Sixty-three matches into the World Cup, the knockouts begin. Sunday June 28 opens the Round of 32 โ a new round added for the 48-team format โ with three fixtures spread across three host countries. Two group winners headline the day, the third draws the deepest sentimental crowd of the tournament so far, and one of them comes home if they lose. Here is what's on, what's at stake, and where the bracket goes from here.
Mexico vs Ivory Coast ยท Azteca ยท 12:00 p.m. ET
The hosts open the knockouts. Mexico clinched Group A on matchday two and arrive in front of an Azteca crowd that has now watched four matches at this World Cup, all wins. Javier Aguirre's side has scored seven goals across the group stage and conceded one โ Hirving Lozano leads the team in goal involvements and is the most likely man to decide the tie.
Ivory Coast snuck through as the eighth and last third-place qualifier on goal difference. They lost their opener 3-0 to Germany, beat Curaรงao 2-1, and drew Ecuador 1-1 in a result that fewer than five hundred people will ever describe as attractive. Sรฉbastien Haller leads the line; Franck Kessiรฉ anchors the midfield. They will sit deep and try to make Mexico earn it. The history weighs heavy in one direction โ Mexico have not lost a knockout-stage match at the Azteca since 1986. The model has them at 78%.
South Korea vs Czechia ยท AT&T Stadium, Dallas ยท 3:00 p.m. ET
Group A's runner-up takes one of the day's most overlooked fixtures, against a Czechia side that scraped through as a third-place qualifier with four points and a 0 goal difference. South Korea finished their group on seven points and a +4 goal difference, with Son Heung-min in his last World Cup at age 33. The Tottenham captain has scored once in this tournament and looked sharp doing it.
Czechia's path here was unglamorous โ a 1-1 draw with Mexico, a 0-1 loss to South Africa, a 3-1 win over the South Africans on tiebreaker day. Patrik Schick is the only forward currently fit. Their midfield is built around Pavel ล ulc, who scored the tournament's most overlooked goal so far against South Africa. The model gives South Korea the slight edge, around 58%, but Czechia have the kind of organised low block that has flummoxed Asian sides in major tournaments before.
Canada vs Switzerland ยท BMO Field, Toronto ยท 6:00 p.m. ET
The home crowd in Toronto is the moment of Sunday. Canada clinched Group B on matchday two and arrives unbeaten โ their first-ever World Cup knockout appearance. Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies are both fit. Cyle Larin has scored twice in three matches and has rediscovered the form that vanished after his Galatasaray years.
Switzerland sneaked through as one of the eight third-place qualifiers from Group B. Granit Xhaka anchors the midfield; Breel Embolo leads the line; Yann Sommer still mans the goal at 37 and will get a long night of it. The pre-match line that will be repeated everywhere โ Canada have never beaten Switzerland in a competitive match โ is true and increasingly irrelevant. The model gives Canada a 54% edge, the smallest margin of the three fixtures.
How the Round of 32 works
The format is new โ added for 2026 because the tournament grew to 48 teams. Thirty-two clubs enter, sixteen advance, and the rest of the bracket from there looks like every World Cup since 1986. Single-leg knockout matches; if level after 90 minutes, straight to 30 minutes of extra time, then penalties. No replays, no second leg. Five substitutions per side. Concussion subs are additional. The away-goals rule does not exist here because there is no second leg.
The seeding rule is the one wrinkle that matters: group winners play either runners-up or third-place qualifiers based on a pre-set bracket published before the tournament. Group A's winner โ Mexico โ was always going to play either a third-place team or a runner-up from a paired set of groups. The path was drawn months ago.
The rest of the week
Monday June 29 features three Round of 32 matches anchored by the United States against a Group F runner-up (Japan or Sweden, depending on final standings adjustments). Tuesday and Wednesday continue the slate; the round closes Wednesday July 1 with Argentina vs Sweden in Houston. Round of 16 begins Friday July 4 โ yes, Independence Day. Three matches that day. The first quarter-final follows on Thursday July 9.
What to actually watch
If you can only see one match Sunday, take Canada vs Switzerland โ the tightest margin on paper, the loudest home crowd of the three, and the only fixture where the favourite genuinely could fall. Mexico vs Ivory Coast will be the most-watched match worldwide simply because the Azteca pulls every soccer-related eyeball on the planet. South Korea vs Czechia is the connoisseur's fixture: a clear stylistic mismatch, an under- appreciated star in Son, and a clean live-thread match to follow between the two big ones.
FAQ
What time do the matches kick off in the UK? 5 p.m., 8 p.m., and 11 p.m. local. The BBC carries Canada vs Switzerland, ITV has the other two.
Is this the first World Cup with a Round of 32? Yes. The 32-team format used 1998โ2022 went straight from the group stage to the Round of 16. The expansion to 48 teams added a knockout round at the top of the bracket.
If a match is level after extra time, what happens? Penalties. Five takers per side first, then sudden-death until one team holds an advantage after equal kicks.
Where can I follow live? The full Round of 32 schedule and live scores are on Scorelisto's soccer page, and our daily previews and recaps continue on the blog through the final on July 19.