Football news - #world-cup-2026

England top Group L and a new all-time scorer to face a DR Congo side chasing more World Cup history in the 2026 Round of 32 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Germany are out, Morocco dumped the Netherlands, and a fixed bracket means Brazil vs Norway and Paraguay vs France are locked into the road to the MetLife final on July 19.

Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Monterrey, with Issa Diop's stoppage-time equalizer and Yassine Bounou's nerve sending the Atlas Lions through.

Lionel Messi scored six times in Group J, including a hat-trick against Algeria, to reach 19 career World Cup goals and lift defending champions Argentina to second in the post-group-stage power rankings.

Norway edged Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 in the World Cup Round of 32, with Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland scoring and Amad Diallo nearly forcing a famous Ivorian comeback.

ESPN's post-group-stage panel rank France No. 1 with 16 of 20 first-place votes after a perfect group and a 3-0 win over Sweden, with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise driving the favourites.

Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Foxborough, dumping Julian Nagelsmann's side out in the Round of 32 in one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.

France carry a perfect group record into a World Cup Round of 32 tie with Sweden, where Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé meet the speed of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 6th-minute opener in Portugal's 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan made him the first player ever to score at six different World Cups, breaking clear of Lionel Messi.