Eventful Round of 16 Matches at the 2026 World Cup

We have seen exactly the kind of drama in the Round of 16 in World Cup 2026 that many had hoped for. Politics also played an unexpectedly large role in connection with the USA match, where Trump's involvement once again raised questions about FIFA's independence. But we will get to that further down.

Here we go through the matches that have been played, how they unfolded and which teams eventually went through.

Morocco's Azzedine Ounahi sank Canada with his two goals

Canada vs Morocco - Morocco Through

First up among the Round of 16 matches was Canada against Morocco, a match in which Morocco, ranked in the world's top 10, were naturally the favourites. However, it was a very energetic and intense Canada side that took control of the match. In fact, Canada dominated heavily throughout the first half, while Morocco did not really seem to have woken up. But despite a few good chances to take the lead, the Canadians could not quite get their finishing right, and the match went into the half-time break goalless.

In the second half, Morocco began to wake up. This did not mean that they started to dominate the match, but they began to create a little more going forward, and eventually they showed why they are a better football team than Canada. Where Canada missed their chances, the Moroccans showed brutal efficiency. A free-kick routine, where Achraf Hakimi surprised everyone with a sideways pass instead of a cross, gave Azzedine Ounahi a shooting chance from just outside the penalty area. Ounahi finished clinically, and 1-0 in the 50th minute was a fact.

Canada tried to fight their way back, but compared with the first half they now found it harder to create genuinely clear goalscoring chances. Instead of an equaliser, Morocco broke on the counter in the 82nd minute, resulting in Ounahi scoring his second goal of the match, set up by Brahim Diaz. In the closing stages, when Canada desperately pushed for a goal, Morocco broke away on one final counterattack and Soufiane Rahimi made it 3-0, with Diaz once again providing the pass for the goal.

The big winning margin did not reflect the overall pattern of the match, but it is of course a sign of strength to be able to play half a match in such a sleepy manner, as Morocco did, and still win 3-0. Apart from their efficiency, Morocco did not impress particularly much, but they will still be a tough nut to crack for any team going forward. Their main striker Ismael Saibari was injured in the first half, however, and if he cannot play any further part in the tournament, which is unclear at the time of writing, it would be a heavy blow for the Moroccans.

Paraguay vs France - France Through

France were, of course, massive favourites against a Paraguay side that looked clearly weaker on paper, and it became very obvious in this match that Paraguay had not gone into it intending to play their way to victory. Their chance instead lay in fighting tooth and nail, almost literally, to grind out a 0-0 result and hope to go through on penalties.

The Paraguayan players were close to brutal throughout the match. Not necessarily in a way that risked injuring the French players, but there were little digs, elbows, outright blows and unnecessary stamps throughout the game. All of this was, of course, designed to unsettle the French, but even though there was chaos and minor scuffles from time to time, Les Bleus kept their heads.

Paraguay were strong defensively, and in combination with their dirty play and a referee who turned a blind eye to most things, it became very difficult for France to create clear chances. A solo run by substitute Désiré Doué eventually became France's salvation, as he was brought down and a penalty was awarded. From the spot, Kylian Mbappé was ice-cold and rolled in the 1-0 goal. Paraguay tried to create an equalising chance but failed, and the penalty goal proved to be the only goal of the match.

One fascinating curiosity from this match is that Paraguay did not receive a single yellow card, while France received three. A major reason for that was the Uzbek referee, who delivered the weakest refereeing performance of the tournament. Even France's penalty, which was absolutely clear to anyone with eyes to see, was missed by him, and it was only after VAR intervened that he was forced to award the spot-kick.

Brazil vs Norway - Norway Through

This was, beforehand, a very interesting and unpredictable meeting in which Brazil were still narrow favourites. Brazil have, by their standards, a fairly weak national team at this World Cup, while Norway have the best team they have ever had in football history.

Norway were the first to show what they could do and had the ball in the net, but it was ruled out for offside. Brazil were then close to taking the lead when they were awarded a penalty, to be taken by Bruno Guimarães in the 14th minute. The Newcastle midfielder, however, struck a very weak penalty and goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland saved comfortably. Few chances were created during the rest of the first half, a half in which Norway were mostly the team in possession but without creating enough to take the lead.

In the second half, the game opened up somewhat, and substitute Endrick came very close to giving Brazil the lead when he went through on goal, but he was unable to beat Nyland. The Brazilians also had a couple of other really good chances, but Nyland was in inspired form and kept the match goalless. A goal would come, however, and perhaps not entirely unexpectedly, it was Norway's Erling Haaland who scored it. In the 80th minute, Andreas Schjelderup delivered a perfect cross, and like the clinical poacher he is, Haaland headed in the 1-0 goal.

The expectation now was that Brazil would push hard for an equaliser, which they of course did, but they struggled to find the openings they needed. Instead of an equaliser, it was Haaland who struck again. He received the ball just outside the penalty area, again from a Schjelderup pass, and his shot drilled into the bottom of the left post. In the 90th minute, Norway suddenly led 2-0.

With ten minutes of added time, there was still hope for Brazil, and they desperately tried to create chances. The chance eventually came when they were awarded another penalty, which substitute Neymar converted. However, he did so only in the tenth minute of stoppage time, and despite the referee adding a couple more minutes after the goal, Brazil never came close to finding an equalising chance.

Jude Bellingham was decisive for England with his two goals

Mexico vs England - England Through

Before the World Cup started, England would have been clear favourites in a match like this. But after England had failed to impress so far in the tournament, combined with Mexico having four straight wins and the major advantage of playing at home at the Azteca Stadium, 2,200 metres above sea level, this looked like a very difficult match to predict. Add to that what the Azteca Stadium means for England, since this was where Maradona sank them in 1986 with the "Hand of God" goal, and it was easy to understand that this could become a fantastic match.

Given the circumstances, most people probably expected Mexico to come out strongly and dictate the early tempo, and that is exactly what happened. The best chance of a goal fell to Raúl Jiménez, whose low shot from distance forced Jordan Pickford into a brilliant save. But England worked their way into the match, and in the 36th minute they got their reward when Bukayo Saka sent in a cross and the Mexicans lost track of Jude Bellingham, who ghosted in and headed home England's 1-0 goal. And it did not stop there. Just two minutes after the opener, England countered and Bellingham scored his second goal after a pass from Harry Kane.

Despite conceding two goals in two minutes, Mexico did not collapse. They pushed hard for a way back, and in the 42nd minute Julián Quiñones reacted to a failed clearance and was able to smash in 1-2 for Mexico. They also had a chance to equalise before the first half was blown to a close, but at least they went into the break still very much in touch.

Even though the first half had been eventful, with three goals in seven minutes, it was nothing compared with what awaited in the second. In the 54th minute, England's Jarell Quansah was sent off after a reckless challenge, and it felt set up for Mexico to have plenty of time to work their way to an equaliser. But in the 58th minute, Anthony Gordon broke through and was brought down by Mexico goalkeeper Rangel. A penalty was awarded, and Harry Kane made no mistake, as expected, giving England a 3-1 lead.

The drama continued when penalty scorer Harry Kane then gave away a penalty in Mexico's favour, awarded after a VAR review. Raúl Jiménez was composed from the spot, and the goal made it 2-3 in the 69th minute, in other words leaving plenty of time for Mexico to find an equaliser.

By this point, England were 100 percent focused on defending. Attacking players were replaced by more defensive options, and they basically hoofed the ball into Mexico's half whenever they had the chance. But despite England doing nothing but defending and Mexico being allowed to have the ball almost all the time, plus a total of twelve minutes of added time, Mexico never managed to create any truly dangerous equalising chances. Because of the pattern of the match and the high altitude, several English players were running on empty by the end, but they heroically held on all the way.

The conditions were, as mentioned, there for this to become a fantastic match, and it certainly did. This was the kind of match people will remember immediately when they look back on the 2026 World Cup. For England, it was of course a wonderful "revenge" after the dark memories from this stadium 40 years earlier, and they now no longer have only bad memories from the Azteca Stadium.

Portugal vs Spain - Spain Through

Everything was set up for a blockbuster match between neighbours Portugal and Spain, two teams that on paper are both strong enough to win this tournament. Spain have shone at times, especially in the Round of 32 against Austria, while Portugal perhaps had not reached the same heights, but were still unbeaten before this match.

Despite all the attacking quality in these teams, it should also be remembered that both sides are extremely strong defensively, and it was above all the defensive side that worked for both teams in this match. There were certainly chances to score. Mikel Oyarzabal missed a one-on-one in the first half, Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa made a few superb saves, and Nuno Mendes hit the bar for Portugal with a shot that probably would have gone in had Pedro Porro not got a slight headed touch on the ball.

The goals did not come, and it looked as though the match was heading for an uncertain period of extra time, but in the first minute of added time, two Spanish substitutes stepped forward. Ferran Torres played a perfect little pass between Portugal's defenders to Mikel Merino, who made no mistake as he fired the ball into the goalkeeper's right corner, 1-0 to Spain.

Portugal of course desperately tried to find an equaliser in the few minutes that remained. They also had a couple of half-chances with headers, but they were never really close, and Spain went through, while Portugal were knocked out.

Portugal's elimination also meant that this was, in all likelihood, Cristiano Ronaldo's final World Cup match. Ronaldo is a player many people have opinions about. Some dislike him, while others think he is every bit as good as Messi, but whatever you think, no one can deny his fantastic World Cup record. He played his first World Cup match 20 years ago, in Germany in 2006, and he both appeared and scored in six different World Cups. In total, he scored eleven goals, and the furthest he went with Portugal was the quarter-final four years earlier, when they were knocked out by Morocco.

Charles De Ketelaere was Belgium's big winner with his two goals against the USA

USA vs Belgium - Belgium Through

Before this match, the main pre-match discussion was not about what would happen on the pitch, but about Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino's attempt to manipulate the conditions in the USA's favour. Folarin Balogun received a clear red card in the USA's Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a refereeing decision that was even reviewed by VAR and should therefore have been free from misinterpretation. According to the rules, a player who receives a straight red card must, without exception, be suspended for at least one match. This was apparently something Trump thought was wrong, so he called his friend Infantino, who immediately made sure, without any convincing public explanation, that the suspension was removed so Balogun could play against Belgium.

For anyone who loves football, this looked like an extremely problematic FIFA decision and, just to please Trump, an obvious overstep for the sport. It would have been fitting if the US federation, head coach Mauricio Pochettino or Balogun himself had chosen to sit out the match, simply because it was wrong for football. But that was not something they intended to do. Instead, Pochettino defended FIFA's decision and argued that the USA had been punished enough simply by Balogun being sent off in the first place. All of this meant that probably every neutral football fan around the world was supporting Belgium. The extra edge it added to the match was perhaps the only positive thing to come out of this mess.

So, what about the match itself? The USA, who had played some nice football up to this Round of 16, were actually narrow favourites, largely because Belgium, despite having made it this far, had played poorly throughout almost the entire tournament. Ahead of this match, Rudi Garcia also shocked the football world by benching several of his biggest stars: Kevin Kevin De Bruyne, Jérémy Doku and Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku starting on the bench was not that surprising considering he did not seem to be in perfect physical condition, but Garcia clearly also felt that things had not really worked with De Bruyne and Doku on the pitch.

Once the match got under way, there was no doubt that Garcia knew what he was doing when he picked his starting eleven. What had previously been lacking for Belgium was intensity, pressing and the battle for second balls, but now everything worked. The whole Balogun affair had probably become a major source of motivation for the Belgians, and the fast, entertaining football usually associated with the USA now belonged to Belgium instead. The USA seemed completely caught off guard by this and their players looked lost.

Belgium also got their reward for their fine play quite quickly, as Charles De Ketelaere made it 1-0 in the ninth minute. Although the USA struggled to get their game going, they still managed to equalise in the 39th minute through a free-kick from Malik Tillman, a shot that deflected via Hans Vanaken in the wall and wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois in the Belgian goal. That equaliser did not slow Belgium down, however, as they kept pushing and were rewarded just two minutes after the USA's equaliser, with De Ketelaere again getting the goal.

The match went into half-time with Belgium leading 2-1, and the feeling at that point was that the USA would regroup at the break and come out in the second half pushing for another equaliser. Their play continued to falter, however, and when USA goalkeeper Matt Freese fumbled with the ball outside the penalty area, Hans Vanaken was able to make amends for the deflection on the equaliser and calmly roll in 3-1 for Belgium. The USA never managed to recover, and Romelu Lukaku instead fired in 4-1 in added time, his third goal of this World Cup and his remarkable 93rd international goal.

At the risk of sounding bombastic, it still has to be said that the result felt like a victory for sporting justice as Belgium went through, and the USA's and FIFA's bending of the rules in an attempt to help the USA progress failed. With this result, none of the three host nations are now through to the quarter-finals. Belgium will now face Spain in the quarter-final on Saturday, and after their performance in this match they can go into that game with slightly greater hopes of causing Spain problems.

Argentina vs Egypt - Argentina Through

This was a Round of 16 match with one clear favourite. The expectation was that Argentina would win this match fairly comfortably. Egypt had not impressed, neither in the group stage nor in their Round of 32 match against Australia, where they needed penalties to go through. But instead of an easy Argentina victory, we got yet another highly dramatic Round of 16 match, perhaps even the most dramatic of them all.

The match began a little cautiously, and it was Egypt who actually looked the more dangerous side. In the 15th minute, the Africans also took a shocking 1-0 lead. Marwan Attia lifted a ball into the penalty area, and Yasser Ibrahim was able to head it in. But just four minutes later, Argentina were awarded a penalty, and it looked as though they might be able to restore order almost immediately. Of course, Lionel Messi was the one to take it, but he hit a very weak penalty that goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved easily. This was Messi's second penalty miss of the tournament, as he had also missed one against Austria in the group stage.

Argentina then pushed for an equaliser and had a couple of really sharp chances, but Shobeir was outstanding in the Egyptian goal. Messi also hit the post with a free-kick, but the match went into half-time with Egypt in the lead.

In the second half, Argentina continued their assault in search of an equaliser, but Egypt defended deep and did it very well. In the 60th minute, Egypt had a counterattacking opportunity, and after some phenomenal work from Haissem Hassan, Mostafa Ziko made it 2-0 to Egypt. After a VAR review, however, the goal was ruled out because of a free-kick incident deep in Egypt's own half, 17 seconds before the goal. For many, this was a questionable decision, and of course deeply frustrating for the Egyptians.

Egypt would get their revenge, however, and once again it came on the counterattack with the same players involved. It started with Mohamed Salah breaking forward on a counter, with initially only Hassan joining him. Salah passed to Hassan, who held the ball in Argentina's penalty area before playing a perfect cut-back to Ziko, who made no mistake. It was 2-0 in the 67th minute, and this time there was no reason to rule the goal out.

Now, of course, Argentina began an intense hunt for goals, pushing Egypt back heavily, but the Egyptians continued to defend well. In the 79th minute, however, they could no longer hold out, as Cristian Romero headed in the 1-2 goal from a Messi cross. And just four minutes later came the 2-2 goal, as Messi atoned for his penalty miss and fired the ball in off the underside of the bar.

But it was not over there. In the second minute of added time, Lautaro Martínez received the ball on the right wing and delivered a perfect cross into the penalty area, and the exhausted Egyptians could not keep track of Enzo Fernández, who headed in 3-2 for Argentina. Egypt then did not have the energy to find an equaliser, and a remarkable comeback from two goals down to victory in fifteen minutes was complete.

It is hard not to feel some sympathy for Egypt, who played a near-perfect match against the reigning world champions, and one can ask how it might have ended had they not had their first 2-0 goal ruled out.

Ruben Vargas scored the penalty that took Switzerland through to the quarter-finals

Switzerland vs Colombia - Switzerland Through

The final Round of 16 match was played between Colombia and Switzerland. Both teams had, up to this match, looked solid, especially defensively. Switzerland had a major setback as Johan Manzambi was unable to take part because of injury, and the young attacking midfielder had been their strongest weapon so far.

Unlike many of the other Round of 16 matches, this one became very tight. Both teams showed solid defensive play and did not allow their opponents to create much, and when a few half-chances did appear, each team's goalkeeper was flawless as the last line of defence.

The match finished 0-0 and went to extra time. Colombia showed a little more attacking ambition in extra time but were unable to break down the Swiss. Dan Ndoye also had a very good chance for Switzerland, but goalkeeper Camilo Vargas made a fine save.

It was an always unpredictable penalty shootout that decided the match, and in the end it was the Swiss who showed the stronger nerves. Manuel Akanji missed a penalty for Switzerland, but both Davinson Sanchez and Cucho Hernández missed theirs for Colombia. Ruben Vargas was the player who had the chance to decide the shootout in Switzerland's favour, and he made no mistake. Colombia were out of the tournament.

Jag behöll "USA vs Belgium - Belgium Through" och "Switzerland vs Colombia - Switzerland Through" med vanligt bindestreck eftersom originalet har det, men det kan gärna ändras till tankstreck för konsekvens med övriga rubriker.