The Round of 16 rages on at the 2026 men’s World Cup

The GIST: And just like that, the Round of 16 is nearly over. Here are the highlights from the long weekend, plus a look at the final three games before the quarter-finals (QF) begin on Thursday.

🫁 It was no oxygen, no problem for England in their stunning, hard-fought 3–2 win over Mexico last night thanks to midfielder Jude Bellingham’s two goals in less than 100 seconds. Prior to this game, Mexico hadn’t conceded a goal all tournament and had never lost a WC game at the Azteca. An instant classic.

👻 Norwegian striker Erling Haaland also scored twice in a massive upset to send Brazil packing in the Vikings’ 2–1 victory yesterday. Snapchat is about to go off.

📅 On Saturday, three second-half goals pushed Morocco past co-hosts Canada to set up a QF date with France, who held on 1–0 to survive an ugly game against Paraguay. Revenge match, loading.

📺 Don’t touch that remote — the QFs will be set after the following games. Here’s a quick primer:

• 🇵🇹 Portugal vs. 🇪🇸 Spain — Today at 3 p.m. ET: If Portugal loses to WC favorite Spain, this will be superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s last WC match ever, inking his name on the long list of football greats who never won the game’s greatest prize.

• 🇦🇷 Argentina vs. 🇪🇬 Egypt — Tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET: Lionel Messi’s Argentinian squad has never looked more vulnerable after their narrow win over Cabo Verde — perhaps confident Egypt will be the African squad to take down the defending champs.

• 🇨🇭 Switzerland vs. 🇨🇴 Colombia — Tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET: Undefeated Colombia’s defense has only conceded one goal the entire tourney, but the Swiss have holes in their cheese a fire in their belly after their first WC knockout win in 88 years.