ZURICH, Switzerland — FIFA has officially confirmed the first nine fully locked-in fixtures for the historic 48-team World Cup Round of 32 knockout stage, following the mathematical conclusion of the vast majority of the tournament’s group phase.
The expanded tournament format, featuring 12 groups of four teams, has created a highly dynamic 32-team single-elimination bracket that begins on Sunday, June 28. Under the tournament’s regulations, the top two finishers from each group along with the eight best third-placed teams secure passage to the elimination matches. While four final groups are completing their last fixtures on Saturday evening, structural placements for 18 countries have aligned to set up definitive pairings.
The opening fixture of the knockout phase will see co-hosts Canada face South Africa on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Canada advanced into the elimination stage as the runners-up of Group B, while South Africa secured the second-place spot in Group A behind host nation Mexico.
A highly anticipated tripleheader scheduled for Monday, June 29, includes three fully confirmed matchups. Five-time world champions Brazil will play Japan at the Houston Stadium, following a dominant group campaign by the South American side. Concurrently, Germany will face South American challengers Paraguay in Boston, while the Netherlandswill take on Morocco at the Estadio Monterrey in Mexico.
The technical bracket has also solidified two high-profile European ties for Tuesday, June 30. The Ivory Coast will clash with Norway in Dallas, while tournament favorites France will square off against Sweden at the New York New Jersey Stadium. France secured the top spot in Group I after a flawless opening round, while Sweden sneaked into the bracket as one of the top third-placed teams out of Group F.
The final two fully set pairings will take place later in the week. On Wednesday, July 1, the United States men’s national team will play Bosnia and Herzegovina at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. On Friday, July 3, defending world champions Argentina, captained by Lionel Messi, will face global tournament debutants Cape Verde at Miami Stadium. Cape Verde made tournament history by securing a second-place finish in Group H behind Spain to book their fairytale knockout ticket.
FIFA officials confirmed that the remaining 14 vacant slots in the Round of 32 bracket will be populated over the next 12 hours as England, Ghana, Portugal, and Colombia conclude their final group phase fixtures to settle the remaining group order and the final third-place wildcards.
