Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Mauro Pimentel / AFP via Getty Images, Kenneth Richmond, Tara Walton, Bruce Bennett, Cameron Spencer / Getty ImagesJuly 2, 2026 7:00 am EDT Updated The World Cup has reached the knockout stage, exponentially ratcheting up the drama and the importance of every moment.A fair share of chaos has accompanied the win-or-go-home drama, with massive upsets (sorry, Germany and Netherlands), wild comebacks (hello, England and Belgium!) and even a couple of shootouts.There will be more to come on that in this week’s quiz, though we’ll also dig into a whole lot more. Feel free to share your score in the comments and make sure to try out our daily Connections: Sports Edition, too!Top stories mentioned in this week’s quiz
Shootout drama rules World Cup’s round of 32
USMNT advances to round of 16 despite playing a man down
LeBron James to return for 24th NBA season
Boston Celtics find a home for Jaylen Brown
