The 2026 FIFA World Cup is taking place throughout North America and the number of teams left in the tournament have now dropped from 48 teams to 32 teams as we enter the extensive knockout stage. The 16 matchups left are South Africa versus Canada, Brazil versus Japan, Germany versus Paraguay, the Netherlands versus Morocco, Ivory Coast versus Norway, France versus Sweden, Mexico versus Ecuador, England versus Congo, Belgium versus Senegal, the United States versus Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain versus Austria, Portugal versus Croatia, Switzerland versus Algeria, Australia versus Egypt, Argentina versus Cape Verde, and Colombia versus Ghana.
Here are five headlines from the tournament so far.
5) Socceroos finished second in Group D.
Australia had a record of one win, one loss and one draw after the Group Stage for four points. Their lone win came in Vancouver on June 13, as they defeated Turkey 2-0. The Australian goal scorers were winger Nestory Irankunda and center midfielder Connor Metcalfe.
4) Three hat tricks.
Three players have had three goal games so far. They are Argentina’s Lionel Messi in a 3-0 win over Algeria, Canada’s Jonathan David in a 6-0 win over Qatar, and France’s Ousmane Dembele in a 4-1 win over Norway.
3) Messi has been great for Argentina.
At age 39, Messi has been unbelievable for the undefeated Argentinians. He has six goals in three games. Messi has the record for the most goals in World Cup history (19). He has three more goals than Mbappe of France and Miroslav Klose of Germany. Messi also set a record on Saturday in Argentina’s 3-1 win over Jordan. Messi has a goal in a record seven straight World Cup games.
2) Cristiano Ronaldo set the record for a goal in six World Cups.
Speaking of longevity, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo now has a goal in six World Cups. He has had a goal at every World Cup since 2006. Ronaldo scored twice on Tuesday in a 5-0 Portugal win over Uzbekistan, and now has 10 World Cup goals in a career.
1) Cape Verde is still alive.
This is an unbelievable story. The small island off the coast of West Africa with a population of 491,000, are in the round of 32. Cape Verde finished second in Group H with a record of with three draws for three points. They remarkably tied Spain at 0 and tied Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw too. In their other game, Cape Verde tied Uruguay at 2.
