The World Cup knockout rounds are almost here.
The field for the Round of 32 will be finalized on Saturday following more than two weeks of competition across three countries.
While majority of the field is set, there are still some spots up for grabs with six group-stage matches remaining, leaving some teams jockeying for position and others fighting to advance.
Still others find themselves on the bubble, relying on other teams to determine their World
Cup fate.
The knockout rounds begin Sunday.
The expansion to 48 teams in the World Cup has added intrigue — and in some cases, the confusion — over which 32 teams advance, with tiebreakers coming into play. The top two finishing teams from each of the 12 groups and eight third-place finishers move on.
The most intriguing match on Saturday might be Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal against Colombia.
Colombia has already secured a spot in the Round of 32 and can win Group K with a win or draw. Portugal needs a win to take the group, but can also advance with a draw or possibly even a loss.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said winning the group would be nice, but it doesn't matter as long as the team advances.
“It doesn't. It doesn’t,” Martinez said. “My experience, probably in my first World Cup, I would have said yes. You sit down and you are so inexperienced, you want to plan everything ... and then you realize that doesn’t happen in competitions.”
Martinez said in the end, “you have to be able to beat everybody and anybody.”
The match in Miami Gardens, Florida, will be played in typical June conditions, with temperatures expected to hover around 87 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) with high humidity when the match kicks off.
— Panama vs England, 5 p.m. EDT in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Croatia vs. Ghana, 5 p.m. EDT in Philadelphia (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30 p.m. EDT in Miami Gardens, Florida (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 7:30 p.m. EDT in Atlanta (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Algeria vs. Austria, 10 p.m. EDT in Kansas City, Missouri (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Jordan vs. Argentina, 10 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
Congo pulled off one of the surprising results of the World Cup by holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in its opener, earning a point in the tournament for the first time. Now it hopes to earn its first win and join the wave of African teams advancing to the knockout rounds.
“We are very, very happy to have got this first point and first goal for Congo, but we have a final to play tomorrow,” coach Sébastien Desabre said ahead of Saturday’s Group K game against Uzbekistan. “I hope that I’ll get the Congolese people to dream tomorrow a little bit.”
Congo’s one previous appearance at the World Cup was under its former name, Zaire, in 1974, when it lost all three games, including a 9-0 rout at the hands of Yugoslavia.
A win gives Congo a chance to advance.
Uzbekistan has never earned a World Cup point.
Separated by one point, Ghana and Croatia both have something meaningful to play for in their Group L match.
Ghana needs only a draw to reach the knockout round. Croatia, however, needs a win to be assured of a spot in the Round of 32.
England and Ghana are tied at four points after they played to a 0-0 draw, and Croatia has three points. England will face Panama in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while Ghana and Croatia will play in Philadelphia.
“Everyone’s ready, everyone was real happy with the result against England,” Ghana midfielder Antoine Semenyo said. “It’s going to be a tough game tomorrow, but everyone is excited and ready.”
Ghana hasn’t made it to the knockout round since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010 in South Africa.
By the time Austria and Algeria begin their Group J finale, both will know how the knockout bracket looks, and what the consequences will be for finishing second or third behind group winner Argentina.
This is where things get awkward: It might actually behoove Austria to lose.
The way the bracket is set up, the Group J runner-up faces the Group H winner, which could be reigning European champion Spain. But the third-place finisher would face the Group B winner, which means a potentially easier matchup against Switzerland.
Asked if he wanted his team to avoid winning, Austria coach Ralf Rangnick replied: “No, definitely not.”
“Once we start we will know,” Rangnick said Friday, “but it will not influence our match. ... If we have a draw tomorrow, we can go on, but we cannot go into a match and just say, ‘We’ll play for a draw.’”
In 1982, in what became known as the “Disgrace of Gijon,” West Germany beat Austria 1-0, a result that advanced both teams over Algeria. Both teams seemed to quit trying after the first goal was scored, leading FIFA to implement simultaneous kickoffs on the final day of group play.
“We go out, we want to win the game,” Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer said. “It doesn’t matter who we face.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has an interesting choice entering his team's match against Jordan: Allow Lionel Messi a chance to build on his World Cup scoring record, or rest the 39-year-old for the knockout round?
The defending champion has already won Group J, so the wiser move might be to sit Messi and not risk injury. Of course, Messi might disagree.
— ‘Pride Match’ organizers highlight Seattle’s inclusivity amid opposition from Iran and Egypt
— A maple leaf-shaped ‘Canadian clapper’ sparks a World Cup buzz across Toronto
— Mexico teenager Gilberto Mora impresses in first World Cup start and could see role expand
— Panama striker Cecilio Waterman, midfielder José Luis Rodríguez have training ground confrontation
— Bastian Schweinsteiger says his remarks on Ivory Coast’s style at World Cup were not about people
— Day 16 of the World Cup, in photos
Scoring first in the World Cup is obviously a huge advantage, but doesn't necessarily lead to a win or draw. In fact, seven teams have overcome deficits in group play to win. South Korea rallied to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 with two late goals, Algeria battled back from a halftime deficit to top Jordan 2-1 and, most recently, Turkiye stunned the United States with a last-second goal to win 3-2. Egypt, Germany, Morocco and Ecuador have also overcome deficits to win.
___
AP Sports Writers Dave Skretta, Alanis Thames, James Robson, Ronald Blum and Dan Gelston contributed to this report.
___
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
