1998FIFAWorldCup), and a 1–0 group stage win for England in (/wiki/2002FIFAWorldCup). Their latest match took place in 2005, a 3–2 win for England in a friendly match.

After a goalless first half, Anthony Gordon put England into the lead in the 55th minute when he finished to the left of the net with his right foot from six yards out after a low cross in by Morgan Rogers from the right. As England looked to hold on to its lead, it went more defensive and switched to a back five. Argentina created chances after that with Jordan Pickford saving down low on the line from a close-range header by Nicolás González. Alexis Mac Allister then saw his diving header from close range strike the left-side post. In the 85th minute, Enzo Fernández received a pass from Lionel Messi just outside the penalty area before shooting right-footed to the left corner of the net to make it 1–1.

In the 92nd minute, Mac Allister saw his low shot from the left hit the right hand post before coming back to Messi, who crossed from the right for Lautaro Martínez to head into the left corner from three yards out to give Argentina a 2–1 lead. Argentina saw out the remainder of the added time to advance to the final against Spain for the second consecutive time. England's defeat ended its hopes of reaching the final and extended its period without a championship to 15 consecutive tournament appearances since (/wiki/1966FIFAWorldCup). However, England progressed to the third-place playoff against France, marking its first appearance in the bronze-medal match since (/wiki/2018FIFAWorldCup).

England manager Thomas Tuchel was widely criticized after the match for going too defensive after England took a 1–0 lead with over 30 minutes remaining. Between England scoring and Martínez's winning goal, England had just 12% possession. After the defeat, Tuchel remarked that he fully intended to stay on as England manager, and proceeded to blame the country's "football DNA" for its World Cup exit.

After the match, some Argentine players displayed a banner that read "Las Malvinas son argentinas" ("The Falkland Islands are Argentinian"), in reference to the territory dispute between Argentina and the UK, and later left it on the pitch, in apparent contravention of FIFA rules. FIFA's Stadium Code of Conduct prohibits banners and related paraphernalia that are of a political or discriminatory nature inside stadiums, and the British government immediately urged FIFA to investigate the incident. In a statement after the game, FIFA said: "As is standard procedure, FIFA's independent Disciplinary Committee is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on potential further steps based on the FIFA Disciplinary Code." The Argentine Football Association were later fined $321,000 (£235,000) for the incident, of which only $100,000 (£89,000) was an immediate direct fine to FIFA.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>1</td><td>Jordan Pickford</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>24</td><td>Reece James</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>5</td><td>John Stones</td><td></td><td> 90+6'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Marc Guéhi</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>25</td><td>Djed Spence</td><td></td><td> 90+6'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>4</td><td>Declan Rice</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Elliot Anderson</td><td> 37'</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>17</td><td>Morgan Rogers</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>10</td><td>Jude Bellingham</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>18</td><td>Anthony Gordon</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Harry Kane (c)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>2</td><td>Ezri Konsa</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>15</td><td>Dan Burn</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>3</td><td>Nico O'Reilly</td><td></td><td> 82'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Ivan Toney</td><td></td><td> 90+6'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>11</td><td>Marcus Rashford</td><td></td><td> 90+6'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Thomas Tuchel</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Emiliano Martínez</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Nahuel Molina</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>13</td><td>Cristian Romero</td><td> 51'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Lisandro Martínez</td><td> 42'</td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Nicolás Tagliafico</td><td></td><td> 81'</td></tr><tr><td>RM</td><td>17</td><td>Giuliano Simeone</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>5</td><td>Leandro Paredes</td><td></td><td> 64'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>20</td><td>Alexis Mac Allister</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>24</td><td>Enzo Fernández</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Lionel Messi (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Julián Alvarez</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>15</td><td>Nicolás González</td><td></td><td> 64'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>19</td><td>Nicolás Otamendi</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>7</td><td>Rodrigo De Paul</td><td> 90+4'</td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Gonzalo Montiel</td><td></td><td> 72'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>22</td><td>Lautaro Martínez</td><td></td><td> 81'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Lionel Scaloni</td></tr></tbody></table>

Match for third place

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

France and England had faced each other in 32 previous matches since 1923, with three of those encounters taking place at the World Cup. The first two meetings took place at the group stage and were won by England: 2–0 as host in (/wiki/1966FIFAWorldCup) and 3–1 in (/wiki/1982FIFAWorldCup). Their third tournament match (which was also their most recent meeting in any type of competition) took place in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup, when France won 2–1. This was France's first appearance in such match since (/wiki/1986FIFAWorldCupknockoutstage#Matchforthirdplace). As both were European teams, this was already set pre-match as the twelfth consecutive World Cup in which European teams finished third, stretching back to (/wiki/1982FIFAWorldCupknockoutstage#Matchforthirdplace), when Poland defeated France.

England manager Thomas Tuchel made seven changes to his starting lineup that lost to Argentina in the semifinal, and he was booed by some England fans before kickoff amid criticism of his tactics.

England stormed to a four goal lead by halftime via an early long-range strike by Declan Rice, a header by Ezri Konsa, and a double by Bukayo Saka. This marked the first time France had trailed by four goals at half-time of any international match since April 1930.

France made four changes at halftime, and by the hydration break in the second half, England's lead was cut to just a single goal, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice (and ending up winning his second consecutive FIFA World Cup Golden Boot), and Bradley Barcola striking from inside the penalty box. Michael Olise almost restored parity for France, but his strike went wide. Djed Spence was then fouled in the France penalty box, resulting in a penalty to England, which was converted by Saka. Deep into injury time, Ousmane Dembélé charged into the penalty box and scored France's final goal of the match. Moments later, with full time imminent, Jude Bellingham made a solo run to France's penalty box and netted England's sixth goal.

Saka became just the second England player in history to score a hat trick in a World Cup knockout match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final, and the fourth Englishman overall after Gary Lineker in (/wiki/1986FIFAWorldCup) and Harry Kane in (/wiki/2018FIFAWorldCup). The only other player to score a hat trick against France in the World Cup is Pelé for Brazil in (/wiki/1958FIFAWorldCupknockoutstage#BrazilvsFrance).

Jude Bellingham's seven goals over the tournament is the highest ever goal tally by an England player at a World Cup or UEFA European Championship tournament. Declan Rice's opening goal was England's second earliest goal in a World Cup match behind only Bryan Robson, who scored after 28 seconds (also against France) in (/wiki/1982FIFAWorldCupGroup4#EnglandvsFrance), which was also the last time England ever defeated France in a major tournament.

This was the first World Cup match in which France conceded six goals, and the first time conceding six goals in any international match since 1960, where they lost 2–6 to Switzerland in a friendly game.

England's victory secured its best World Cup finish since winning the competition in (/wiki/1966FIFAWorldCup) (after previous attempts in (/wiki/1990FIFAWorldCup) and (/wiki/2018FIFAWorldCup)), and was only its second victory in the World Cup against a higher-ranked opponent in the FIFA Rankings, previously defeating Argentina 1–0 in 2002.

This was the highest-scoring match of the tournament, with a total of ten goals, as well as the highest-scoring World Cup bronze final of all time, eclipsing France's 6–3 win in over West Germany in 1958. It featured the joint fifth–most goals of any World Cup match, level with France's 7–3 win over Paraguay in 1958, and the most of any game in the tournament since Hungary beat El Salvador 10–1 at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. It was also the third-highest-scoring knockout-stage game at any World Cup, beaten only by Brazil's 6–5 extra-time win over Poland in (/wiki/1938FIFAWorldCup) and Austria beating Switzerland 7–5 in (/wiki/1954FIFAWorldCup).

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>16</td><td>Mike Maignan</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>2</td><td>Malo Gusto</td><td></td><td> 90+1'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>15</td><td>Ibrahima Konaté</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>26</td><td>Maxence Lacroix</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>19</td><td>Théo Hernandez</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>18</td><td>Warren Zaïre-Emery</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>14</td><td>Adrien Rabiot</td></tr><tr><td>RW</td><td>11</td><td>Michael Olise</td></tr><tr><td>AM</td><td>24</td><td>Rayan Cherki</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>LW</td><td>20</td><td>Désiré Doué</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Kylian Mbappé (c)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>3</td><td>Lucas Digne</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Dayot Upamecano</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Ousmane Dembélé</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>12</td><td>Bradley Barcola</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>5</td><td>Jules Koundé</td><td></td><td> 90+1'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Didier Deschamps</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>13</td><td>Dean Henderson</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>26</td><td>Jarell Quansah</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>2</td><td>Ezri Konsa</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Marc Guéhi</td><td></td><td> 90+2'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>25</td><td>Djed Spence</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>4</td><td>Declan Rice (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>17</td><td>Morgan Rogers</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>21</td><td>Eberechi Eze</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>7</td><td>Bukayo Saka</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>22</td><td>Ivan Toney</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>11</td><td>Marcus Rashford</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>19</td><td>Ollie Watkins</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>8</td><td>Elliot Anderson</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>10</td><td>Jude Bellingham</td><td></td><td> 79'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>24</td><td>Reece James</td><td></td><td> 83'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>12</td><td>Trevoh Chalobah</td><td></td><td> 90+2'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Thomas Tuchel</td></tr></tbody></table>

Final

2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

Spain lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy

Spain and Argentina had faced each other in 14 previous matches since 1952, with an even record as both teams won six matches along with two draws. They only met once at the World Cup, when Argentina won 2–1 in the group stage of the 1966 tournament. Their latest meeting took place in 2018, a 6–1 win for Spain in a friendly. They were expected to meet at the 2026 Finalissima on March 27 at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. However, the match was cancelled as a result of the ongoing Iran war and the inability to reach an agreement to move the match to another location.

Spain's victory made it the second European nation to win a World Cup held in the Americas following Germany in (/wiki/2014FIFAWorldCup), the second nation to win a World Cup co-hosted by multiple countries after Brazil in (/wiki/2002FIFAWorldCup) (held in South Korea and Japan), and the first ever to do so in North America, where the previous tournament in (/wiki/1994FIFAWorldCup) (also in the United States) was won by Brazil.

On July 29, ten days after the final, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and its players following several tournament incidents. These included post-match altercations with Spanish players after the final, as well as a potential breach of regulations regarding non-sporting demonstrations. The latter charge stemmed from an incident four days prior to the final, following Argentina's 2–1 semifinal victory over England, when players displayed a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falklands are Argentine") in reference to the territorial dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Unai Simón</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>12</td><td>Pedro Porro</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>22</td><td>Pau Cubarsí</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>14</td><td>Aymeric Laporte</td><td></td><td> 99'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>24</td><td>Marc Cucurella</td></tr><tr><td>DM</td><td>16</td><td>Rodri (c)</td><td></td><td> 99'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>10</td><td>Dani Olmo</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>8</td><td>Fabián Ruiz</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>RF</td><td>19</td><td>Lamine Yamal</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>21</td><td>Mikel Oyarzabal</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>LF</td><td>15</td><td>Álex Baena</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>7</td><td>Ferran Torres</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>20</td><td>Pedri</td><td></td><td> 62'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>6</td><td>Mikel Merino</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Nico Williams</td><td></td><td> 75'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>18</td><td>Martín Zubimendi </td><td></td><td> 99'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>4</td><td>Eric Garcia</td><td></td><td> 99'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Luis de la Fuente</td></tr><tr><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><td>GK</td><td>23</td><td>Emiliano Martínez</td></tr><tr><td>RB</td><td>4</td><td>Gonzalo Montiel</td><td></td><td> 58'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>13</td><td>Cristian Romero</td><td> 90+2'</td><td> 70'</td></tr><tr><td>CB</td><td>6</td><td>Lisandro Martínez</td><td> 41'</td><td> 44'</td></tr><tr><td>LB</td><td>3</td><td>Nicolás Tagliafico</td></tr><tr><td>RM</td><td>7</td><td>Rodrigo De Paul</td><td></td><td> 70'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>24</td><td>Enzo Fernández</td><td> 82'  90+3'</td></tr><tr><td>CM</td><td>20</td><td>Alexis Mac Allister </td><td> 111'</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>15</td><td>Nicolás González</td><td></td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>10</td><td>Lionel Messi (c)</td></tr><tr><td>CF</td><td>9</td><td>Julián Alvarez</td><td></td><td> 102'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Substitutions:</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>19</td><td>Nicolás Otamendi</td><td></td><td> 44'</td></tr><tr><td>MF</td><td>5</td><td>Leandro Paredes</td><td> 52'</td><td> 46'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>26</td><td>Nahuel Molina</td><td></td><td> 58'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>25</td><td>Facundo Medina</td><td></td><td> 70'</td></tr><tr><td>FW</td><td>17</td><td>Giuliano Simeone</td><td></td><td> 70'</td></tr><tr><td>DF</td><td>2</td><td>Marcos Senesi</td><td></td><td> 102'</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Manager:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">Lionel Scaloni</td><td> 105'</td></tr></tbody></table>