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The FIFA World Cup crossed the halfway mark on Wednesday night with the 54th match at the World Cup being played. Only 50 games remain as the knockout stages start with the Round of 32 later this week.
Any team hoping to win the title will have to win five elimination games from the Round of 32 stage to be crowned champions.
As of Friday morning, some of the top teams that are yet to secure a confirmed spot in the Round of 32 are England, Spain and Portugal.
So which teams have made the cut to the Round of 32? And who’s already looking for return flights home? We break it down:
Teams which have qualified for the Round of 32
Mexico (Group A)
Co-hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Mexico, have been in good nick at the World Cup, winning all three of their group stage games. When Mexico beat the Czech Republic 3-0 in their final World Cup group-stage match, it was for the first time they had won all three group games. Mexico’s previous best group-stage performance was two wins and one draw, done in 1986 and 2002.
Since they topped Group A, Mexico will play at the Estadio Azteca on Tuesday in a round-of-32 match against an opponent that is yet to be determined. At that iconic venue, Mexico are undefeated in nine World Cup matches.
South Africa (Group A)
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After failing to advance from the group stage in 1998, 2002 and as host of the event in 2010, South Africa overcame South Korea 1-0 on Wednesday night to finish second in Group A and secure a spot in the Round of 32. A clash against Switzerland beckons. South Africa had opened its World Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Mexico before a late goal against the Czech Republic earned them a 1-1 draw.
Switzerland (Group B)
Switzerland spoiled co-host Canada’s World Cup party by beating them 2-1 on Wednesday to top Group B. Switzerland now get a well-earned week off. They will play their Round of 32 clash at Vancouver where they face one of the eight best third-place finishers on July 2.
Canada (Group B)
Co-hosts Canada also secured a spot in the Round of 32, despite losing their final group stage game to Switzerland. This is the first time in their history that Canada play in the knockout round. The defeat to the Swiss on Wednesday means that they will not play their round-of-32 match on home soil. Instead, Canada will travel to Inglewood, California, to play Sunday against South Africa. The campaign has already seen Canada script history: the team won its first World Cup match, 6-0 over last edition’s hosts, Qatar.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B)
Bosnia and Herzegovina have snuck through to the Round of 32 as the third-placed team in their group with a 3-1 victory over Qatar in their final game. As a third-place finisher from their group, Bosnia should face the United States at the Levi’s Stadium on July 1.
Brazil (Group C)
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Brazil beat Scotland 3-0 on Wednesday, advancing to the knockout stage as the Group C winner. The biggest positive for Brazil so far has been Vinícius Junior, who has a goal in all three of Brazil’s group stage matches.
The five-time World Cup champions had a nervy start to the tournament, being held 1-1 by Morocco in their opener. But they rebounded with a 3-0 win over Haiti, and a 3-0 win over Scotland. Brazil are chasing their first World Cup title since 2002.
Morocco (Group C)
Four years after Morocco became the first African team in football history to reach the World Cup semifinals four years ago in Qatar, they are in the Round of 32 again. But they needed Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine to come off the bench and help the side twice came from behind against Haiti, a team playing on football’s biggest stage for the first time in 52 years. Morocco advanced to the round of 32 in second place behind Brazil in Group C and will next play the runner up in Group F — Netherlands, Japan or Sweden — in Monterrey.
USA (Group D)
USA qualified for the Round of 32 after sealing its second straight win, beating Australia 2-0 on Friday. The US’s passage to the knockouts was sealed one game in advance thanks to Paraguay beating Turkey 1-0. If home advantage was not enough for the US, they also became the first team to benefit from own goals by the opposing team in consecutive World Cup matches.
Germany (Group E)
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Germany qualified as the group toppers from Group E despite losing their final game against Ecuador 1-2. The Germans started their campaign with a commanding 7-1 victory over Curacao, but could not keep a clean sheet in any of their group games. The game against Ecuador was the nine successive World Cup game where Germany have leaked a goal.
Ivory Coast (Group E)
Ivory Coast entered the Round of 32 with a victory over Curacao. Just like Germany, Ivory Coast had six points, thanks to two wins and a loss in Group E. Ivory Coast advanced to the World Cup knockout round for the first time in the West African team’s history.
Ecuador (Group E)
After two frustrating games at the start of their campaign where they had 39 shots without scoring even once, Ecuador came from a goal behind to stun Germany 2-1 and enter the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup for the second time following their run to the round of 16 in 2006.
France (Group I)
With two wins in their first two group stage games, France had already secured a spot in the Round of 32 even before they faced Norway in their third game. For France, Kylian Mbappe has been in searing hot form, scoring four out of the six French goals this tournament.
Norway (Group I)
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Spurred by the attacking prowess of Erling Haaland, Norway won both their games to secure a spot in the Round of 32. They will face their final group stage game against France in what will be a battle between Mbappe and Haaland.
Argentina (Group J)
With Lionel Messi scoring all five of the team’s goals in Argentina’s first two games, Argentina have started their defence of the World Cup title with six points out of a maximum of six. Argentina face Jordan in the final group stage game.
Colombia (Group K)
Colombia entered the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-0 victory over Congo. Colombia needs at least a draw against Portugal on Saturday to win the group. That result would also be enough to send Portugal to the knockout stage from Group K. Colombia, ranked 11th in the world, had not qualified for the 2022 World Cup.
Teams which have been eliminated
Czechia (Group A)
Qatar (Group B)
Haiti (Group C)
Turkey(Group D)
Curacao (Group E)
Tunisia (Group F)
Jordan (Group J)
Panama (Group L)







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