By Bilal Ahmed
The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage continues on Monday with three more round of 32 fixtures. Brazil, Germany, and the Netherlands are all set to compete, aiming to advance to the last 16 and join Canada, who have already secured their spot.
The day’s matches will see Brazil face Japan, Germany take on Paraguay, and the Netherlands meet Morocco. These games are crucial as teams look to progress further in the tournament.
Monday’s key matchups
The action begins with Brazil against Japan at Houston Stadium in Texas. This match is scheduled for 12 noon (17:00 GMT). Brazil, five-time champions, have historically dominated this fixture, winning 11 of their 14 previous encounters and losing only once. Their sole World Cup meeting 20 years ago resulted in a 4-1 victory for Brazil.
However, Japan enters this match with confidence, having recently ended Brazil‘s long unbeaten run against them with a 3-2 comeback win in Tokyo last October. Despite this, the Opta supercomputer predicts Brazil as the favourites, giving them a 57.3 percent chance of winning within 90 minutes, compared to Japan‘s 19.7 percent.
The second match of the day features Germany against Paraguay at Boston Stadium in Massachusetts, kicking off at 4:30pm (20:30 GMT). Germany is looking to advance beyond the group stage for the first time since their 2014 triumph. They have faced Paraguay only twice before, including a last-16 match in the 2002 World Cup and a 3-3 draw in a 2013 friendly.
The Opta supercomputer also favours Germany to progress, assigning them a 54.7 percent chance of winning in normal time, while Paraguay has a 23.1 percent chance. Germany also has a 78.6 percent chance of reaching the round of 16 and a 4.4 percent probability of winning the World Cup.
The final match of Monday’s schedule is between the Netherlands and Morocco at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico, set for 7pm (01:00 GMT on Tuesday). This marks only the second World Cup encounter between these two nations, with the Netherlands winning their 1994 group stage match 2-1.
The Netherlands has a strong record against African opposition in the World Cup, remaining unbeaten in six such matches and scoring at least twice in each victory. This will be their first knockout match against an African team. Morocco, coming off a win against Scotland, aims for consecutive World Cup victories over European opponents.
The Opta supercomputer gives the Netherlands the edge, with a 47.6 percent chance of winning within 90 minutes, while Morocco has a 25.0 percent chance of progressing.
Other tournament developments
Away from Monday’s fixtures, Canada celebrated a significant milestone, achieving their first-ever World Cup knockout stage victory. Their dramatic stoppage-time win over South Africa secured their place in the last 16, a historic moment for the co-hosts.
Meanwhile, Iran‘s World Cup campaign concluded with a dramatic elimination, missing out on the knockout stage by a narrow margin. The team’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, attributed their exit to extraordinary misfortune, citing three goals disallowed by VAR.
In other news, South Korea‘s head coach, Hong Myung-bo, resigned following the team’s group-stage elimination. His resignation came amidst criticism from President Lee Jae-myung, who ordered a review of the national team program after their disappointing performance.
The Brazil versus Japan match will be broadcast on FOX.
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Source: aljazeera.com
