The group stage is over, who will teams face in the knockouts once they qualify?


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The 2026 World Cup road to the final is finally set as the 48 teams involved in the tournament have been whittled down to 32 following the largest group stage in history. The tournament will now move into the knockout phase, where it's single elimination from here on out. The field consists of the 12 group winners, the 12 runners-up, and the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups. It's a fixed bracket, no redraws or swaps so every team in the field knows what their path to the final is and who they'll have to beat to stay alive down through the rounds.

The United States men's national team will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday July 1, with the winner facing the winner of Belgium vs. Senegal in the round of 16. Elsewhere in the bracket the round of 32 has a rematch of the 2016 Euro final between Croatia and Portugal, remarkably with stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric still leading their teams. Then there's two of the tournaments most exciting upstarts, Norway, led by striker extraordinaire Erling Haaland and Ivory Coast and their teenage sensation Yan Diomande.

Check out the complete bracket below.

Round of 32 bracket projection
As of Saturday, June 27, 7 p.m. ET. The teams in bold have been confirmed.

June 28: South Africa (Group A runner-up) vs. Canada (Group B runner-up) - SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
June 29: Brazil (Group C winner) vs. Japan (Group F runner-up) - NRG Stadium, Houston
June 29: Germany (Group E winner) vs. Paraguay (Group D third place) - Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
June 29: Netherlands (Group F winner) vs. Morocco (Group C runner-up) - Estadio Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
June 30: Ivory Coast (Group E runner-up) vs. Norway (Group I runner-up) - AT&T Stadium, Arlington
June 30: France (Group I winner) vs. Sweden (Group F third place) - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
June 30: Mexico (Group A winner) vs. Ecuador (Group E third place) - Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
July 1: England (Group L winner) vs. DR Congo (Group K third place) - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
July 1: Belgium (Group G winner) vs. Senegal (Group I third place) - Lumen Field, Seattle
July 1: United States (Group D winner) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B third place) - Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara
July 2: Spain (Group H winner) vs. Austria (Group J runner-up) - SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
July 2: Switzerland (Group B winner) vs. Algeria (Group J third place) - Vancouver Stadium, Vancouver, Canada
July 2: Portugal (Group K runner-up) vs. Croatia (Group L runner-up) - Toronto Stadium, Toronto, Canada
July 3: Australia (Group D runner-up) vs. Egypt (Group G runner-up) - AT&T Stadium, Arlington
July 3: Argentina (Group J winner) vs. Cabo Verde (Group H runner-up) - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
July 3: Colombia (Group K winner) vs. Ghana (Group L third place) - Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City

Qualified third-place teams
DR Congo (4 points, +1 goal difference)
Ecuador (4 points, 0 goal difference)
Sweden (4 points, 0 goal difference)
Ghana (4 points, 0 goal difference)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4 points, -1 goal difference)
Algeria (4 points, -2 goal difference)
Paraguay (4 points, -2 goal difference)
Senegal (3 points, +2 goal difference)

Eliminated teams
Qatar
Panama
Tunisia
Turkiye
Haiti
Jordan
Czechia
Curacao
Iraq
Uruguay
Saudi Arabia
New Zealand
Scotland
Uzbekistan
Iran

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