← Back to News
Who could play who in WC last 32? Knockout ties as it stands
Teams
S
Sky Sports·in about 4 hours

Who could play who in WC last 32? Knockout ties as it stands

As the World Cup group stage draws to a close, it's time to start looking ahead to the knockout rounds and potential routes to the final on July 19.

Who could face who in the last 32? Can we see how the quarter-final draw is shaping up? How are the potential routes to the final looking? Is there a more difficult side of the draw?

There are still plenty of twists and turns to come but here's an early look at how the last 32 and how the rest of the tournament is unfolding, as things stand...

Sunday June 28 Match 73: South Africa vs Canada , kick-off 8pm - Los Angeles, USA Monday June 29 Match 76: Brazil vs Japan , kick-off 6pm - Houston, USA Match 74: Germany vs Group A/B/C/D/F third place, kick-off 9.30pm - Foxborough, USA Tuesday June 30 Match 75: Netherlands vs Morocco , kick-off 2am - Guadalupe, Mexico Match 78: Ivory Coast vs Group I runners-up, kick-off 6pm - Arlington, USA Match 77: Group I winners vs Group C/D/F/G/H third place, kick-off 10pm - New Jersey, USA Wednesday July 1 Match 79: Mexico vs Group C/E/F/H/I third place, kick-off 2am - Mexico City, Mexico Match 80: Group L winners vs Group E/H/I/J/K third place, kick-off 5pm - Atlanta, USA Match 82: Group G winners vs Group A/E/H/I/J third place, kick-off 9pm - Seattle, USA Thursday July 2 Match 81: USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina , kick-off 1am - Santa Clara, USA Match 84: Group H winners vs Group J runners-up, kick-off 8pm - Los Angeles, USA Friday July 3 Match 83: Group K runners-up vs Group L runners-up, kick-off 12am - Toronto, Canada Round of 32 - Match 85: Switzerland vs Group E/F/G/I/J third place, kick-off 4am - Vancouver, Canada Round of 32 - Match 88: Australia vs Group G runners-up, kick-off 7pm - Arlington, USA Round of 32 - Match 86: Argentina vs Group H runners-up, kick-off 11pm - Miami, USA Saturday July 4 Round of 32 - Match 87: Group K winners vs Group D/E/I/J/L third place, kick-off 2.30am - Kansas City, USA

There's a long way to go but as things stand, France and Germany are on course to meet in the last 16, as are Portugal and Spain .

Canada or South Africa vs Morocco or Netherlands

World Cup 2026 fixture schedule - your day-by-day guide

Thomas Tuchel's side have work to do against Panama but are still on course to top Group L.

Were they to progress as group winners, their last-32 match will be on Wednesday July 1, with a 5pm UK time kick-off, against a third-placed team from Group E, H, I, J or K.

As it stands, England will face Ecuador in the last 32.

If England were to progress from the round of 32, they would face a potential last-16 tie with a third-placed qualifier, or co-hosts and confirmed Group A winners Mexico , in Mexico City on Monday July 6 at 1am UK time.

Brazil are potential last-eight opponents on Saturday July 11, while holders Argentina could lie in wait in the semi-finals.

And then it could be a repeat of Euro 2024 and England vs Spain in the final.

As things stand, England will have to do it the hard away if they are to win a first World Cup since 1966.

Scotland 's World Cup dreams are hanging by a thread. They can only progress to the last 32 as one of the top eight third-placed sides. But they now sit eighth in the table and are in severe danger of being knocked out once the group stage is completed.

Mexico finished top of Group A with three wins from three while South Africa beat South Korea 1-0 to clinch second spot.

South Korea must wait to learn their fate in the third-place table but Czech Republic are out.

Switzerland finished top of Group B after a 2-1 win against Canada in the final group game.

Bosnia-Herzegovina are in a strong position to progress as one of the best third-place finishers. Qatar have been knocked out.

Brazil and Morocco have progressed from Group C - Brazil will face Japan and Morocco will play Netherlands .

Scotland could still progress as one of the best third-placed teams but their hopes are fading fast.

Haiti are out having become the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup.

The United States became the second host nation to progress after beating Australia 2-0 in their second group game, sealing top spot.

Australia then drew 0-0 with Paraguay to grab second place and a place in the last 32 but Paraguay are set to qualify as one of the third-placed teams.

USA will play the runner-up from any of groups B, E, F, I or J in the round of 32. The Group D runner-up will face the runner-up of Group G.

Germany secured top spot and booked their place in the knockouts after two wins from two. This was unaffected by their shock 2-1 loss to Ecuador in the final group game, which sent the South American side through to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams.

Ivory Coast secured second place after a 2-0 win over Curacao , who have been eliminated from the World Cup

Germany will play the third place team from any of groups A, B, C, D or F in the round of 32. The Ivory Coast will face the runner-up of Group I.

Netherlands secured top spot with a 3-1 win over already-eliminated Tunisia .

Japan finish second in the group thanks to a 1-1 draw with Sweden .

Graham Potter's Sweden are guaranteed to qualify as a third-placed side as they have four points and 0 goal difference.

In the round of 32, Netherlands will face Morocco Japan will face Brazil.

Final group matches - Saturday June 27, 4am New Zealand vs Belgium - Vancouver, Canada Egypt vs Iran - Seattle, USA

Group G is all to play for. Egypt are top and will officially qualify for the round of 32 if they avoid defeat to Iran, but are pretty much there already as a best third-placed side at least.

A win secures top spot for Egypt, but a draw could see them overtaken by Belgium, who would then need to beat New Zealand and overturn a two-goal swing in goal difference.

Iran need to match Belgium's result to finish second, while defeat to Egypt will likely see them eliminated. A draw could see them qualify as a third-placed team, but that is not guaranteed.

Belgium , meanwhile, know victory will take them through as a top-two side. Like Iran, a draw would leave their fate in the balance. Defeat will see Belgium eliminated if Iran avoid defeat as two points will not be enough to progress as a third-placed team.

The Group G winner will face a third-place team from any of groups A, E, H, I or J. The Group G runner-up will play the runner-up of Group D.

Final group matches - Saturday June 27, 1am Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia - Houston, USA Uruguay vs Spain - Zapopan, Mexico

Spain need to avoid defeat to Uruguay to qualify for the round of 32, with a win securing top spot.

Uruguay need to match Cape Verde's result against Saudi Arabia to finish second and qualify automatically.

But if there is a winner in the other game, then Uruguay would need to win against Spain to finish in the top two, while a draw would leave their third-placed hopes in the balance. Defeat to Spain would likely eliminate Marcelo Bielsa's side.

Cape Verde must better Uruguay's result to finish in the top two. They can even top the group if they beat Saudi Arabia, Spain fail to beat Uruguay and they overturn La Roja's goal difference lead. They can also finish top if they win and do so by a bigger margin than a Uruguay victory over Spain.

A draw is enough for the African nation to qualify if Spain beat Uruguay, but any result for Uruguay would mean a draw gives them a nervous wait in the third-placed team qualification process.

Saudi Arabia know it's win or bust to reach the round of 32. They will be in the top two if they win and Uruguay fail to beat Spain. But even if Uruguay win, four points would be enough for the Saudis as a third-placed qualifier.

The Group H winner will face the runner-up of Group J in the round of 32. The runner-up of Group H will play the winner of Group J.

Final group matches - Friday June 26, 8pm Norway vs France - Foxborough, USA Senegal vs Iraq - Toronto, Canada

France and Norway are both through as top two teams - and it's a showdown in Boston to see who finishes top. A draw would see France finish first on goal difference.

Senegal and Iraq also have a shoot-out to see who can give themselves a chance as one of the top eight third-placed teams.

Both teams need to win and win big to reach a positive goal difference, to give them the best possible chance of reaching the round of 32.

In the round of 32, the Group I winner will face a third-place team from any of group C, D, F, G or H. The runner-up of Group I will play the runner-up of Group E.

Final group matches - Sunday June 28, 3pm Algeria vs Austria - Kansas City, USA Jordan vs Argentina - Arlington, USA

Argentina are through as group winners due to their head-to-head record over Austria and Algeria. They have nothing to play for against already-eliminated Jordan .

Algeria and Austria have a showdown to see who finishes second in the group. It's winner-takes-all on that front, but a draw would favour Austria due to a superior goal difference.

Whoever loses that game would face a nervous wait to see if they finish as one of the best third-placed teams - as that team would have a negative goal difference.

Argentina will face the runner-up of Group H in the round of 32. The Group J runner-up will play the winner of Group H.

Final group matches - Sunday June 28, 12.30am Colombia vs Portugal - Miami, USA DR Congo vs Uzbekistan - Atlanta, USA

Colombia and Portugal have a showdown in Miami to see who finishes as Group K winner. Colombia will win the group if they can avoid defeat.

DR Congo face Uzbekistan knowing a win would seal third with four points. That could be enough to see them finish as one of the best third-placed teams and reach the last 32.

Uzbekistan , who are not yet eliminated, could still sneak through with a win over DR Congo as one of the best third-placed teams, but they would need a big win to boost their goal difference.

The Group K winner will face a third-place team from any of groups D, E, I, J or L. The Group K runner-up will play the Group L runners-up.

Final group matches - Saturday June 27, 10pm Panama vs England - New Jersey, USA Croatia vs Ghana - Philadelphia, USA

England's automatic progression into the knockout stages has been delayed by their 0-0 draw with Ghana, but Thomas Tuchel's side are still on course to qualify as group winner.

The Three Lions will win the group if they better Ghana 's result against Croatia when they take on already-eliminated Panama .

Croatia and Ghana are likely going head to head for second in the group but could go above England if they fail to beat Panama. A draw will be enough for both teams to progress to the knockouts with Ghana as runners-up and Croatia as one of the best third-placed sides.

Ghana should already have enough to qualify even with a defeat to Croatia, who could be eliminated with a heavy defeat to Ghana.

The Group L winner will face a third-place team from any of groups E, H, I, J or K. The Group L runner-up will play the runner-up of Group K.

Play Super 6! Play Super 6 for a chance to win £250k! Enter for free.

Sign up for Sky Sports push notifications Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch every minute of end of season X Facebook TikTok Instagram YouTube WhatsApp Partners Sky Bet Super 6 TEAMtalk.com Football365.com Sky Sports Channels Sky Sports Main Event Sky Sports Premier League Sky Sports Football Sky Sports Cricket Sky Sports Golf Sky Sports F1 Sky Sports Tennis Sky Sports Action Sky Sports News Sky Sports+ Sky Sports Racing Sky Sports Mix More Sky Sites Sky.com Sky News Sky Go Sky Group Sky For Businesses Sky Partnerships Sky Impact Store Locator Advertise With Us Terms & Conditions Privacy & Cookies Notice Privacy Options Accessibility Information Contact Us © 2026 Sky UK

Sources: Sky Sports

Get WC 2026 Updates

Match previews, results, and standings — delivered to your inbox.

Related Articles