The 2026 FIFA World Cup has entered its knockout stage, with the expanded Round of 32 giving fans one of the most unpredictable brackets in tournament history.

After a dramatic group stage, several traditional powers advanced as expected, including Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, England, Portugal and the Netherlands. But the biggest story is not only who made it through — it is also who shocked the world by surviving the group stage, and who surprisingly went home early.

One of the biggest surprises is Cape Verde, which reached the knockout stage in its World Cup debut and was drawn against defending champion Argentina. Al Jazeera described Cape Verde’s qualification as one of the standout stories of the tournament, while Indian Express also listed Argentina vs Cape Verde as one of the key Round of 32 fixtures.

African teams have also delivered a strong tournament. Reports noted that nine of Africa’s ten representatives advanced to the knockout stage, with countries such as Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria, DR Congo, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde helping make this one of Africa’s strongest World Cup showings.

The host nations also survived the group stage. Canada, Mexico and the United States all advanced, keeping local interest alive across North America. Canada even became the first team to reach the last 16 after defeating South Africa in the Round of 32.

There were also major disappointments. Uruguay was one of the biggest names to exit early, failing to survive Group H. South Korea, Scotland, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Tunisia and Czechia were also eliminated in the group stage, showing how unforgiving the expanded format can still be.

Germany’s campaign also ended in shock after Paraguay advanced on penalties in the Round of 32. That result immediately became one of the first major upsets of the knockout stage and showed that reputation no longer guarantees survival.

The new 48-team World Cup format has created a larger and more open knockout bracket. It gives smaller nations a better chance to reach the global stage, but also increases the pressure on traditional football powers, who now face more dangerous matchups earlier than before.

For fans, the message is simple: the real tournament starts now. Every mistake can end a World Cup dream, and every underdog now has one match to change history.