Ebola-hit DR Congo lead minnows into World Cup knockout stages
Multiple first-time qualifiers including an Ebola-disrupted DR Congo, Cape Verde and Bosnia and Herzegovina have reached the expanded 48-team tournament's last 32, with the US, Canada and Mexico all still alive as hosts.
Underdogs rewrite the script
DR Congo's World Cup preparations were upended by an Ebola outbreak that killed more than 300 people, forcing the cancellation of a training camp in Kinshasa. The squad spent three weeks in quarantine in Belgium before finally arriving in the US, yet they defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 to reach the knockouts for the first time. They now face England in Atlanta on July 1.
Cape Verde, ranked 67th in the world, ground out three group-stage draws against Spain, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to advance. Some of the island nation's players were recruited on LinkedIn and others are without clubs; they will confront Lionel Messi and Argentina in Miami. Bosnia and Herzegovina, who beat four-time champions Italy in the play-offs, progressed after a 3-1 victory over Qatar and will meet the US in San Francisco.
Seven nations made their knockout debuts: South Africa, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Canada, Cape Verde, Bosnia and Herzegovina and DR Congo. Iran's campaign ended agonisingly when a 96th-minute winner against Egypt was ruled offside, allowing Algeria to snatch the final spot.
Round of 32 schedule at a glance
The knockout phase opens on 28 June with South Africa vs Canada in Los Angeles, followed by a packed programme spread across 10 American cities plus Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City and Monterrey.
- South Africa vs Canada, Los Angeles
- Brazil vs Japan, Houston; Germany vs Paraguay, Boston; Netherlands vs Morocco, Monterrey
- Ivory Coast vs Norway, Dallas; France vs Sweden, New York/New Jersey; Mexico vs Ecuador, Mexico City
- England vs DR Congo, Atlanta; Belgium vs Senegal, Seattle; USA vs Bosnia, San Francisco
- Spain vs Austria, Los Angeles; Portugal vs Croatia, Toronto; Switzerland vs Algeria, Vancouver
- Australia vs Egypt, Dallas; Argentina vs Cape Verde, Miami
Among the headline ties: Brazil vs Japan rematch in Houston, the Netherlands against a Morocco side that reached the 2022 semi-finals in Monterrey, Erling Haaland's Norway testing an Ivory Coast defence that conceded zero goals in 10 qualifiers, and a France vs Sweden clash pitting Arsenal teammates William Saliba and Viktor Gyokeres against each other. Host nation Mexico face Ecuador at the Azteca, while hosts Canada and the US play South Africa and Bosnia respectively.
Power rankings after the group stage
France remain the team to beat after Kylian Mbappé surpassed Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup goal tally and Ousmane Dembélé struck a hat-trick against Norway. Argentina's 39-year-old Messi scored six goals, including a record seventh consecutive World Cup match with a goal, though he missed one penalty.
- France
- 0 places
- Argentina
- 2 places
- Spain
- -1 places
- Netherlands
- 9 places
- Brazil
- -1 places
- Colombia
- 15 places
The Netherlands surged nine places after inserting Brian Brobbey as the outright number nine.
Brian's quality is so strong. We've seen it obviously throughout the whole year in the Premier League. If he has you pinned up, you can't get the ball.
Spain lost their opener 0-0 to Cape Verde but recovered; Lamine Yamal injected verve. Brazil leaned heavily on Vinícius Júnior, who netted four times in the group stage. Colombia jumped 15 places, the biggest mover inside the top 10.
What's next
The round of 16 runs from 4 to 7 July. With Lionel Messi still firing and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal facing Luka Modric's Croatia, a dream final between the two ageing superstars remains a mathematical possibility.
