World Cup teams always have one eye on today and another on the future, and United States men’s national team fans are feeling this keenly after their men sealed Group D with a match still to play Thursday against Turkiye.
Who could they play in the next round? Well, we officially know the identity of their foe, as Bosnia and Herzegovina will play the Yanks in the Round of 32.
Below we will update the current knockout round match-ups in a semi-live bracket situation. Since this involves doing the math on the 495 different permutations for the third-place teams, please note the “last update” times in the heading because it takes some work.
This will change often as will the fortunes of the USMNT. The U.S. had a pretty nice path ahead of them on Saturday, then by Sunday could’ve been looking at Mo Salah and Lamine Yamal as opponents over the next three rounds.
MORE — Daily schedule for 2026 World Cup
Yeah, hopefully the next few days are a bit better to them.
Read on....
2026 World Cup knockout rounds match-ups if they started now (last update: 1am ET Saturday, June 27)
Round of 32 match projections
Nations with an * are set.
*South Africa vs *Canada — Sunday, June 28: Match 73 - Runner up Group A vs Runner up Group B - SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles - 3pm ET
*Brazil vs *Japan — Monday, June 29: Match 76 - Winner Group C vs Runner up Group F - NRG Stadium, Houston - 1pm ET
*Germany vs Paraguay (3D) — Monday, June 29: Match 74 - Winner Group E vs 3rd Group A/B/C/D/F - Gillette Stadium, Boston - 4:30pm ET
*Netherlands vs *Morocco — Monday, June 29: Match 75 - Winner Group F vs Runner up Group C - Estadio BBVA, Monterrey - 9pm ET
*Ivory Coast vs *Norway — Tuesday, June 30: Match 78 - Runner up Group E vs Runner up Group I - AT&T Stadium, Dallas - 1pm ET
*France vs Sweden (3F) — Tuesday, June 30: Match 77 - Winner Group I vs 3rd Group C/D/F/G/H - MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey - 5pm ET
*Mexico vs Ecuador (3E) — Tuesday, June 30: Match 79 - Winner Group A vs 3rd Group C/E/F/H/I - Estadio Azteca, Mexico City - 9pm ET
England vs Senegal (3I) — Wednesday, July 1: Match 80 - Winner Group L vs 3rd Group E/H/I/J/K - Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta - 12pm ET
*Belgium vs South Korea (3A) — Wednesday, July 1: Match 82 - Winner Group G vs 3rd Group A/E/H/I/J - Lumen Field, Seattle - 4pm ET
*United States vs *Bosnia and Herzegovina (3B) — Wednesday, July 1: Match 81 - Winner Group D vs 3rd Group B/E/F/I/J - Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area - 8pm ET
*Spain vs Austria — Thursday, July 2: Match 84 - Winner Group H vs Runner up Group J - SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles - 3pm ET
Portugal vs Ghana — Thursday, July 2: Match 83 - Runner up Group K vs Runner up Group L - BMO Field, Toronto - 7pm ET
*Switzerland vs Iran (3G) — Thursday, July 2: Match 85 - Winner Group B vs 3rd Group E/F/G/I/J - BC Place, Vancouver - 11pm ET
*Australia vs *Egypt — Friday, July 3: Match 88 - Runner up Group D vs Runner up Group G - AT&T Stadium, Dallas - 2pm ET
Argentina vs *Cape Verde — Friday, July 3: Match 86 - Winner Group J vs Runner up Group H - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami - 6pm ET
Colombia vs Croatia (3L) — Friday, July 3: Match 87 - Winner Group K vs 3rd Group D/E/I/J/L - Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City - 9:30pm ET
Who are the USMNT’s current match-ups for knockout round opponents? (last update: 1am ET Saturday, June 27)
The Americans will play the third-place team from Group B in Match 81 for their Round of 32 fixture. That is... Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The winner of Match 81 plays the winner of Match 82 in the Round of 16. That game, Match 94, would currently see the Americans versus Belgium or South Korea.
The winner of Match 94 meets the winner of Match 93 in the quarterfinals for Match 98. The four teams who would currently contest that fixture are Portugal, Ghana, Austria, or Spain.
We’re not going further than for now, sickos.
