Only six spots remain in the World Cup round of 16, with half of those to be determined on Thursday.
The slate is highlighted by a matchup between highly touted Spain and Austria in Inglewood, California, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal battles Croatia and Switzerland faces Algeria in games that will be played in Canada.
The round of 16 begins Saturday.
Spain improbably has failed to win a knockout round match in its last three World Cups, but Lamine
Yamal’s team is the favorite to finally get it done when La Roja faces Austria on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
Since winning the Cup in South Africa in 2010, Spain failed to get out of group play in 2014 before losing its first knockout match in each of the past two World Cups. This soccer power’s dry spell has shown signs of lifting in recent years, with coach Luis De La Fuente leading his players to wins in the 2023 Nations League and the 2024 European Championships while losing only two of La Roja’s 45 total matches in his tenure.
Spain didn’t overwhelmingly dominate group play, and its surprising scoreless draw with Cape Verde invited doubters and detractors. But with Yamal fit enough to play a full match in the knockout rounds, De La Fuente is optimistic that his team is getting better as the tournament goes on — and it still hasn’t allowed a goal.
“I can tell you that this national team is used to breaking records,” De La Fuente said Wednesday. “Perhaps that bad streak (at the World Cup) will be overcome by this specific squad. After tomorrow’s match, we’ll read the circumstances and everything that’s happened, but what we want to do next is to see you all in Dallas (for the round of 16).”
Austria has little to lose after snagging a knockout round spot through its electrifying 3-3 draw with Algeria to end group play.
— Spain vs. Austria, 3 p.m. EST in Inglewood, California (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Portugal vs. Croatia, 7 p.m. EDT in Toronto (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
— Switzerland vs. Algeria, 11 p.m. EDT in Vancouver, British Columbia (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
Austria has little to lose after snagging a knockout round spot through its electrifying 3-3 draw with Algeria to end group play in its first World Cup since 1998.
Ralf Rangnick, the Austrians’ German coach, exemplified that mentality Wednesday when he praised Spain’s roster and its style of play — but also playfully pointed out that his team scored more goals (6) in the group stage than Spain (5), and also has the only Real Madrid player on either roster, although Austria’s David Alaba is leaving Madrid this summer, while Spain’s Marc Cucurella is moving from Chelsea to Madrid.
“The fact that we meet one of the favorites after only a couple of games is difficult,” Rangnick said. “They’re one of the strongest teams in the world. It’s the European champion, and they haven’t lost a match in a very long time. (But) there have been one or two big surprises in this (World Cup), and we want to make sure that the match tomorrow will be one of the tight matches as well.”
Switzerland will face Algeria and their former coach on Thursday in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Swiss forward Breel Embolo credits Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic with raising up Switzerland’s national team during his seven years at the helm.
Petkovic was at the helm for Switzerland from July 2014 to 2021 and took the team to the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Switzerland later went on to the quarterfinals of the European Championships for the first time in 2020.
“Yeah, he’s a coach that knows me very well,” said Embolo, who earned his first senior national team call-up in 2015 and was named to the 2018 World Cup squad by Petkovic. “I’m not the only one. I think he knows a lot of players. But personally speaking, no, nothing’s going to change on my front. I’m going to play the football I’m used to playing, taking into consideration not only the qualities of the Algerian squad, but also their weak spots."
Petkovic said the world of soccer has been come “universal.”
"Everyone knows each other. There are no real secrets left in the game,” Petkovic said. “I don’t think it’s a huge advantage to know someone or someone else, just as I know the players, the players know me, and it’s a huge pleasure to come up against them. It’ll be lovely to meet and greet them, but after that, the players will go out there on the pitch, and I’m certainly expecting a tough game, and in order to win a match we need to give 120% against a very decent Swiss inside.”
Switzerland reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups with a smaller field of 32 teams. This year’s tournament featured 48 teams.
Either Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric will likely have their World Cup career come to an end on Thursday in Toronto when Portugal takes on Croatia in the round of 32.
Ronaldo has another chance to record his first goal in the knockout rounds of the tournament. Despite being the first player to score in six different World Cups, the 41-year-old megastar has yet to score when it matters most. Portugal will need him to make a difference to avoid elimination.
Modric earned his 200th international cap for Croatia just over a week ago at the stadium in Toronto in a crucial win for his squad over Panama. At 40 years old, he’s still a pillar of Croatia’s midfield, having led the team to second- and third-place finishes in the last two World Cups and will be crucial against Portugal. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic expects the match to be decided at his position.
“Luka Modric is a great reference for all football players and even more to me because he’s the center midfielder. We have exchanged our jerseys,” Portugal’s Vitinha said. “He’s a great person from what I was able to share with him. Hopefully, tomorrow he’ll be a little bit sadder than me.”
Players on both sides are aware the chance to advance is somewhat overshadowed by the two stars who were once teammates at Real Madrid for six seasons.
“We have a lot of motives to have the ambition to want to win tomorrow, not just because of the World Cup,” Vitinha said. “We individually and as a team, we want to win, we want to go to the next phase, for our whole country, for our parents, for our family, for our friends, for the Ugushta, and of course, for Cristiano as well.”
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Belgium midfield Youri Tielemans etched his name in World Cup history on Wednesday by scoring the latest goal in tournament history at 124 minutes, 44 seconds, according to Opta.
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AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham and Anne Peterson, and freelancer Lexie Linderman contributed to this report. ___
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
