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Round of 32 Finale — Egypt's First-Ever Knockout Win Wipes Out Asia; Argentina Survive Extra-Time Scare
The Round of 32 closed with drama. Egypt beat Australia 4-2 on penalties for their first-ever World Cup knockout win, eliminating Asia's last team. Defending champions Argentina were dragged to extra time by debutants Cape Verde before winning 3-2, and Ronaldo's first career knockout goal helped Portugal past Croatia 2-1.
Clinch Desk · Fri, Jul 3
The Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup wrapped up with its final six matches on July 2-3, and the last day belonged to Egypt. In Dallas, Ashour's opener (13') and a Hany own goal (55') left Egypt and Australia level at 1-1 through extra time, before the Pharaohs converted 4-2 in the shootout for the first knockout-stage victory in their World Cup history. Salah calmly dispatched his kick, and Abdelmaguid buried the clinching fourth. Australia's exit means every Asian (AFC) team is now out of the tournament — the last survivor following Japan out of the Round of 32.
Defending champions Argentina were dragged to the brink of the biggest upset in World Cup history. Against first-time qualifiers Cape Verde, Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute, but Duarte levelled in the 59th. Lisandro Martínez restored the lead early in extra time (92'), only for Lopes Cabral to equalise again with a curling strike from outside the box (103') — an instant goal-of-the-tournament candidate. The tie was finally settled in the 111th minute, when Romero's header from a Messi corner deflected in off Borges for an own goal. 3-2: a title favourite needed 121 minutes to shake off a debutant.
July 2 brought the 'big match that came too early': Portugal vs Croatia. Perišić put Croatia ahead (53'), but Ronaldo levelled from the spot in the 68th — the first knockout-stage goal of his World Cup career. Then, deep in stoppage time (90+4'), Gonçalo Ramos headed in Rafael Leão's cross to flip the night in Toronto. The same day, Spain crushed Austria 3-0 and Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0, before Colombia edged Ghana 1-0 on July 3.
The Round of 16 is now set: Paraguay-France, Canada-Morocco, Brazil-Norway, Mexico-England, Portugal-Spain (an Iberian derby!), USA-Belgium, Argentina-Egypt (Messi vs Salah!) and Switzerland-Colombia. Europe against Europe, neighbour against neighbour, superstar against superstar — follow every last-16 tie from July 4-7 live on our bracket page (/bracket).