After 96 matches, just eight remain as the 2026 World Cup moves into the quarter-final stage.
Before the last-eight ties get under way, it is worth revisiting a dramatic round of 16 that delivered almost everything: late fightbacks, contentious moments, tense goalless stalemates and the high drama of penalty shoot-outs.
Across those knockout fixtures, several players rose above the rest, producing decisive contributions for their nations when the pressure was at its highest. Daily Mail Sport takes a closer look at Sofascore’s Team of the Round of 16.
GK: Gregor Kobel (Switzerland) – 9.3/10
Gregor Kobel was the player Switzerland had to thank for booking their place in the quarter-finals. The goalkeeper delivered a vital save in the penalty shoot-out against Colombia after 120 minutes in Vancouver ended without a goal.
Colombia’s clearest opening in normal time came in the 21st minute, when Gustavo Puerta shaped a curling effort towards goal, only for Kobel to get across and push it away. The Borussia Dortmund keeper was called upon again in extra time, reacting smartly to keep out Jaminton Campaz’s header at the near post.
Kobel’s influence extended beyond his shot-stopping. He won all three of his duels, completed 39 passes and found his target with nine long balls. But his defining moment arrived in the shoot-out, shortly after Manuel Akanji had fired his penalty over the bar.
Juan Hernandez stepped up next for La Tricolor and went for power, driving his effort to Kobel’s right. The 28-year-old launched himself across goal and turned the strike away, handing Switzerland the momentum. Ruben Vargas later made the advantage count by converting the decisive penalty.
Gregor Kobel was Switzerland’s hero in their penalty shoot-out against Colombia
RB: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) – 7.4/10
Building on his strong performances from the group stages, Achraf Hakimi earned the right-back spot for his well-rounded display in Morocco’s 3-0 win over co-hosts Canada.
The first half of the match lacked quality but Morocco came into their own after the interval. Hakimi was at the heart of everything – he had 90 touches, made seven defensive contributions and won eight duels.
Most importantly, the rapid right-back assisted Azzedine Ounahi’s first goal, which broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half.
It was his third assist at a World Cup, meaning he is just one away from joining Daley Blind, Denzel Dumfries and Cafu for most assists from defenders since 1966.
Morocco went on to take full control of affairs from there and became the first team to take their place in the quarter-finals.
Morocco star submitted a well-rounded display in their last-16 clash against co-hosts Canada
CB: Cristian Romero (Argentina) 7.7/10
Argentina’s epic comeback against Egypt was one of the games of the tournament and Cristian Romero was the man to kickstart the turnaround.
After 78 minutes, the reigning champions looked down and out. Many believed we were witnessing the greatest shock of the World Cup. But Argentina showed exactly why they are the current title holders, finding another moment of magic to flip the game on its head.
Lionel Messi’s pinpoint cross was nodded home by Romero from just outside the six yard box. When that moment happened, everyone in the ground knew what was to happen next.
Against Cape Verde, it was Lisandro Martinez who popped up with a late goal to send Argentina on their way and this time, it was Romero’s turn.
Cristian Romero kickstarted Argentina’s epic comeback against Egypt in the 79th minute
CB: Dayot Upamecano (France) – 7.5/10
France cruised through their group and round of 32 tie, but in the last 16, Paraguay made them work for their win.
Paraguay set up very defensively, which meant France’s defence didn’t come under pressure. When they did, though, Dayot Upamecano always seemed to be there snuffing out any danger. He made the joint most defensive contributions (12) and won seven out of nine duels.
His centre-back partner William Saliba made just as many defensive contributions but Upamecano stood out for his work in possession.
The 27-year-old helped build a lot of attacks, making line-breaking passes towards the front line. In total, he made 11 passes into the final third and created one chance.
Dayot Upamecano put on a commanding defensive display when called upon again Paraguay
LB: Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) – 7.9/10
On the left side of defence is Hakimi’s teammate Noussair Mazraoui, who also played a vital role in Morocco’s win over Canada.
The Manchester United defender has hardly put a foot wrong throughout his four starts for the AFCON winners so far, completing 176/199 passes and making 46 defensive contributions.
Against Jesse Marsch’s Canada, Mazraoui put on another assured display, making the most defensive contributions for a fourth time this summer (14) and winning 12 duels. Canada were on top in the first half, so his efforts were vital to keep the score goalless heading into the interval.
Noussair Mazraoui played a key role in Morocco’s 3-0 round of 16 victory against Canada
CM: Jude Bellingham (England) – 9/10
No surprises here. Jude Bellingham was unbelievable at the Azteca as England pulled off one of their greatest ever performances.
England’s number 10 scored two vital goals inside 98 seconds to make it 2-0, becoming the first player to score twice at the Azteca since Diego Maradona in 1986 against England. What’s more, Bellingham scored both with his feet!
When it came to defensive duties, Bellingham was a brick wall. Moments before the break, with the score at 2-1, he made an incredible last-ditch intervention to poke the ball away from Cesar Montes who looked certain to equalise.
Bellingham pressed tirelessly for the entire 90 minutes and arguably worked harder than anyone else on the pitch. When the full-time whistle blew he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Relentless.
Jude Bellingham scored a brace in England’s historic 3-2 over Mexico win at the Azteca
CM: Leandro Paredes (Argentina) – 8.3/10
Lionel Scaloni’s general. Leandro Paredes had 130 touches against Egypt, the most out of any player on the pitch.
It was a busy afternoon for the Boca Juniors midfielder, who completed 115 passes, only misplacing four. Twenty-one of those passes were into the final third, so he was vital in getting Argentina up the pitch to create chances.
It was a slow start to the summer for Paredes who only played eight minutes across the opening two matches due to a hamstring injury.
Since returning to full fitness, the Argentine has marshalled the midfield well, protecting the backline and driving his side forward when they regained possession.
Leandro Paredes had the most touches out of any player on the pitch against Egypt
CM: Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco) – 9/10
Completing the strong Moroccan contingent in this team is Azzedine Ounahi, who netted a brace in the 3-0 win against Canada.
The goals were his first contributions of the World Cup and they couldn’t have come at a better time. One to break the deadlock and one to put the game to bed, before Soufiane Rahimi put the cherry on top with a third goal.
The Girona midfielder enjoyed a solid debut campaign in La Liga and that form has carried over to the national team in North America.
His second half double made Ounahi the first Moroccan to score twice in a World Cup match since Salaheddine Bassir against Scotland in 1998.
Azzedine Ounahi scored twice for Morocco to send his nation to the World Cup quarter-finals
RW: Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 9.3/10
We are running out of words to describe this guy. Lionel Messi is the only player to maintain his spot in Sofascore’s team following the Round of 32.
Only the little magician could miss another penalty and still make it into the team of the round. The poor spot kick almost sent Argentina packing but the reigning champions dug deep to find a way past Egypt.
Later redeemed himself by assisting Romero’s goal to halve the deficit, before netting the equaliser himself with a well struck effort past Mostafa Shobeir.
Once again, Messi showed the world why you should never write him off.
Lionel Messi redeemed himself after his penalty miss, scoring one and assisting another
ST: Erling Haaland (Norway) – 9.1/10
It’s been quite the debut World Cup campaign for Erling Haaland.
He’s on seven goals now, behind only Messi on eight. His brace against Brazil single-handedly led Norway to their first World Cup quarter-finals.
Those goals saw Haaland make some history of his own too. He became the first Norwegian player to score a brace in a knockout match in a major international tournament.
He also joined an eight-man list of European players to score in each of his first four World Cup appearances. Overall, it was the 14th game on the bounce in which he scored for Norway.
Erling Haaland scored in his 14th consecutive international match against Brazil
Charles De Ketelaere netted a brace to send Belgium on their way to the World Cup last eight
LW: Charles De Ketelaere (Belgium) – 8.5/10
If not for the late goals from Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans in the previous round, Belgium wouldn’t have made it to the round of 16 at all.
But as fate would have it, the Red Devils completed a comeback against Senegal in extra-time to send them into the round of 16.
This time, it was a far more convincing performance from Rudi Garcia’s side. It took just nine minutes for Belgium to take the lead through Charles De Ketelaere, who turned the ball home from an unmissable distance.
He doubled Belgium’s lead just after the half hour mark to send his side well on their way to an emphatic 4-1 victory against co-hosts USA.
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