The 2026 FIFA World Cup is two weeks away and the knockout rounds will begin after the group stage concludes.
World Cup hosts Canada came out late to beat South Africa on Monday morning to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in men’s World Cup history.
So what have been the key moments so far and which games are the most important to watch as the tournament heats up?
The group stages brought a lot of benefits
Despite much controversy in the lead-up to the tournament, coverage of the tournament was largely positive, both on and off the field.
News reports praise visiting fans, especially from Scotland and Japan.
Scotland’s first two matches against Haiti and Morocco took place in Boston. It was Scotland’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years and the fans celebrated with joy.
The Tartan Army made a big impression primarily with their bagpipes, love of placing traffic cones on famous sculptures, singing and drinking.
Pubs ran out of beer and had to plan emergency supplies as sales were three times higher than other holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day and the Super Bowl.
The Boston Globe devoted an entire page to thanking the Scottish fans who traveled to Miami for the final group match against Brazil.
Japanese fans continued the tradition of helping to clean the stadium after games.
Norwegian fans also went viral by causing a massive Viking brawl in New York’s Times Square.
Norwegian fans took over Times Square with a Viking-themed rowing celebration during the World Cup.
Dutch fans took over Texas and painted it orange before games against Japan and Sweden.
So the fans were great, but what about the teams?
New format
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest World Cup in history.
Expanding the competition from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 this year has given more countries the opportunity to take part.
Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan made their World Cup debuts in 2026.
Read more: Curacao and Cape Verde participate in the World Cup. What impact might these “minnow nations” have?
More teams means more games in the group stage and a tougher process to qualify for the knockout stages.
At previous World Cups, there were eight groups of four teams (32 teams) in the group stage. The top two teams from each group advanced to the playoff stage (16 teams in total).
The number of teams that continue to play in each round is halved (eight in the quarter-finals, four in the semi-finals) until only two teams remain in the final.
However, cutting 48 in half multiple times leaves no two teams. Therefore, a different format was needed.
This year, 32 teams qualified for the playoffs: the top two teams in each of the 12 groups (24 teams), as well as the eight highest-ranked third-place teams.
The ranking of third-placed teams was based on factors such as points and goal difference.
In the 2026 format, two-thirds of teams advance to the playoffs.
This format reduces the danger of stronger countries being eliminated early, while also giving lower-ranked countries a better chance of making the playoffs.
Surprises and failures
Most of the highly ranked teams qualified for the playoffs, with teams from Africa, Europe and South America performing particularly well.
The highest-rated teams that missed the tournament were Uruguay (16th place) and Türkiye (22nd place).
Belgium (9th place) and Senegal (15th place) only advanced after strong victories in their last group match.
Some of the biggest surprises were the draws, not the wins.
Examples include Cape Verde (67th) drawing Spain (2nd), New Zealand (85th) drawing Iran (20th) and Ghana (73rd) drawing England (4th).
The biggest difference in rankings from the upset win was that South Africa (ranked 60th) beat South Korea (ranked 25th).
The lowest ranked teams to qualify for the knockout stage are Ghana (73rd), Cape Verde (67th) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (64th).
Ghana’s progress to the knockout stages may or may not have been helped by a famous Ghanaian witch doctor who placed a curse on England captain Harry Kane.
Fortunately for Kane, the curse was broken after a 0-0 draw with Ghana and he scored again in England’s final group game against Panama.
Big guns are firing
The Golden Boot is awarded to the player who scores the most goals at the World Cup.
In 72 group stage matches, 143 different players scored 215 goals. The average of 2.99 goals per game is the highest since the 1950s.
It’s no surprise that some of football’s biggest stars are at the top of this list.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) currently leads the table with six goals.
Other stars such as Kylian Mbappe (France), Ousmane Dembele (France), Vinicius Junior (Brazil) and Erling Haaland (Norway) scored four goals each.
Messi now tops the list of all-time World Cup goalscorers with 19 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), meanwhile, became the first player to score a goal in six consecutive World Cups.
What to pay attention to at the playoff stage?
So, as we look ahead to the playoffs, what matches are worth watching?
For Australians, the Socceroos’ match against Egypt on Saturday morning should be top of the list. These teams have similar world rankings and should be close.
Morocco vs Netherlands should be another exciting clash. These teams, currently ranked 6th and 7th, were not expected to meet so early in the tournament.
Finally, the match between Argentina (1st place) and Cape Verde (64th) will be exciting.
Can the smallest country to ever reach the knockout stages stop the defending champions? The rivalry between Messi and the inspirational 40-year-old Cape Verdean goalkeeper Vozinha will be key.