World Cup 2026 Part 4: Round of 32 Quiz

Answer: South Africa Nil

This was Canada's first appearance in a World Cup playoff. This was achieved only three weeks after they had won their first-ever World Cup match. They won their second-ever World Cup match and first-ever playoff win when they scored a goal deep into stoppage time to beat South Africa (also appearing in their first World Cup playoff game), 1-0.

Answer: Japan 1

Japan, ranked 18th, played Brazil, ranked fifth. Japan scored midway through the first half. Brazil equalised in the second half, and it looked like it was going into extra time. However, Brazil potted the winner five minutes into stoppage time, making the final score 2-1. Brazil moved on; Japan were eliminated.

Answer: Germany 1

Paraguay surprised Germany with a goal just before halftime, but soon after the break, Germany equalised. That was the end of scoring, even after 30 minutes of extra time.

In a penalty shootout, Germany went first but failed to convert two of their first four shots. Paraguay missed the fourth and fifth to make it 3-3 after five shots each. However, Germany missed on the sixth, but Paraguay scored, making it 4-3 to Paraguay. Germany, ranked ninth, had been eliminated by Paraguay, ranked 39th.

Answer: Netherlands 1

The Netherlands looked like they were going to defeat Morocco 1-0 with a second-half goal, but Morocco equalised in stoppage time. Extra time yielded no addition to the score, so the match went to penalties. It was a case of who missed the least. Netherlands could only manage 2 goals from their five shots, but Morocco only missed two. Morocco, ranked 11th, had eliminated the team ranked seventh.

Answer: Ecuador 0

Mexico scored two first-half goals against Ecuador and hung on to win 2-0, to go through to the Round of 16. For Mexico, it was some sort of redemption for their poor 2022 campaign, where they were eliminated at the group stage whilst before that they had qualified for the Round of 16 in the previous eight campaigns. For Ecuador, who first qualified for the World Cup in 2002, playing in their fifth World Cup, they could not repeat their 2006 campaign where they made the last 16.

Answer: Sweden 0

Third-ranked France had no trouble dispatching Sweden, ranked 38th. France scored their first just before half-time, then potted two more in the second half to comfortably win 3-0. Mbappe had now scored six goals in this tournament after adding two to his tally from this match.

Answer: Bosnia and Herzegovina 0

Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked 64th, were no match for the USA (#14). The Americans peppered their opponent's goal relentlessly and were rewarded with a goal in each half to win 2-0. The Americans were through to the Round of 16 to match their 2022 campaign. Their opponents went one better than their only other World Cup appearance in 2014, when they were eliminated in the group stage.

Answer: Ivory Coast 1

This was an evenly matched contest: Norway, ranked 31st, had drawn Ivory Coast, ranked 33rd. Norway took a halftime lead, but Ivory Coast equalised in the 74th minute. Erling Haaland, who had been benched in the key group match against France, scored the winner in the 86th minute.

It was Haaland's fifth goal in three matches. Norway moved on to the Round of 16; Ivory Coast were eliminated.

Answer: DR Congo 1

Democratic Republic of the Congo were drawn against the fourth-ranked England. DRC surprised England with an early goal in the seventh minute. Kane equalised in the 75th minute and then scored again in the 86th minute to seal it. DRC had reached their highest position in the World Cup. This was only the second time they had played in a World Cup tournament. Previously, playing as Zaire, in 1974, they lost all three group matches, not scoring a goal and conceding eighteen.

Answer: Senegal 2

Another clash of two highly ranked teams: Belgium at nine, Senegal at 15. Senegal scored twice, a goal in each half, to lead 2-0 with only four minutes of regular time left on the clock. Belgium scored two themselves in the 86th and 89th to send the match into extra time, and then scored the winner with a penalty at 120+5min.

Answer: Austria 0

Second-ranked Spain met Austria, ranked 24th, for the 17th time and the first meeting since 2009, when Spain won 5-1. Spain went on the attack from the start and Cucurella had a goal disallowed early, but Oyarzabal scored his first goal in the 36th minute to take a 1-0 Spanish first-half lead. Porro made it 2-0 with a 66th-minute goal, then Oyarzabal scored his second in the 89th minute to wrap it up, 3-0.

This was Spain's first knockout win since the 2010 World Cup Final, where they defeated the Netherlands 1-0.

Answer: Croatia 1

These two teams had met 10 times before this match, the last a 1-1 draw in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League A. Portugal (ranked 5) had won 7 of those matches against Croatia (ranked 11). After a scoreless first half, Croatia scored in the 51st minute. The lead did not last long, as Portugal was awarded a penalty in the 68th minute, which was scored by Ronaldo. Ramos then scored for Portugal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, sealing the win 2-1.

Answer: Algeria 0

Switzerland ranked 19th; Algeria ranked 28th. The two sides had only met twice before, with Switzerland winning both times. Switzerland scored early in the tenth minute, but then a hard grind for the rest of the half saw no further scoring. However, after the halftime break, it only took 46 seconds for Ndoye to score from inside the box after an Algerian defensive lapse from the kickoff.

This was Switzerland's first knockout win in the World Cup since 1938.

Answer: Australia 1

Egypt ranked 29th scored early via a 13th-minute header against 27th-ranked Australia in the Round of 32 match. Australia pressured Egypt but could not break through until the 55th minute, when, from an Australian corner, an own goal from a melee around the subsequent congestion around the net made the score 1-1.

Despite extra time, the score remained the same. Ijn the penalty shoot-out, the substitute Australian keeper was unable to save any of the four shots, whereas the Australians sent two shots over the crossbar. Egypt had won their first knockout win of a World Cup on penalties, 4-2.

Answer: Cape Verde 2

This was a David and Goliath game when top-ranked Argentina played the 67th-ranked debutantes, Cape Verde. Lionel Messi scored his seventh goal of the tournament to give the Argentinians a 1-0 halftime lead, but the world took notice when Cape Verde equalised in the 59th minute.

It looked like that would be the final score until Argentina potted one in the second minute of stoppage time, but Cape Verde were not afraid of their opponents and equalised again before the end of stoppage time. However, Argentina were able to score from a corner two minutes later, for a final score of 3-2, which ended a frenetic last 15 minutes.

Answer: Ghana 0

Ghana, ranked 72nd, had done well to reach the Round of 32 but had a daunting prospect to try to beat 13th-ranked Colombia. The two teams had never played each other before in any competition. The South Americans scored early in the 14th minute and then hung on to win in what was a dour match.

The final 16 had been decided with seven European, four South American, three North American and two African teams remaining to progress to the Round of 16.