Here are the pairings for the round of the 32 teams of the 2026 World Cup.
The elimination round of the 2026 World Cup will begin on Sunday 28 June. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the elimination groups will feature 32 teams with 16 pairings (matches) which will reduce the number of participants to 16. One day after the conclusion of the group matches, the following pairings for the round of 32 teams of the 2026 World Cup have been made official:
Sunday 28 June 2026: Canada vs. South Africa. Canada finished group A in second place, while South Africa finished group B in second place.
Monday 29 June 2026: Brazil vs. Japan. Brazil won group C, while Japan finished group F in second place.
Germany vs. Paraguay. Germany won group E, while Paraguay finished group D in third place.
Netherlands vs. Morocco. The Netherlands won group F, while Morocco finished group C in second place.
Tuesday 30 June 2026: Ivory Coast vs. Norway. Ivory Coast finished group E in second place, while Norway did the same in group I.
France vs. Sweden. France won group I, while Sweden finished group C in third place.
Wednesday 1 July 2026: Mexico vs. Ecuador. Mexico won group A, while Ecuador finished group E in third place.
Thursday 2 July 2026: England vs. Senegal. England won Group L, while Senegal finished Group I in third place, but could be excluded from the elimination round depending on the results of Saturday's matches.
Belgium vs. South Korea. Belgium won Group G, while South Korea finished Group A in third place, but could be eliminated depending on the results of Saturday's matches.
United States vs. Bosnia Herzegovina. The United States won group D, while Bosnia Herzegovina finished group B in third place.
Friday 3 July 2026: Egypt vs. Australia. Egypt finished second in group G, while Australia did the same in group D.
Argentina vs. Cape Verde. Argentina won group J, while Cape Verde finished group H in second place.
Colombia vs. Ghana. This match pits the winner of Group K against the third-placed team from Group L. Colombia lead Group K, but could slip to second place if they lose to Portugal.
Ghana finished Group L in third place, but lost all their group matches.
The group of 32 teams is expected to be defined as follows:
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