2026 World Cup: Round of 16 have extra time? Understand how it works

This Sunday (28), the new stage of the 2026 World Cup will begin. South Africa and Canada face each other in the second phase of the tournament, at 4pm (Brasília time), in Los Angeles, USA. With the increase in teams in this World Cup, the 16th round makes up one more game in the competition. This phase precedes the round of 16.

Classification of teams
At the end of the three rounds of the group stage, the top two from each of the twelve groups advanced directly to the knockout stage, resulting in the direct classification of 24 teams.

In addition, the eight best third-placed teams also compete in the Round of 32 stage, which is therefore made up of 32 teams. This was the number of teams qualified for the World Cup until the previous edition, in 2022.

Will the 16-avos phase be extended?
The answer is yes. In the knockout stages, such as the round of 16, in the event of a draw the game will be extended. In this case, two extra halves of 15 minutes each will be played. If the score remains tied after extra time, the decision goes to penalties.

Confrontations in the 2nd phase (or round of 32) of the World Cup

- South Africa x Canada - June 28th (Sunday), at 4 pm, in Los Angeles Monterrey
- Ivory Coast x Norway - June 30th (Tuesday), at 2pm, in Dallas
- France x Sweden - June 30th (Tuesday), at 6pm, in New Jersey
- Mexico x 3rd place in groups C, E, F, H or I - June 30th (Tuesday), at 10pm, in Mexico City
- Belgium x 3rd place in groups A, I or J - July 1st (Wednesday), at 5pm, in Seattle
- United States x Bosnia and Herzegovina - July 1st (Wednesday), at 9pm, in Santa Clara
- Spain x 2nd place in group J - July 2nd (Thursday), at 4pm, in Los Angeles
- Switzerland x 3rd place in groups E, F, G, I or J - 3rd July (Friday), at 00:00, in Vancouver
- Australia x Egypt - July 3 (Friday), at 15:00, in Dallas
- Argentina x Cape Verde - July 3 (Friday), at 19:00, in Miami

Knockout stage

- Second phase (round of 32)
- Round of 16
- Quarter finals
- Semi-finals
- Final

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Source: CNN