Who will play in the World Cup knockout round matches in Arlington?
With the World Cup whittling down from 48 teams to 32 teams after an exciting group stage slate, the first two knockout round matches in Arlington are set.
On Tuesday, June 30, Ivory Coast will take on Norway with kickoff set at 12 p.m. in Arlington. On Friday, July 3, Australia will take on Egypt with kickoff set at 1 p.m. in Arlington.
Ivory Coast arrives after a successful group stage slate that saw “The Elephants” secure wins over Ecuador and Curaçao along with securing an upset draw against world power Germany. The squad is led by 19-year-old rising star Yan Diomande of Red Bull Leipzig. While he is still searching for his first World Cup goal, he did record an assist in a 2-0 win over Curaçao on June 25.
Norway makes its way to Arlington after finishing second in arguably the toughest group in the tournament. Despite a 4-1 loss to France in a match where Norway rested most of its stars, wins over defending African champions Senegal (3-2) and Iraq (4-1) secured a second-place finish in Group I. The squad is led by one of the best strikers in the world, 6-foot-4 Erling Haaland of Manchester City. In just two matches in the tournament, Haaland has scored four goals.
Australia is in the knockout round for the second consecutive World Cup and just the third time in the history of the “Socceroos”. Despite a 2-0 loss to the United States on June 19, Australia was able to secure the second-place spot in Group D after a 2-0 win over Türkiye and a 0-0 draw against Paraguay.
Egypt barely escaped the group stage after a controversial disallowed goal in its final match against Iran paved the way for a 1-1 draw on Friday night and a spot into the Round of 32. The result followed a 1-1 draw to Belgium and a 3-1 win over New Zealand earlier in the tournament. The squad is led by veteran 34-year-old Mohamed Salah who has scored one goal and assisted on two more scores for “The Pharaohs”.
What countries could come to Arlington later in the tournament?
After the Round of 32, only two matches remain at AT&T Stadium in the 2026 World Cup: one in the Round of 16 and one semifinal.
Since not all Round of 32 matches are set, as of Saturday morning, the Round of 16 matchup possibilities are a bit more extensive. As the standings show on Saturday morning ahead of the final six group stage matches, the winner of Portugal and Ghana will face the winner of Spain and Austria. Of the four teams, Spain is the only one confirmed to be playing in one of those matches. If all goes as is, a potential Portugal-Spain showdown could come to AT&T Stadium in what could be Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup match of his career.
The confirmed possible teams in the semifinal include Germany, Paraguay, France, Sweden, South Africa, Canada, Netherlands, Morocco, Spain, United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belgium. There are four spots still up for grabs on that half of the World Cup bracket.
This article will be updated when the matchups are confirmed in the knockout rounds.
