World Cup knockout bracket: Updated schedule, results for 2026 FIFA quarterfinal games

The World Cup is now getting very serious, as the tournament is down to the final eight teams.

The Round of 16 featured several thrilling matches, with teams like Argentina and England escaping with wins while Brazil and Mexico bowed out of the tournament. Now, each match carries a different level of importance, as every team remaining believes it can win it all.

The expanded World Cup asks teams to navigate a more grueling tournament, and this is the point that will truly test the players' mentality. With spots in the semifinals on the line, teams will need to dig deep to find a way to beat a strong opponent,

Here's how the quarterfinal schedule looks and how each match impacts the tournament overall,

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World Cup bracket 2026

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World Cup quarterfinal schedule

Here's a look at the schedule for the quarterfinal round of the World Cup:

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World Cup bracket quarterfinal

The World Cup quarterfinal bracket is split into two halves, as one team from each side of the bracket will end up in the World Cup final. One side of the bracket will lead to a finalist among the following:

• France (Group I winner; elim. Sweden in RO32, Paraguay in RO16)
• Morocco (Group C runner-up; elim. Netherlands in RO32, Canada in RO16)
• Spain (Group H winner; elim. Austria in RO32, Portugal in RO16)
• Belgium (Group G winner; elim. Senegal in RO32, United States in RO16)

The other side of the bracket will lead to a finalist among these teams:

• England (Group L winner; elim. DR Congo in RO32, Mexico in RO16)
• Norway (Group I runner-up; elim. Ivory Coast in RO32, Brazil in RO16)
• Argentina (Group J winner; elim. Cape Verde in RO32, Egypt in RO16)
• Switzerland (Group B winner; elim. Algeria in RO32, Colombia in RO16)

MORE: Updated World Cup Golden Boot rankings

Teams in quarterfinal

Here is how each team secured its place in the quarterfinal round:

How does quarterfinal work in World Cup?

The quarterfinal round of the World Cup is the third round in the knockout stage, with teams determining who moves on to play in the semifinals.

The bracket is single-elimination, so the loser of each match is eliminated from the World Cup. If the match is tied after 90 minutes, the two sides continue competing until a winner is determined. At the end of the matches, four teams will be remaining in the tournament.

What happens if knockout matches finish tied?

Every knockout match that is tied after 90 minutes goes to extra time. In that situation, teams will play two 15-minute halves, with the team leading after 30 minutes being declared the winner. However, if the match is still tied at that point, then the two sides head to a penalty kick shootout.

For penalty kicks, each team chooses five players to take the kick, and the team with the most goals after five rounds wins the match. If the PKs are tied after five rounds, an extra round is added until one side ends up with more goals in the shootout.

How teams advance in World Cup

Group Stage

During the Group Stage, teams were separated into 12 groups of four teams, with each team playing three matches. After that set of matches finished, the top two teams in each group automatically advanced and were placed into the knockout stage bracket.

Additionally, eight of the 12 teams that finished in third place also advanced to the bracket stage of the tournament. Those teams were determined by the eight teams that finished the group stage with the most points among third-place finishers.

Knockout Rounds

The knockout rounds of the World Cup simply involves teams playing to see who advances in the bracket. Every match, the two teams play to determine a winner, with the loser automatically being eliminated from the World Cup.