Three more round of 32 fixtures have been drawn for the 2026 World Cup
At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, being held in the USA, Mexico and Canada, three more pairings for the round of 32 have been decided.
Brazil, who finished top of Group C, will face Japan, who finished second in Group F, in their opening play-off match. The Brazil v Japan match will take place on 29 June at 20:00 Kyiv time.
Another fixture will see the Netherlands take on Morocco. The Netherlands won Group F, whilst Morocco finished second in Group C. The Netherlands v Morocco match will take place on 30 June at 04:00 Kyiv time.
The winner of the Netherlands v Morocco match will face the winner of the South Africa v Canada tie in the round of 16. This pairing was the first to be confirmed for the knockout stages. Their match will take place on 28 June at 22:00 Kyiv time.
In another round of 16 match, the USA, who topped Group D early, will face Bosnia and Herzegovina, who qualified for the knockout stages in third place in Group B. The USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina match is scheduled for 2 July at 03:00 Kyiv time.
Following the results of the Group F matches, the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden have also qualified for the play-offs. In the final round, the Netherlands beat Tunisia 3–1, whilst Japan and Sweden drew 1–1.
Standings in Group F: Netherlands – 7 points, Japan – 5, Sweden – 4, Tunisia – 0.
As things stand, Mexico, the USA, Germany, Argentina, France, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden have already secured their places in the round of 16.
The 2026 World Cup will run until 19 July. The tournament final will take place in East Rutherford, a suburb of New York.
This is the first World Cup in history to feature 48 national teams. All teams are divided into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group, as well as the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.
