The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, is the first to expand to 48 teams — and that expansion created a brand-new stage of the tournament: the Round of 32.
A new knockout round
In past World Cups, the group stage fed directly into a Round of 16. This time, 32 nations advance from the groups into a first knockout round of 16 matches, played across North America from June 28 through July 3, before the field narrows to the familiar Round of 16, Al Jazeera reported. It is, in effect, an extra elimination round that simply did not exist before.
Who made it through
The 32 qualifiers include the group winners and runners-up plus the eight best third-place teams, Yahoo Sports reported. Among them are the heavyweights — Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal — along with the three host nations (the United States, Mexico and Canada) and a clutch of teams enjoying breakout runs, such as Cape Verde. The expanded format widened the door: several smaller nations reached the knockouts for the first time as best third-place finishers, including DR Congo, Cape Verde and Ghana.
When Los Angeles gets its matches
For Angelenos, two Round of 32 games are on the calendar at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood:
- June 28 — South Africa vs. Canada, opening the knockout stage on day one.
- July 2 — Spain vs. Austria, with Spain among the tournament favorites.
Both are expected to draw big, boisterous crowds to Inglewood, in keeping with the full houses SoFi has hosted throughout the group stage.
What's next
The Round of 32 runs daily through July 3, with matches spread across host cities from Vancouver and Seattle to Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and the New York area, as well as the Mexican venues. The winners advance to the Round of 16, which follows in early July; the exact dates and bracket will firm up as results come in. For now, the message for Los Angeles soccer fans is simple: the knockout rounds are here, and SoFi has two of the first tickets in town.
