There has been hardly a dull moment in this FIFA World Cup in the first three weeks – and that by itself is an endorsement of the world governing body’s decision to expand the tournament by 16 teams at one go from 2026. It’s now time for the Round-of-16 to begin where each match is a potential cracker – and one is not talking about a Spain vs Portugal or Mexico vs England alone.
Most of the favourites still remain in the hunt after the first-ever Round of 32 in history, an additional round due to the increase in number of teams to 48. However, except France and Spain, a few like reigning champions Argentina, Brazil and England must have breathed a huge sigh of relief to survive their last respective hurdles. Messi & Co were certainly staring at the brink against Cape Verde as the African nation actually overwhelmed them on Saturday by drawing level twice till the matchwinner came in extra time.
Talking about African nations, it’s the first time that two from the continent – Qatar semi-finalists Morocco and Egypt made it to the pre quarters. There were at least two more deserving ones who were waylaid by the heavyweights at the fag end of the matches: Voginha’s Cape Verde and DR Congo, underlining the continent’s intrinsic strength as a footballing superpower. Europe stands tall with seven countries at this stage, South America five, North America two and no teams from Asia.
National Herald takes a look at the eight match-ups which will keep you glued to your sofas for next four days as per their sequence in the fixtures. Mind you, Sunday and Monday are the two busiest days of them:
Canada vs Mexico (4th July, Saturday, 10.30 pm IST)
Morocco made it to the semi-finals in 2022 and are potentially a win away from a rematch of that round against France. They shut the door on The Netherlands in penalty kicks in the Round of 32 and were the far more threatening team throughout that match. Canada deserve all the credit for coming this far alongwith two other co hosts US and Mexico but has the task cut out now.
Paraguay vs France (5 July, Sunday, 2.30 am IST)
France has looked by far the most complete team after four games and enter the match against their South American opponents as favourites. Kylian Mbappe, now a goal behind Messi in the Golden Boot race with six, is expected to play catch-up on Saturday. Their attack has been by far the most lethal in the tournament and the team’s frontline of Mbappé, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola have been virtually unstoppable.
Brazil camp over the moon after taming Japan
Brazil vs Norway (6 July, Monday, 1.30 am IST)
Brazil, the five-time champions, have looked vulnerable in the campaign so far and it would be interesting to see Carlo Ancelotti’s strategy against a physically superior Norway team. Vinícius Jr. is carrying a larger load in attack for Brazil with Raphinha out because of a hamstring injury and Matheus Cunha,who has played well in Raphinha’s absence, should have another start. The Scandinavians, incidentally, have never lost a game against Brazil (two wins, two draws) and it would be interesting to see whether the goal machine Erling Haaland can deliver at the crunch moment.
Mexico vs England (6 July, Monday, 5.30 am IST)
The build-up to the game had been a controversial one with the England camp unhappy about having to play at over 7,000 feet above sea level at the Estadio Azteca against a Mexico team that is acclimatized to the altitude. Both teams, meanwhile, were reportedly unhappy that FIFA was considering moving the start time up from 6 pm local time to noon in an attempt to avoid evening thunderstorms in Mexico City. The rivals are also under a bit of pressure as the Three Lions continue with their mission of winning their second trophy after 1966 while Mexico hasn’t made the quarter finals till 1986.
Portugal vs Spain (7 July, Tuesday, 12.30 am IST)
Could this game end up being Cristiano Ronaldo’s last Cup game ever? One has to wait to find out but it’s arguably the most anticipated match of last 16 as Spain looked to be hitting their stride after an opening-game draw against DR Congo. The Euro 2024 champions left Austria in a daze with a 3-0 win in the Round of 32 while Portugal struggled to get over the line against Croatia. Spain has scored eight goals in its past three games and that’s without Lamine Yamal in top form.
USA vs Belgium (7 July, Tuesday, 5.30 am IST)
The star-studded European side, boasting of names like Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku or Thibaut Courtois in goal may appear fancied on paper against co-hosts USA – but the later has showed enormous character. They have a headache though about managing without Folarin Balogun, who was shown a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Argentina survived a thriller against Cape Verde in last 32
Argentina vs Egypt (7 July, Tuesday, 9.30 pm IST)
The La Albiceleste are in line for back-to-back trophies, but there is no doubt that the team has been somewhat overreliant on their talismanic captain Messi. They have been prone to giving up leads in recent knockout games as Cape Verde equalized twice on Friday and Argentina needed extra time to save the day. Longtime Liverpool star and Egypt captain Mohammed Salah, much like Messi, is extremely capable of moments of individual brilliance and this calls for the Argentine defence to be extra tight on the day.
Switzerland vs Colombia (8 July, Wednesday, 1.30 am IST)
Switzerland may often fly under the radar but are making their fourth straight Round of 16 appearance and fifth in the last six World Cups after beating Algeria 2-0 late Thursday night. They won Group B ahead of Canada and earned the right to play their first two knockout round games in Vancouver. This could be an advantage as Colombia has to travel from Kansas City off the quick turnaround, but then the South Americans had always been a force to reckon with – producing several enigmatic stars. Expect this to be a close affair!