The round of 32 of the ongoing World Cup jointly hosted by Canada Mexico and the United States of America has been completed. From the frenetic encounter between Brazil and Japan, to the fluid and scintillating display of the French team that saw them rout Sweden and to the dogged and spirited performance of debutant Cabo Verde against Argentina, the round of 32 treated football fans to some of the best and riveting spectacles in this mundial.
Of the eight African teams that qualified for the knockout phase of the global showpiece, only Egypt and Morocco progressed to the round of 16.
The round of sixteen will start on Saturday following the last round of 32 match between Colombia and Ghana. The South American team edged the West African team by a lone goal to progress.
Below are the round of 16 fixtures
Canada and Morocco will face each other in the first match of the round. The match will take place on Saturday(today) at 6pm. The second match will take place between high-flying France and Paraguay at 11 pm. Paraguay defeated Germany in the last round, the match is not going to be a walk in the park for the Les Bleus.
On Sunday, Brazil will slug it out with Norway for a place in the last eight. The tie will see Arsenal defender, Gabriel Magalhães, and Manchester City prolific forward, Erling Haaland, renew their rivalry. The match will start at 9pm.
England will face Mexico on Monday at 1pm. The English team came from behind to defeat a resilient Congolese side as a brace from their captain and talisman, Harry Kane, earned them a hard-fought victory after conceding early in the game. Mexico will be banking on the intimidating presence of a boisterous and energetic home crowd to cheer them to glory as the host nation hopes to reach the quarter-final for the first time since 1987.
Later on Monday at 9pm, Spain will take on their Iberian cousin, Portugal, in a clash of two European giants. The Spanish team has regained their mojo and has been in fine form after the goalless draw in its first match against Cabo Verde. The Portuguese team will have to improve their performance in every area of the pitch and phase of play in what is ostensibly the last World Cup for their captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, if they are to defeat their neighbour on the other side of the Iberian peninsula.
On Tuesday, the United States will face Belgium. Belgium defeated Senegal in the last round after coming back from two goals down to win 3-2. The Yankees will be hoping to reach their first-ever quarter-final in the World Cup. The match starts at 1pm
Also on Tuesday at 5pm, Argentina will square off with Egypt. The Argentines, who are reigning World Champions, will be hoping to win the tournament for the second time after their triumph at Qatar in 2022. The Egyptians will be hoping to build on their impressive run and make history by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.
In the last clash of the round of 16, Colombia who edged out Ghana in the last round will face Switzerland on Tuesday at 9pm.
