The Round of 32 is done: a wild first knockout round that buried two giants and gave us Cape Verde
What a round. The very first knockout stage of this expanded World Cup — the brand new Round of 32 that didn't even exist in previous tournaments — has come and gone, and it delivered absolute chaos from start to finish. Penalty shootouts, extra-time epics, world champions on the ropes, and two of the biggest names in football sent home before the last 16. I've been glued to every single game and I need to talk through all of it, because this round had more drama packed into it than some entire tournaments.
Let me go through what actually happened, game by game, because almost every one of these had a story worth telling.
The giants who fell: Germany and the Netherlands, both on penalties
Let's start with the two results that shook the tournament.
Germany 1-1 Paraguay (3-4 pens). The four-time world champions are OUT. Paraguay took them all the way to penalties and held their nerve to win the shootout 4-3. For Paraguay this is enormous — their first Round of 16 since 2010, after failing to even qualify for the last three World Cups. For Germany, it's a disaster. They'd already looked shaky losing to Ecuador in the group stage, and now they've gone out in the very first knockout round. A giant buried early.
Netherlands 1-1 Morocco (2-3 pens). And the second European heavyweight to fall. Morocco beat the Dutch on penalties, 3-2 in the shootout, continuing exactly the kind of giant-killing they made their trademark in 2022. This is the third World Cup Morocco have reached the last 16, and after their semi-final run last time, nobody should be shocked anymore — but the Netherlands, with all that talent, going out this early is still a massive result.
Two of the tournament favourites, both eliminated in the same round, both on penalties. That's the kind of carnage this Round of 32 produced.
The extra-time epics
Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde. I've written a whole separate piece about this one because it deserved it, but the short version: the tiny archipelago nation, ranked 67th, at their first ever World Cup, took the defending champions to extra time and equalized against them TWICE before finally going out. Messi opened the scoring, Deroy Duarte levelled, Lisandro Martínez put Argentina ahead in extra time, and then Sidny Lopes Cabral — a defender — curled in a stunning equalizer in the 103rd minute. Argentina only won it through a late own goal. Vozinha, the Cape Verde keeper, made eight saves. The Blue Sharks went home as legends and the whole neutral world fell in love with them.
Portugal 2-1 Croatia. My team, and the game that took ten years off my life. Perišić put Croatia ahead, Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot for his first-ever World Cup knockout goal, and then Gonçalo Ramos headed home a Leão cross in the 94th minute to win it. Croatia even had a stoppage-time equalizer ruled out by VAR. It ended Modrić's final World Cup and sent Portugal through in the ugliest, most dramatic way possible.
USA 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina (AET). The co-hosts needed extra time to see off a stubborn Bosnia side, but they got there in the end, riding the wave of home support into the last 16. A relief for the tournament organizers, who badly wanted the USA to go deep.
England 2-1 DR Congo (AET). And here's one of the stories of the round. DR Congo — who'd frustrated Portugal in the group stage and reached the knockouts for the first time since 1974 — took England to extra time and led at one point. It needed a Harry Kane brace in the second half to complete a comeback and rescue England, who once again looked far from convincing. Congo went home with their heads high after a genuinely brilliant tournament.
Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt won on pens). Salah dragged Egypt through a penalty shootout thriller. Emam Ashour scored early, a second-half own goal levelled it, and after extra time settled nothing, Egypt held their nerve to win 4-2 on penalties. Salah leads Egypt into the last 16 and Australia are left asking hard questions after their exit.
The favourites who took care of business
France 3-0 Sweden. Ruthless. France look ominous — they dismantled Sweden and are cruising, chasing a third straight World Cup final. Right now they might be the most complete team left in the tournament.
Spain 3-0 Austria. Spain's most dominant performance yet. Lamine Yamal, at 18, is playing like the best footballer at the whole World Cup, and Spain are starting to look like genuine contenders with a clear identity and rhythm.
Brazil 2-1 Japan. A proper scare, this one. Japan led and Brazil had to come from behind, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring the winner deep in stoppage time. It's the 11th consecutive World Cup that Brazil have reached the last 16, but Japan pushed them all the way and will feel they deserved more.
Belgium 3-2 Senegal. A five-goal thriller. Belgium edged a dangerous Senegal side in one of the more entertaining games of the round.
Mexico 2-0 Ecuador. The co-hosts, who'd won their group with a perfect nine points, brushed aside the same Ecuador team that stunned Germany in the group stage. The Azteca is rocking and Mexico look like a team enjoying their home tournament.
Norway 2-1 Ivory Coast. Haaland struck late to send Norway through in an epic. The big man delivered exactly when it mattered, setting up a monster tie next.
The rest
South Africa 0-1 Canada. Canada became the first team to book their place in the last 16, edging South Africa. The co-hosts keep rolling.
Switzerland and Colombia both came through their ties to complete the sixteen.
What this round told us
A few big takeaways as the dust settles.
The 48-team format was supposed to give the big teams an easier ride. Instead, this Round of 32 has been an absolute bloodbath for the traditional powers. Germany — gone. The Netherlands — gone. And several others pushed to the absolute brink: Argentina needed extra time and an own goal to survive Cape Verde, England needed a Kane brace and extra time to beat Congo, Brazil needed a stoppage-time winner against Japan. The gap between the giants and everyone else has never looked smaller.
The debutants and outsiders were the soul of this round. Cape Verde's near-miss against Argentina. Congo taking England to extra time. Morocco dumping out the Netherlands. Paraguay burying Germany. The expanded format gave these teams a stage, and they seized it in a way that made the whole tournament richer.
And the drama — my goodness, the drama. Penalty shootouts, extra-time equalizers, VAR calls, stoppage-time winners. I complained about this format for two years. I was wrong. This Round of 32 was one of the most entertaining stretches of football I can remember.
Sixteen teams left now. The Round of 16 is set and it's loaded with mouthwatering ties. But before we look forward, this Round of 32 deserved a proper send-off. It gave us everything. Giants fell, minnows soared, and football — as it always does — reminded us exactly why we can't look away.