June 28, 2026 — 4:47pmThe round of 32 at the World Cup is set.The knockout stage begins on Monday (AEST) as Canada faces South Africa in southern California.We take a look at the schedule – and the match-ups – for the first knockout round of the expanded competition.Socceroo Nestory Irankunda is one of the World Cup’s true excitement machines.Getty ImagesMondaySouth Africa v CanadaSoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), 5amThese nations have already made history. It’ll be the first time both are in the knockout stage of the World Cup. Canada advanced as runners-up in group B with four points – one win, one draw and one loss. South Africa were runners-up in group A, also with four points, including a surprising win over South Korea.TuesdayBrazil v JapanNRG Stadium (Houston), 3amJapan advanced as group F runners-up with a hard fought 1-1 draw against Sweden and the Samurai Blue’s reward is a knockout match against five-time World Cup champions Brazil. It’ll be a full-circle moment for Japan: the country brought in Brazilian great Zico in 1991 to professionalise the country’s new domestic league and support Japan’s successful bid to co-host the World Cup in 2002. Now, the Japanese have a chance to show how far they’ve come against a country that has set the standard.Liverpool superstar Alisson Becker is Brazil’s key man in goal.AP PhotoGermany v ParaguayGillette Stadium (Foxborough), 6.30amGermany come into the knockout stage off a low-key late defeat, having already clinched their group with little to play for. Germany are significant favourites against Paraguay, who lost to the US 4-1 in their opener but steadied enough to move on.Netherlands v MoroccoEstadio BBVA (Monterrey), 11amThe Netherlands won group F after a draw with Japan and outscoring Sweden and Tunisia by a combined 8-2. Morocco went unbeaten to finish second in group C in pursuit of becoming the first African winners of the World Cup. Morocco reached the semi-finals four years ago in Qatar.WednesdayIvory Coast v NorwayAT&T Stadium (Arlington), 3amIt would have taken beating favoured France for Norway to win group I. Instead, coach Ståle Solbakken opted to rest Erling Haaland and all but one starter. That sets up a match-up against the Ivory Coast at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas.Kylian Mbappe could be set to enhance his reputation even further.Getty ImagesFrance v SwedenMetLife Stadium (East Rutherford), 7amFrance came in as the tournament favourites and remain so after winning all three of their group games to set up a match-up against Sweden, who had a 5-1 win, a 5-1 loss and a draw.Mexico v EcuadorEstadio Azteca (Mexico City), 11amWinning all three of their group stage matches for the first time at the World Cup, Mexico go into the round of 32 also having not allowed a single goal. They have outscored opponents 6-0 and now have the distinct home-field advantage at altitude back at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City against Ecuador, who rallied to beat Germany and advance.ThursdayEngland v CongoMercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), 2amIt took Jude Bellingham scoring and setting up Harry Kane’s goal to break a tie with Panama, but England got the job done to finish first in their group. Injuries are a question now, going into a match-up with Congo, who rallied to defeat Uzbekistan and advance.He’s in the twilight of his international career, but Kevin De Bruyne is still a key part of the Belgium national team.The Canadian PressBelgium v SenegalLumen Field (Seattle), 6amBelgium scored five times in their group play finale against New Zealand to not only advance but finish first. Up next is no easy task: a match-up against Senegal, who played France and Norway tough and routed Iraq to move on. The US-Bosnia-Herzegovina winner faces the winner of this match.US v Bosnia-HerzegovinaLevi’s Stadium (Santa Clara), 10amThe Americans had their powerful momentum from two consecutive victories stalled in the loss to Turkey. But in the knockout round, they’ll face Bosnia-Herzegovina, who are 62nd in the FIFA rankings. Bosnia finished third in group B with four points.FridaySpain v AustriaSoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), 5amSpain bounced back from a surprising 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in their first game to win their group, in the process sending two-time champions Uruguay home. Austria tied it in the final minutes after falling behind earlier in stoppage time to play Algeria to a 3-3 draw and set up this match-up.Portugal v CroatiaBMO Field (Toronto), 9amPlaying Colombia to a 0-0 tie meant a second-place finish in the group for Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal and a tougher path, which could include facing neighbours Spain for a spot in the quarter-finals. Croatia moved into this spot by defeating Ghana hours earlier.Switzerland v AlgeriaBC Place (Vancouver), 1pmThis was supposed to be Canada’s spot in Vancouver, but Switzerland winning the teams’ head-to-head match-up there and finishing ahead in the group gave the Swiss a plum spot. Algeria took a late lead on Austria before allowing the tying goal in the final minutes, leading to a 3-3 draw, and getting both teams in and eliminating Iran.Jordan Bos is a vital cog of Tony Popovic’s Australian side.Getty ImagesSaturdayAustralia v EgyptAT&T Stadium (Arlington), 4amThis may be one of the most evenly matched round of 32 games, after Australia beat Turkey, lost to the US and drew with Paraguay. Egypt got through as the second-placed team in group G after a late goal by Iran was called back for offside.Argentina v Cape VerdeHard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens), 8amDefending champions Argentina face the smallest country to qualify for the knockout stage at a World Cup. Unsurprisingly, Cape Verde go in as massive underdogs.Colombia v GhanaArrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), 11.30amPassing Portugal for first in the group allows Colombia to open the knockout stage against Ghana, who entered with the lowest FIFA ranking at No.74 but also played England to a scoreless tie.More:FIFA World CupSocceroosGroup AGroup BGroup CGroup DGroup EGroup GGroup HFIFAFrom our partners