The World Cup has reached the round of 16 with a number of mouth-watering clashes in store.
Portugal's dramatic win over Croatia set up a clash with Spain, while England head to Mexico City to face the World Cup co-hosts.
The Netherlands and Germany both departed in the round of 32, Argentina required extra-time to scrape past Cape Verde, while Belgium, Brazil and Norway all needed late goals to progress.
10 – Mexico
NEW
The group stage was unlikely to cause Mexico much trouble, playing South Africa, South Korea and Czechia, with none of those sides featuring in the round of 16, but the tie with Ecuador looked more dangerous. Ecuador were impressive against Germany who admittedly had nothing to play for, but were a shadow of themselves against Mexico, who were 2-0 up after little more than half an hour.
Despite their comfortable passage into the round of 16, it's hard to shake the feeling that home advantage and favourable fixtures has done a lot of the lifting, and that a clash with England might be a bridge too far.
9 – Norway
NO CHANGE
One of the most exciting teams at the 2026 World Cup, Norway never look more than a few minutes away from scoring or conceding.
Norway could have found themselves behind against Ivory Coast but took the lead through an excellent Antonio Nusa goal and should have perhaps been two or three up from there. Their defensive frailties then saw Amad Diallo waltz through their defence to equalise before Erling Haaland bagged a late winner.
Norway don't seem defensively good enough to stop the better sides, but there's enough firepower to put teams to the test.
8 – Portugal
DOWN 2
There's no bigger disparity between player quality and coaching quality at the World Cup than with Portugal. Littered with star names, Roberto Martinez seemingly has no idea how to set the side up.
Held by DR Congo with a limp performance, they gave Uzbekistan a hiding in their second game before playing out a thrilling 0-0 draw with Colombia. While their final group game was a great watch, a more tactically savvy manager would have restricted Colombia's opportunities and helped carve out more of their own.
Portugal were much better than Croatia in the first half and yet found themselves behind when Zlatko Dalic changed things up. Portugal seemingly had no answer and were fortunate to go through where they face a formidable opponent in Spain.
7 – Colombia
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Needing to avoid defeat to Portugal in order to top their group, Colombia could count themselves unfortunate not to win the game. They took advantage of sloppy Portuguese defending to get 24 shots off throughout the contest but couldn't find the back of the net.
The reward for drawing with Portugal was a route to the quarter-finals that saw them face Ghana and now Switzerland rather than Croatia and Spain, and there's enough in the squad to suggest they can give Argentina a game in the quarter-finals if they meet.
6 – Morocco
UP 4
Underdogs against the Netherlands, Morocco were actually unfortunate to go behind before a stoppage-time equaliser forced extra time.
Morocco aren't a side full of household names but they've consistently found a way to get the most out of their talents as a well drilled unit.
We saw the Atlas Lions reach the semi-finals in 2022 and with Yassine Bounou arguably the best penalty saver at the tournament, a similar run can't be ruled out.
5 – Brazil
UP 2
Brazil's tie with Japan was never meant to be easy and so it proved. Japan were good value for their half-time lead but were strangely passive in the second half, allowing Brazil back into the game.
Casemiro, whose primary footballing ability these days seems to be scoring headers, got the Selecao level before Gabriel Martinelli scored a stoppage-time winner with a wonderfully taken goal.
Brazil haven't been wholly convincing in the two games when they've played above-average opposition, and Norway could be a banana skin.
4 – England
NO CHANGE
Depending on how you watched England's game against DR Congo, you either saw a side once again struggling to break an inferior side down before being rescued by their star striker, or you saw a side create enough chances to score four or five.
The Ghana game was dismal from England and the Panama showing wasn't much better, but against DR Congo, England showed they've got enough talent on an individual level, and a sufficiently tactically astute coach to just win games.
The thinking is that England will be better against better teams, who allow them more space and the freedom to play. There are absolutely defensive concerns, particularly with Reece James injured, but if England can navigate the testing tie with Mexico, they will start to believe they can go all the way.
3 – Argentina
NO CHANGE
How can Lionel Messi be stopped at this World Cup. Stop Messi and you might just stop Argentina, but it's easier said than done. As was the case four years ago, Argentina have 10 men willing to sacrifice themselves in the hope that Messi can provide a moment of magic, and it keeps working.
Jordan were never going to pose any serious threat to an already-qualified Argentina, allowing Messi to spend some time on the bench, but he still came on to score Argentina's third.
With a straightforward-enough run to the quarter-finals, Argentina will be increasingly optimistic about their chances of becoming the first post-war team to win back-to-back World Cups.
2 – Spain
NO CHANGE
As was expected, Spain's draw with Cape Verde is a distant memory. The result proved inconsequential as Spain breezed through the group stage with minimum fuss.
Their first knockout game was more of the same, brushing Austria to one side, and while France are the obvious hurdle to clear in the World Cup, it's hard to see how teams actually score past Spain.
Luis de la Fuente's men barely broke sweat against Austria and was still able to bring Mikel Merino, Ferran Torres, Gavi and Fabian Ruiz off the bench with Martin Zubimendi an unused sub alongside Nico Williams, who battles a muscle injury.
1 – France
NO CHANGE
France just keep marching on. While Sweden, who shipped five against the Netherlands, weren't expected to pose too much of a threat to Les Bleus, it's a fourth straight game in which France have scored at least three.
Kylian Mbappe in a France shirt just operates on a different level and the 18 goals he's scored make a mockery of the old record of 16 held by Miroslav Klose.
Michael Olise has also been in inspired form, and the only question that remains is how good France are against top opposition.
