The 2026 World Cup's round of 16 finished on July 7 with the three host nations — the United States, Mexico and Canada — all eliminated, and defending champions Brazil out at their earliest stage since 1990. The quarterfinal field is now complete, and it looks nothing like the seeding suggested.
The United States exited on July 6, beaten 4-1 by Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and set up another as Belgium punished a fragile US defence; Malik Tillman's deflected free kick briefly levelled the game just after the half-hour, but goals from Hans Vanaken — after a Matt Freese error — and a stoppage-time Romelu Lukaku strike ended Mauricio Pochettino's tournament in the last 16. Belgium meets Spain in the quarterfinals.
A day earlier, Mexico had gone out at home in an instant classic at the Estadio Azteca, losing 3-2 to England. Jude Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds late in the first half, and Harry Kane converted a second-half penalty; England then held on with ten men after Jarell Quansah was sent off in the 54th minute, surviving a late Mexico barrage in front of a stadium that had lost only three times in 90 matches there.
The biggest shock was Brazil's. Norway beat the five-time champions 2-1 in New York, with goalkeeper Orjan Nyland saving a first-half Bruno Guimaraes penalty before Erling Haaland struck twice in the final 11 minutes; a stoppage-time Neymar penalty was only a consolation. It is Brazil's earliest World Cup exit in 36 years and sends Norway into a quarterfinal against England in Miami.
Tuesday completed the bracket in dramatic fashion. Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 before roaring back to win 3-2, with Lionel Messi equalising in the 83rd minute and Enzo Fernandez scoring the winner in stoppage time — three goals in a 15-minute stretch to rescue the tournament favourites. In the final tie of the round, Switzerland eliminated Colombia 4-3 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954, where they will face Argentina.
That Argentina-Switzerland pairing, along with England-Norway and Belgium-Spain, leaves a last eight stripped of some of its heaviest names. Brazil, the holders, are gone; so are the United States and Mexico, whose runs organisers had hoped would carry crowd energy into July. Canada had already been knocked out in the round of 16 days earlier.
The clean sweep of the hosts is the defining statistic of the round. In a tournament co-staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada — the first World Cup with three host nations — none of the three reached the quarterfinals, an outcome that removes the built-in home advantage a single-host tournament usually preserves deep into the knockouts.
For the neutrals, the payoff is an unpredictable finish. Argentina and Messi carry the star billing, but Norway's Haaland, a Spain side that edged Portugal to reach the last eight, and a Belgium team suddenly clicking under pressure all have plausible paths. With the seeded favourites thinning out, the road to the final in New Jersey on July 19 is as open as any in recent memory.