World Cup Schedule, June 28: The Round of 32 begins!

The knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 is about to begin! Before that, however, the match between Austria and Algeria will conclude the group stage.

An overview of the schedule for June 28:

Schedule, June 28 (CEST):

9:00 PM: South Africa - Canada (LIVE Ticker >>>)

• World Cup co-hosts Canada will play a knockout match at a World Cup for the first time in their history and could therefore make history with their first knockout victory.

• It is already historic that Canada is the first World Cup host not to play in its own country. The match will take place in Los Angeles.

• South Africa will also play a knockout match at a World Cup for the very first time and, just like Canada, could secure their first knockout victory on Sunday.

Schedule, June 29 (CEST):

7:00 PM: Brazil - Japan (LIVE Ticker >>>)

• Record World Cup winners Brazil, with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, are aiming for their sixth title. In the top match of Group C, the South Americans started with a 1-1 draw against Morocco, followed by two 3-0 victories against Haiti and Scotland.

• Japan remained undefeated in the group stage. A 2-2 draw against the Netherlands was followed by a 4-0 win over Tunisia, but in their last group match against Sweden, they only managed a 1-1 draw. Nevertheless, Japan is considered a dark horse.

• For Japan, a victory over Brazil would be their first win in a World Cup knockout round. So far, their journey has always ended in the Round of 16.

• In 14 previous matches against each other, Japan has only managed to win once against the "Selecao". However, that was in their last encounter in October (2-3).

10:30 PM: Germany - Paraguay (LIVE Ticker >>>)

• Germany is the clear favorite in this match – but has not quite hit their stride in this tournament so far. After a 7-1 win against Curacao, the Nagelsmann squad faltered, narrowly beating Ivory Coast (2-1), but suffering a defeat against Ecuador (1-2).

• Paraguay made it to the Round of 32 as a third-placed team in their group – and has not yet appeared as a goal-scoring machine. A 1-4 defeat against co-host USA was followed by a narrow 1-0 victory with ten men against Turkey, and they concluded with a goalless draw against Australia.

• Germany and Paraguay will play each other for only the third time. Previous record: A 1-0 German victory at the 2002 World Cup and a 3-3 draw in a 2013 friendly match.

• Paraguay is in a knockout stage for the first time since the 2010 World Cup. Back then, they were eliminated by eventual champions Spain.

World Cup 2026: These are the Round of 32 matchups >>>