The knockout has cleared its first stage. Four days, eight ties, sixteen teams walked in and eight walked out. The bracket that started with Portugal and ended with Norway now looks like a serious tournament. Belgium and England on one side of the top half, Germany and the Netherlands on the other. Spain and France holding the bottom-half glamour tie. Mexico and Norway the co-host and the tournament's wildest overachiever, fighting to keep this from being an all-European semi. Two days of rest, then eight teams, four matches, four ways home.
The eight winners
How the last four ties finished
The R16 ended in almost perfect narrative order. On Monday at MetLife, France reminded everyone why the reigning champions were the pre-tournament favourite. Kylian Mbappé scored inside fifteen minutes, Aurélien Tchouaméni ran the midfield in a way he had not done since March, and Japan — brilliant in the group stage, elegant in the R32 — ran into the version of France everyone had been waiting for. Final score 3-1, and the goal Japan scored in stoppage time was the sort that makes you wonder what the tournament would have looked like with a slightly kinder draw.
The Netherlands then did what the Netherlands have done in every round: they were the most disciplined team on the pitch. The USMNT arrived at Levi's in front of a crowd that expected the run to keep going. Cody Gakpo scored twice in the first half, Xavi Simons buried a set piece after the break, and the United States found the game already gone by the hour mark. A late Christian Pulisic penalty made it 3-1 and the home stadium held on for the ovation. It was still the deepest USMNT run at any World Cup since 1930. It was also a reminder that this Netherlands side, quiet in the pre-tournament conversation, is playing the best football of any team in the bracket.
Tuesday closed the Round of 16. Mexico ended South Africa's fairy-tale in Guadalajara — a Santi Giménez header, Edson Álvarez holding the midfield together in front of the back four, and a stadium that has waited a generation to see El Tri in this stage of a home tournament. 2-0, no drama after the second goal. The night match was harder to explain. Norway had already beaten France in the group stage. They now beat Switzerland in extra time, Erling Haaland scoring the winner in the 106th minute after a first-touch turn that will loop on highlight reels for a week. Sixteen teams entered the R16. Norway are one of the eight left.
Who is on which side of the bracket
The top-half QFs go on Thursday July 9. Belgium meet England at MetLife in the second all-European heavyweight tie of the knockout. Germany and the Netherlands, both undefeated since the group stage opener, play in the evening. On Friday July 10 the bottom half plays. Spain-France is the tie of the round on paper and probably the tie of the tournament so far. Mexico-Norway closes the day and decides whether the semis contain any non-European team at all.
Story of the round
The tidy way to describe the R16 is to say the favourites survived. That is true in outline: four of the eight teams left were in every pre-tournament top-six list, and Germany and the Netherlands were in most people's top-eight. The messier version is that the tournament's two great stories are still alive. Mexico as host nation in the last eight is the first time it has happened since 1986. Norway are into a World Cup quarter-final for the first time ever. If either wins on Friday, this becomes a very different tournament in its final week.
The teams that went home were, in order: Portugal, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Japan, the USMNT, South Africa, Switzerland. Two of them — Brazil and Argentina — are the two most decorated national programmes on the planet. Both were out before the quarter-finals. This is now the first World Cup since 1930 without either a South American or a former host in the last four unless Mexico wins on Friday.
Who has the easiest QF and who has the hardest
The eight teams remaining, ranked by likely path to the final:
- France. Spain in the quarter, then either Mexico or Norway. Hard tie, then the softest side of the bracket. If they win Friday they will not play a European team again before the final.
- Netherlands. Germany in the quarter, then a Belgium/England winner. Two heavyweight ties in a row, but they have been the best team all tournament.
- Germany. Same path as the Netherlands, but they are the underdogs in their quarter.
- Spain. France Friday. Whoever wins that gets the friendly bottom-half semi.
- England. Belgium first, then whoever wins Germany-Netherlands. The most Wednesday-morning-headline-worthy path in the bracket, in either direction.
- Belgium. England first. This is the last time this Belgium generation will be here.
- Mexico. Norway Friday, then a Spain/France winner. Home-crowd advantage carries them one round but probably no further.
- Norway. Mexico Friday. Haaland is playing like a man who has decided this is his tournament. Everyone who has bet against him so far has lost.
What to watch for on the two rest days
FIFA has scheduled Wednesday and Thursday as rest days between the R16 and QFs, and every squad will use them differently. Belgium and England both have players carrying yellow cards — one more before the semi and they miss it. France have the two-day rest to recover Ousmane Dembélé after he was substituted at half-time on Monday with what the staff called a "precaution". The Netherlands will finalise the Frenkie de Jong question — he has been on the bench through the knockouts and is fit but not sharp. Mexico will decide whether to bring Hirving Lozano back into the starting eleven for the tie he arguably deserves the most.
How to watch the quarter-finals
Thursday July 9: Belgium vs England at MetLife, 12 p.m. ET. Germany vs Netherlands at AT&T Stadium, 4 p.m. ET. Friday July 10: Spain vs France at SoFi Stadium, 12 p.m. ET. Mexico vs Norway at Estadio Azteca, 4 p.m. ET. Fox and Telemundo split the coverage in the US, ITV and BBC in the UK. Follow all four ties on the Scorelisto soccer scoreboard or catch the running fixture list on the Scorelisto blog.
FAQ
Why are Wednesday and Thursday rest days if the tournament has been playing every day? FIFA gives two days between the Round of 16 and the quarter-finals so every surviving squad gets at least the standard 72-hour recovery window before their next match. It is the first proper break in the schedule since June 11.
Can the same country play twice on the same day?Only at the group stage in the very earliest matchdays. From the R16 onwards each team plays alone on its scheduled slot.
Which QF is the toughest tie on paper?Spain-France. The two best sides of the last two European Championships, drawn on the same side of the bracket by a Round-of-32 seeding they cannot change now.
Where is the final? MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19. Two of the four semi-final slots are also there. See the full Scorelisto World Cup coverage for the rest of the road there.