Paraguay stunned Germany, Morocco defeated the Netherlands on penalties, and Brazil beat Japan as the World Cup 2026 Round of 32 produced dramatic knockout-stage exits and decisive shoot-outs.
For decades, the World Cup has largely reinforced football's established hierarchy. While the occasional upset has always been part of the tournament's appeal, the sport's traditional superpowers usually restored order once the knockout rounds arrived.
This World Cup, however, is telling a different story.
The giants may still dominate the list of favourites to lift the trophy, but reaching the latter stages is becoming an increasingly uncomfortable exercise. Every knockout match now carries the genuine possibility that another established nation could be sent packing by a team once labelled an outsider.
Morocco's penalty shoot-out victory over the Netherlands and Paraguay's dramatic elimination of Germany were among the biggest shocks of the Round of 32, but they were far from isolated results.
