Sunday’s FIFA World Cup round of 16 features two heavyweight matches as Brazil take on Norway in New Jersey before Mexico takes on England in Mexico City.
Here’s the full schedule, Opta’s predictions and the latest from the tournament, including Morocco’s advance to the quarter-finals and France’s emphatic victory over Paraguay.
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What’s the schedule for Sunday?
- Brazil vs Norway: 16:00 (20:00 GMT) at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA.
- Mexico vs England: 18:00 (00:00 GMT until Monday) at Mexico City Stadium.
What are the predictions for the match Brazil – Norway?
Brazil will hope to put an end to the undesirable trend when they meet Norway in the round of 16.
The teams have previously met four times in all competitions and Norway have never lost. The Scandinavians have won twice and drawn twice, including a memorable 2-1 victory over Brazil at the 1998 World Cup.
Despite these historical trends, supercomputer Opta considers Brazil the clear favorite. After running 25,000 pre-match simulations, Brazil won 53.6 percent of the outcomes in regulation time.
Norway were victorious within 90 minutes in 22.4 percent of simulations, and in 24 percent the game ended level after normal time, leading to a draw in extra time and possibly penalties.
What are the predictions for the Mexico – England match?
England and Mexico had crossed paths only once before at the World Cup, a meeting that began almost 60 years ago.
The meeting took place during the group stage of the 1966 tournament, when hosts England won 2-0 thanks to goals from Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt. That summer, the Three Lions lifted the trophy, capturing the only world title in their history.
England have also prevailed in matches outside the World Cup, winning each of their last four meetings with Mexico. All of these victories came in friendlies between 1986 and 2010.
The Opta supercomputer predicted one of the closest clashes of the round of 16, with neither side having a decisive advantage.
England come into the game with a favorable history against Mexico, but El Tri’s home support and knowledge of the conditions help close the gap.
In 25,000 simulations, England won 40.6 percent of the time in normal time, while Mexico won 31.5 percent of the time. A further 27.9% of simulations ended in the 90th minute, meaning the match would go to extra time and possibly a penalty shootout.
Remaining Round of 16 schedule:
- Brazil vs Norway: Sunday, New York New Jersey Stadium, 20:00 GMT.
- Mexico vs England: Sunday, Mexico City Stadium, 0000 GMT, rolling into Monday.
- Portugal vs Spain: Monday, Dallas Stadium, 19:00 GMT.
- USA vs Belgium: Monday, Seattle Stadium, 00:00 GMT, moving into Tuesday.
- Argentina vs Egypt: Tuesday, Atlanta Stadium, 16:00 GMT.
- Switzerland vs Colombia: Tuesday, British Columbia, Vancouver, 20:00 GMT.
What else is going on?
Morocco’s historic quarter-final series
Morocco reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the second time in a row after beating Canada 3-0 on Saturday, with Azzedine Unahi scoring twice to end the North Americans’ historic run.
The final score did not reflect the balance of the game. Canada controlled most of the first half, creating several promising chances, but did not allow Morocco to register their first shot until the 28th minute.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi was visibly frustrated on the touchline before the break as poor passes and sloppy errors disrupted his side’s rhythm, but the team responded after the break with a much improved performance.
“This is a World Cup match and these are tough games where teams are fighting for their lives,” Wahby said. “We responded very well in the second half, especially in the duels and winning the second goals.
Was Paraguay’s game dirty?
France captain Kylian Mbappe said his side are ready to match Paraguay’s physical approach after securing a hard-fought 1-0 win on Saturday to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
Mbappe, who scored the decisive penalty in the 70th minute after Desire Douhet was fouled in the box, dismissed suggestions that France were concerned about Paraguay’s aggressive tactics.
“They thought we would come out in tuxedos, trying fancy tricks and one-two tricks,” Mbappe said. “But we also know how to play dirty football. If the game calls for it, we have no problem with it.”
The winning penalty was awarded only after a VAR review when France coach Didier Deschamps questioned the conduct of referee Ilgiz Tantashev during an increasingly tough contest.
“We got three yellow cards and they kept fouling us the whole game,” Deschamps said. “Every team has the right to play their own way, but I could do without some of the abuse from the opposition.”
A Mexican fortress awaits England
Mexico hope to end a 40-year wait to reach the World Cup quarter-finals when they meet England on Sunday, bolstered by one of the best home records in international football.
The co-hosts have lost just two official matches at the Mexico City stadium since it opened in 1966, with the last defeat coming to Honduras in a World Cup qualifier in 2013.
Former Mexico striker Hugo Sanchez believes the stadium can make a difference again.
“The stadium is a monster; that explains a lot of wins and draws, and a few losses that were just flukes. We’re going into it with optimism because we know it’s England, but if we play like we did against Ecuador, we can beat them.”
Mexico’s stadium World Cup record reflects this dominance. At the 1970, 1986 and 2026 tournaments, El Tri played 10 World Cup matches there, winning eight and drawing two. In this year’s tournament they beat South Africa, the Czech Republic and Ecuador in Mexico City without conceding a goal, and also defeated South Korea in Guadalajara.