Preview

Jun

2026

Preview: Co-hosts USMNT go up against Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mauricio Pochettino’s US men’s national team face their first knockout match in a World Cup campaign that has so far exceeded expectations.

By Graham Ruthven

American dream

So far, so good for the US men’s national team. Comfortable wins over Paraguay and Australia gave Mauricio Pochettino the luxury of resting all but one (Weston McKennie) of his first-choice players for the dead rubber game against Türkiye in the belief that would help his team in the knockout rounds.

Now that the knockout rounds are here, the USA must keep up the energy and intensity they have shown to this point. That was key to Pochettino’s team making light work of Paraguay in their opening fixture and it will be key to their chances of breaking down Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia have never kept a clean sheet in any of their six World Cup matches to date, but the USA have lost seven of the eight knockout matches they have ever played in the World Cup. Indeed, the last knockout match they won at this level was all the way back in 2002.

The pressure is on the USA to make the round of 16. For Bosnia, though, this is something of a free hit having exceeded expectations to make it this far. This could make them dangerous opponents.

Key players

Christian Pulisic has played just 78 minutes at this World Cup so far due to injury, but could return to the USA lineup in time to face Bosnia. The AC Milan winger’s direct running and one-v-one threat could be crucial to the co-hosts breaking down their opponents.

McKennie has enjoyed a positive World Cup to date, giving the USA some creativity down the right side of the pitch where he can dovetail with Sergiño Dest as the high and wide player in Pochettino’s fluid system.

Folarin Balogun, however, is the USA’s primary attacking threat and will lead the line after being rested for the final group game against Türkiye. The Monaco forward offers potency in quick transition and is capable of creating his own shot in the box.

At the age of 40, Edin Džeko remains Bosnia and Herzegovina’s biggest physical threat in the penalty area with Ermedin Demirović expected to start alongside the former Manchester City forward as a second striker.

Esmir Bajraktarević will come up against the country of his birth with the Wisconsin-born winger a threat in the wide areas. RB Salzburg youngster Kerim Alajbegović is also worth keeping an eye on.

Team news

Pulisic’s calf injury seems to have cleared up, making it likely he will start on the left wing for the USA. While the co-hosts made do without the 27-year-old against Australia and Turkey, he remains their biggest attacking difference-maker.

Cristian Roldan will miss the match while Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty are also doubts for the round of 32 encounter in San Francisco.

Amar Dedić is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s only injury concern, otherwise the European qualifiers have a fully fit and available squad to choose from for the meeting with the co-hosts.

Prediction

The host nation should enough to edge past the European outsiders: USA 1-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Jun

2026

Preview: England prepare for Round of 32 date with DR Congo

England emerged from their group relatively unscathed, and they now embark upon the knockout phase of the competition against outsiders DR Congo.

By Ian King

DR Congo have already achieved a first by getting to the knockout stages

With one reasonably swashbuckling performance followed by two considerably more workmanlike ones, England have had a mixed start to the 2026 World Cup, but their results were good rough for them to top their group, and now they move on to face the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Round of 32.

DR Congo finished at the top of the group made up of third-placed qualifying teams, edging through to the knockout stage of the tournament with four points after drawing with Portugal, narrowly losing to Colombia and beating Uzbekistan, a win which marked their first ever win in the finals of a World Cup and their first ever progression beyond the group stage.

England’s are unbeaten against African teams at the World Cup

England have never lost to an African nation in the World Cup finals in nine previous meetings, but they’ve failed to win on four of those occasions, with draws against Morocco in 1986, Nigeria in 2002, Algeria in 2010 and Ghana in the group stages this summer. Their five wins against African nations include knockout matches against Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2018.

The only other time that DR Congo qualified for the World Cup finals came in 1974 as Zaire, and they were involved in the elimination of a British side that time. Beaten 9-0 by Yugoslavia, 2-0 by Scotland and 3-0 by Brazil, they were knocked out with room to spare, but Scotland’s relatively modest win against Zaire ended up costing them dear; they were eliminated on goal difference after they could only draw their final match against Yugoslavia when that huge discrepancy in goal difference meant that they needed to win.

England missed Declan Rice against Panama

England’s relatively tepid performance against Panama coincided with the absence from their team of Declan Rice with injury. The Arsenal captain delivered the cross from which Harry Kane scored in their opening match against Croatia, and talented though Rice’s replacement for the Panama match Elliot Anderson might be, Rice’s calming influence will be extremely welcome in their midfield, presuming he returns for this match.

Yoane Wissa of Newcastle United is DR Congo’s in-form attacker, with two goals in the group stages of the competition to help his team through. These were Wissa’s first goals for his country since he scored in their 3-2 loss to Senegal in a qualifying match in September 2025. He scored twice in their final match against Uzbekistan, a 61st-minute equaliser from the penalty spot, and then a stoppage-time goal to put the seal on their 3-1 win.

England are burning through right-backs at a rate of knots

With Declan Rice fit again, the big issue that Thomas Tuchel faces concerns the right-back position. With Reece James having got injured against Ghana, Jarell Quansah joined him on the treatment table with an ankle injury against Panama, and we can now expect Djed Spence to step in and fill that position. Fitness permitting, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford may continue on the flanks, though either or both of Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon could return.

The DR Congo head coach Sébastien Desabre has no injury or suspension concerns ahead of this match, so their biggest change is likely to be tactical. Needing a win against Uzbekistan, they switched to a more attacking 4-4-2 formation from the 5-3-2 they’d played against Portugal and Colombia, and they may revert to this more defensive formation for this match, with Steve Kapuadi returning to the centre of their defence and Brian Cipengua making way for him.

Complacency could be England’s biggest enemy against opponents who’ve already proved themselves in this tournament

The opening rounds of matches in this mammoth round of 32 have not been kind to European teams, with both the Netherlands and Germany having already been eliminated from the competition.

Will this run continue in this match, though? While England may be unbeaten against African nations in the World Cup finals, they’ve come close to losing before, and a couple of their wins came about as a result of a bit of good luck. With nine African qualifiers in the last 32, it should be considered absurd to under-estimate CAF nations in the knock-outs, but the sort of attitudes that lead to this happening can be deeply ingrained.

This match, then, is a test of England’s professionalism. Four years ago, they came through a similar one in the round of 16 against Senegal with a comfortable 3-0 win against a team arguably superior to their opponents this time around. But the hard work they made of grinding their way to a goalless draw against Ghana in the group stages indicates that this might not be as straightforward as some of the more complacent English pundits may presume.

With just two goals conceded in their three group matches, DR Congo proved themselves to be defensively solid against Portugal and Colombia, while their second half performance against Uzbekistan demonstrated their attacking chops, and switching formation for that final group match was proof of their tactical flexibility.

On paper this should be a comfortable win for England, but DR Congo are absolutely not to be written off, as a decent result against Portugal and a very narrow defeat to Colombia proved in the group stages. I’m going to go for Thomas Tuchel’s team to squeeze through by a 2-1 margin, but it may even take extra-time and some shredded nerves to get there.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Jun

2026

Preview: Formidable France ready for Swedish test in Round of 32

France’s procession through the group stages looked ominous for their rivals, but can they continue this run against a Sweden team who blew hot and cold?

By Ian King

France have been one of the strongest-looking teams so far

As runners-up four years ago and winners eight years ago, France were talked up as potential winners of this summer’s World Cup before it got underway, and there was little in their three group match performances to disavow this notion. Comfortable wins against Senegal, Iraq and Norway were enough to see them through with room to spare, with Ousmane Dembélé offering a timely reminder that their attacking options are far from limited to Kylian Mbappé alone with a stunning first half hat-trick in their final match against Norway.

*France are our top rated side at the finals*

Sweden had a somewhat less stately procession through the group stages. They looked set pretty fair after demolishing Tunisia 5-1 in their opening match, but undid most of this good work by losing their next match by the same scoreline to the Netherlands and eventually scrambled through as one of the third-placed teams following a 1-1 draw with Japan in their final group match. With their place in the World Cup play-offs having been determined by their Nations League performances, they’re already in the somewhat unusual position of having already won more matches in the finals than they did in their qualifying group (which was none).

France have never beaten Sweden in the finals of a major tournament

With twelve wins and five draws from their 23 meetings, France have the clear upper hand in the previous meetings between these two sides, but this hasn’t been the case when they’ve met in the finals of a major tournament.

This has only happened twice before, and both times in the European Championships rather than the World Cup. In 1992, the two teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Rasunda in Solna, and the group stage ended with Sweden going through to the semi-finals while France went home.

In 2012, when they met in Kyiv in their final group match, Sweden had already been eliminated and France were already through to the quarter-finals, but this didn’t prevent Sweden from winning the match 2-0.

The last time these two sides met was in the 2019/20 Nations League, and there was better news for France this time, as they recorded a 1-0 win in Stockholm and a 4-2 win in Paris in the return match.

France’s attacking options stretch beyond Mbappé and Dembélé

Mbappé and Dembélé may have scored eight of France’s ten goals between them so far in these finals, but their attacking options don’t end there. Bradley Barcola of PSG scored for them in their opening match against Senegal, but he’s been in and out of their first team recently, returning to the bench for the Norway match after starting against Iraq. Barcola can play on either wing, and may return to the starting XI for this match.

*France goal contributions at the World Cup*

Sweden’s most visible presence on the pitch at this tournament so far has been the Newcastle United winger Anthony Elanga, who scored in two of their group matches, including the crucial equaliser in their final match against Japan which sent them through to the knockout stage. With two strong performances behind him after having missed out on their opening win against Tunisia, Elanga’s support for striker Viktor Gyökeres could be crucial for Graham Potter, if his team are to edge through this match.

Sweden have to reshuffle following a serious injury to Isak Hien

The biggest change for France for this match will come on the sidelines rather than on the pitch. The death of his mother required Didier Deschamps to return to France for her funeral, but Deschamps is now back with his team, with Guy Stephan having taken control of the team for the Norway match.

France have no suspensions, and Stephan didn’t rock the boat too much for his game in charge, opting to stick with Mbappé, Dembélé and Desiré Doué, while replacing Bradley Barcola with Michael Olise. Elsewhere, William Saliba may return after missing the Norway match with a back problem, though his appearance remains uncertain.

Sweden have no suspensions, but they do have one injury. Defender Isak Hien had to be withdrawn after 37 minutes of the Japan match with a hamstring injury which will keep him out of the remainder of the tournament. Victor Lindelhof started that match in midfield, but will likely drop back to the centre of defence, with Lucas Bergvall the most likely candidate to step into the centre of their midfield to replace him.

Sweden can offer France a challenge, but the tournament favourites should be too strong for them

Having finished bottom of their qualifying group with just two points from their six matches, there’s a case for saying that Sweden shouldn’t be in these finals at all, having secured their play-off place via the Nations League. But they’re here, and their convincing win against Tunisia and a solid draw against Japan have demonstrated that they warranted their qualification, despite falling apart during the 5-1 loss to the Netherlands that came between these two impressive results.

But France will be overflowing with confidence following their comfortable progress through their first three matches. True enough, it was difficult to draw too many inferences about them from the Norway match alone, given that their opponents chose to field the reserves for a match being played when both teams had already qualified, but they still won it 4-1, and there have been no real signs of weakness in their team in their matches so far.

It is, therefore, difficult to see past France winning this match. With surprise package Paraguay awaiting them in the last 16, their route through this tournament is opening up, and they should get through this match with a degree of comfort. 3-0 sounds like the sort of scoreline that would accommodate goals from more than one of their lavish attacking options.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Jun

2026

Preview: Netherlands and Morocco set for heavyweight clash in the Round of 32

One of the most enticing ties as the World Cup knockouts begin sees Netherlands face Morocco in Monterrey, with attacking talent on show for both sides making for a watchable and unpredictable encounter.

By Karl Matchett

Given how open the other side of the bracket looks, Morocco could perhaps be forgiven for wondering what might have been, after finishing second only on goal difference behind Brazil in the groups.

Saibari and an underrated attack

Obviously stats from the group stage don’t present a level playing field, given the huge variance between strengths and weaknesses in each quartet. All the same, the numbers look compelling when added to Morocco’s overall approach: they have one of the most dynamic sides going forward and look well-balanced without the ball.

In fact, Morocco ranked top ten among the 48 nations for expected goals, xG difference, accurate passes and big chances created (10). Key to much of their good work was Ismael Saibari, who’s move to Bayern Munich should go through this week. He netted three times from ten shots and is the team’s outlet in the channels, one of the chief creators and the first line of defence. Shutting him down will be the responsibility of the many, not the single defender, if Netherlands want to blunt the Africans’ attack.

Can workrate make up for Dutch lacking star quality?

In years gone by it would be Netherlands who were the star attraction for attacking talent, but this group is a little more functional. Brian Brobbey epitomises that, having made a good impact since coming into the XI with his movement, brute force and self-belief – but few would have him at a top table of Europe’s strikers on goal return and technical ability alone.

There will be much expectation on the midfield triumvirate to provide off-the-ball workrate as much as a cutting edge for the Oranje to go much further, with a key mix of running power and quick-footed ability on show between Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders in particular. They must thrive for their attacking teammates to produce the goods.

Recent form

It was a draw and two wins for the Dutch in the groups, with the thumping of Sweden a highlight. Morocco drew with Brazil then beat two lightweights – not scoring more goals was the only concern they might hold.