Morocco, Paraguay and Brazil secured places in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a day of dramatic knockout football that featured late equalisers, penalty shootouts and stoppage-time winners.
Morocco produced one of the biggest statements of the tournament by eliminating the Netherlands on penalties after a pulsating encounter ended 1-1 following extra time in Monterrey.
The North Africans dominated large spells of the contest but were repeatedly denied by Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and the woodwork. Despite Morocco’s superiority, it was the Netherlands that looked set to progress when Cody Gakpo, who had revealed the loss of his unborn son just a day earlier, capped a swift counterattack with a powerful finish in the 72nd minute.
However, Morocco refused to surrender and found a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time as Issa Diop rose highest to power home a header, forcing the match into extra time. The deadlock remained unbroken before the Atlas Lions held their nerve in the shootout, where Dutch misses proved costly. Ismail Saibari converted the decisive penalty to hand Morocco a 3-2 victory and set up a Round of 16 clash against co-hosts Canada in Houston on Saturday.
Elsewhere, four-time champions Germany crashed out of the tournament after suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 penalty shootout defeat to Paraguay following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
Paraguay stunned the Germans before halftime when former Brighton and Ipswich forward Julio Enciso headed home in the 42nd minute. Germany responded strongly after the break, with Arsenal striker Kai Havertz nodding in an equaliser from Florian Wirtz’s cross to force extra time.
The penalty shootout was filled with tension as Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill denied Havertz and Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade. Although Paraguay squandered two opportunities to seal victory earlier in the shootout, Germany failed to capitalise. In sudden death, Jonathan Tah blasted his effort over the crossbar before Jose Canale calmly converted the decisive kick to send Paraguay into the next round.
Brazil also needed late heroics to avoid an upset against Japan, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring a dramatic 95th-minute winner to earn a 2-1 victory
Japan had taken a deserved first-half lead after Kaishu Sano capitalised on a misplaced pass from Danilo, surged past Casemiro and fired into the bottom corner. The Asian side remained disciplined throughout the contest and looked capable of seeing out the result before Brazil mounted one final attack.
Deep into stoppage time, Bruno Guimaraes regained possession on the edge of the Japanese penalty area before sliding a perfectly weighted pass to Martinelli, who controlled brilliantly and steered his finish in off the post to break Japanese hearts.
The victory sends Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil into the Round of 16, where they will face the winner of the tie between Norway and Ivory Coast.
Attention now turns to the remaining Round of 32 fixtures scheduled for later today. Ivory Coast will battle Norway at 6 p.m., while France take on an in-form Sweden side in a highly anticipated clash at 10 p.m., with both matches expected to complete the Round of 16 lineup.
