Roundup of a dramatic Round of 32 action at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which delivered plenty of twists and turns.
Harry Kane netted twice from assists by Anthony Gordon to seal a 2-1 comeback victory for England in their first-ever meeting against DR Congo, after Brian Cipenga rifled the minnows into a shock seventh-minute lead.
Youri Tielemans’ 125th-minute penalty saw Belgium complete a 3-2 comeback over Senegal after he netted their equaliser to force extra time from 2-0 down, having fell behind to goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr before Romelu Lukaku began the Belgian Red Devils’ recovery.
Argentina needed Diney Borges’ 111th-minute own goal to secure a 3-2 victory over Cape Verde after extra time, having twice led through Lionel Messi and Lisandro Martinez only to be pegged back by goals from Deroy Duarte and Sidny Lopes Cabral.
Goncalo Ramos nodded in a 94th-minute winner to fire Portugal past Croatia with a 2-1 comeback victory, having initially equalised through Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty after Ivan Perisic had put the Croatians into a 53rd-minute lead.
Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace and Pedro Porro’s header saw Spain cruise past Austria to a 3-0 win.
Erling Haaland fired Norway to their first-ever World Cup knockout victory with a 2-1 triumph over Ivory Coast, after Antonio Nusa’s effort was cancelled out by an equaliser from Amad Diallo.
Ismael Saibari’s winning penalty saw Morocco shock Netherlands 3-2 on penalties, after Issa Diop rescued them a 1-1 draw following Cody Gakpo’s opener for the Dutch.
Gabriel Martinelli’s 95th-minute winner saw Brazil complete a 2-1 turnaround to beat Japan after Casemiro cancelled out Kaishu Kano’s 29th-minute opener.
Germany suffered a shock first World Cup defeat on penalties as they lost 4-3 in a shootout against Paraguay following a 1-1 comeback draw, in which Kai Havertz’s header cancelled out a header from Julio Enciso.
First-half goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez saw Mexico cruise past Ecuador with a 2-0 win, as the latter finished a man down after Piero Hincapie was red carded in the 95th minute for covering his mouth when talking to a Mexico player.
Goals from Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman saw USA cruise past Bosnia & Herzegovina in a 2-0 win, although Balogun was red carded for a foul on Tarik Muharemovic.
Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye found the net as Switzerland eased to a comfortable victory over Algeria, which marked Riyad Mahrez’s last appearance in international football due to Algeria’s elimination.
Kylian Mbappe’s brace plus Bradley Barcola’s finish saw France cruise to a clinical 3-0 win over Sweden.
Egypt edged past Australia 4-2 on penalties after the pair played out an 1-1 draw in which Emam Ashour’s header was cancelled out by an own-goal from Mohamed Hany.
Jhon Arias smashed in a 14th-minute winner to fire Colombia past Ghana in a dominant 1-0 win.
Stephen Eustaquio smashed in a 92nd-mintue winner to guide Canada past South Africa in a lacklustre contest.
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