And then, there were 16.
The Round of 32 served up some quality entertainment, but it may have saved its best for last, specifically the game between Argentina and Cape Verde. It was a battle for the ages, between the defending champions and one of the smallest countries to ever qualify for the World Cup.
We expected a blowout. Everyone expected a blowout. And when Lionel Messi scored, we figured the blowout would follow. Instead, Cape Verde eqaulized. And then they equalized again, in even more spectacular
fasion, after Argentina had taken the lead again in the opening minutes of extra time. And they probably would’ve equalized for a third time had they had a bit more time. Alas, the referee’s whistle blew. Argentina had survived. Cape Verde are going home.
As heroes.
Elsewhere yesterday, Egypt prevailed in a shootout against Australia while Colombia got past Ghana, 1-0. Colombia are sneaky good and could surprise in the later rounds.
The Round of 16 starts now, including Malo Gusto’s France.
CANADA vs. MOROCCO
Canada, the only host nation to get to play their knockout round games on home soil (after failing to win their group), struggled past South Africa in the Round of 32, and the challenge only gets tougher now. They’re going to have to play a lot better to have any chance.
That said, Morocco needed a late goal to survive as well, equalizing against the Netherlands in stoppage time before prevailing on penalties. The Atlas Lions continue to be let down by the lack of proper center forward play, but they’ve shown they can handle close, tense games either way.
Date / Time: Saturday, July 4, 2026, 1pm EDT; 6pm BST
Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, USA
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); ITV 1 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
FRANCE vs. PARAGUAY
Not much was expected from Paraguay after they got smoked by the US, 4-1 in their opening game. But since then, they’ve conceded just one goal in three games, and held Germany at arm’s length all the way to penalties. Germany had never lost a World Cup shootout, but there’s a first time for everything!
Conversely, much was, and still is, expected from France. They’ve rolled into the final 16 in imperious fashion; they’ve had just one bad half of football at the tournament, and that was in their opening game against Senegal. Since then, they’ve been absolutely unstoppable.
Can Paraguay pull off another shock?
Date / Time: Saturday, July 4, 2026, 5pm EDT; 10pm BST
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); BBC One (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)
