With the 2026 World Cup well underway, the end of the group stage is on the horizon and fans are starting to ask the same question: what’s our potential draw like?

Well, that depends on multiple factors; the biggest being all the group games being completed. Many fans are getting carried away with who they could be facing after just two games, whereas there is still a lot to be decided. Then, we head into the knockouts of this extended competition in the Round of 32, Round of 16 and so on.

Despite that, there are still some routes that can be planned and ruled out and, with all the noise of the global tournament, here’s the definitive answers to all the qualification quandaries and potential match-ups.

Which teams have reached the knockout phase?

Credit: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

After just two games, we can highlight teams in every group who have already secured qualification to the next phase of the competition. Even if their final position isn’t secured yet. Of course, there are also the best ‘third-placed’ teams to consider as well. However, while we can point towards the ‘as it stands’ table, it is very much subject to change daily until the end of the group stage.

The early qualifiers include the teams who have gone 100 per cent: those include Mexico, USA, Germany, France, Norway, Colombia and Argentina. It ensures their final outings are nothing but a formality, as top spot is already confirmed. However, France will face Norway to confirm who will reign supreme in Group I.

In addition, the host countries, USA and Mexico, have started strong, lifted by their incredible home support that has seen them qualify after just two games. Canada are also well-placed to join them as all three look set to be involved in the next stage of the competition.

At the other end of the spectrum are the teams who have already been eliminated. The biggest shock? Undoubtedly, Turkey. Everyone’s favorite ‘Dark Horses’ pick bowed out of Group D without scoring a goal, having been shocked by Australia in their opening game and Paraguay in their second.

Both Iraq and Senegal faced tough opposition from France and Norway, with both of their respective talismanic figures in Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe hitting top form, whilst Jordan, Uzbekistan, Panama and Tunisia also exited early.

World Cup knockout stage bracket & how it works

Burt Granofsky/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA via Reuters

With an extended World Cup for the first time in history, the addition of 16 more teams has resulted in more games, more drama — and an enhanced tournament bracket.

Eagle-eyed fans have been rushing to the ‘as it stands’ bracket to see who awaits them in the first round of the knockouts, which is the Round of 32. Typically, it would be just two teams from eight groups who qualify straight into the Round of 16. However, this time there are new rules.

Twelve groups will result in 24 teams qualifying for the next stage and the rest of the numbers are made up of the best third-placed teams. The best eight teams to finish third, to be precise. This ensures that there is plenty to play for as we head into the final round of games.

What we can see is the different sides of the draw that teams are on; it tells us who England is likely to play in the semi-finals should they reach it, for example.

England could face the likely route of Mexico in the Last 16, Brazil in the quarter-finals and Argentina in the semis if all goes as predicted. Below that, the most eye-catching affair would be Argentina facing off against fellow South American rivals, Colombia, in the quarters before a potential super-clash against Portugal — that would see Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo on the biggest stage.

In the top half of the draw, there may be match-ups that include Germany vs France in the Last 16, with the winner facing the Netherlands in the quarters. Whilst many will have their eye on Spain versus France in the semi-finals as a probable outcome.

However, all is to be decided in the final round of games as there is plenty to play for.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has finally arrived at the 2026 World Cup. The 41-year-old netted twice as Portugal demolished Uzbekistan 5-0 in their second Group K match.

It wasn’t the most ideal start to the World Cup for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Portugal could only muster a 1-1 draw with DR Congo in their opening match and Ronaldo came in for much of the criticism.

Reports of internal fallouts between players and even their partners had begun to surface between their first two fixtures, so the win couldn’t have come at a better time for Ronaldo and his team.

But despite the Portuguese captain turning in a Man of the Match performance, a familiar name started to get mentioned in his post-match interviews, and Ronaldo was in no mood to discuss it.

Ronaldo Snaps at Mention of Messi’s Name

REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Despite his record-breaking night in Houston, where he became the first player to score in six different World Cups, Ronaldo grew visibly irritated when the conversation turned to Lionel Messi.

The Argentine has enjoyed a sensational start to the tournament, scoring five times in his opening fixtures and breaking Miroslav Klose’s all-time scoring record at the World Cup, but Ronaldo made it clear he has no interest in keeping tabs on his long-term rival.

When pressed on the subject of Messi, Ronaldo immediately stormed out, but not before snapping back:

Watch Ronaldo storm out below:

It wasn’t an isolated moment, either. Footage also caught a separate incident in which Ronaldo turned away and began taking questions from another journalist the second Messi’s name was mentioned again.

The Messi-Ronaldo Rivalry Rumbles on

Ronaldo’s reluctance to engage with Messi’s name is hardly surprising given the pair’s rivalry has defined the past two decades of football.

Both men have continued to add to their World Cup legacies in 2026, with Messi netting five times in Argentina’s opening two fixtures and Ronaldo now level with the conversation after his double against Uzbekistan moved him clear of Eusebio as Portugal’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament.

The pair’s paths could yet cross before the tournament concludes, with both nations well-placed to progress through the knockout stages now that Portugal recovered from their initial stumble so emphatically.

A potential meeting between Argentina and Portugal in the knockout rounds could be the last chapter in a rivalry that has shaped a generation of football, even if Ronaldo seems keen to keep the focus away from fuelling the debate further.

Tottenham are showing interest in a Premier League striker this summer, according to TeamTalk, as focus shifts to potential signings up front.

The change in direction follows the Lilywhites bolstering their defence, with three signings already confirmed to help tighten up a leaky backline for next season.

The midfield is a problem area, with Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes viewed as ideal potential candidates to fill the void, and then there’s the forward areas.

Tottenham are keen on wingers, with Cody Gakpo and Savinho emerging as options, but they may not be the only arrivals in the forward areas.

Strikers are being considered, and there’s a World Cup ace on the club’s radar.

Tottenham Linked With Brian Brobbey Transfer

As links continue to emerge over potential transfer options, TeamTalk reports that Sunderland and Netherlands striker Brian Brobbey is being monitored by Tottenham.

The report claims that Spurs have been tracking the 24-year-old before he made the move to the Black Cats, and retain an interest in him to this day.

The former Ajax star, who is ‘an absolute freak of a number nine’ according to one analyst on X, is attracting interest beyond North London as well, however, as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Aston Villa have all been credited with admiration for the striker.

Brobbey, who scored seven goals in 31 appearances last season, is under contract at Sunderland until 2029, and the club currently has no interest in facilitating a sale just one-year on from signing him.

There is no price set on the centre-forward, though the report does suggest that an offer could yet test their resolve in the market.

It remains to be seen whether any club will step forward, with his World Cup performance so far suggesting that he has plenty more to offer in the future.

Ronald Koeman handed Brobbey his first start in the tournament against Sweden, where he bagged two goals and ran the defence ragged with his relentless physical ability, and showed why he has been described as “excellent”.

It showed exactly what Tottenham could have, and what the side are currently lacking in the forward areas.

Tottenham Need Striker Presence

via Reuters

Tottenham have lacked a lot of things in the past few seasons, but since the exit of Harry Kane, the lack of presence up front has been noticeable.

Dominic Solanke was signed as the replacement, but a mixture of injuries and just a general lack of impact means he is still trying to get his Spurs career off the ground.

Richarlison is inconsistent at best. He can put himself about, but rarely in a way that will hold up the ball and bring others into play like Roberto De Zerbi would want.

So, therefore, a move in the transfer market for someone who does all of that makes total sense. Brobbey has his flaws, and would certainly be a work in progress, but he has shown good glimpses in the past six months of what he can do.

Whether he’d be the perfect fit for what Tottenham would want right now remains to be seen. But he would certainly add something the team has been lacking.