Australia and Japan will carry Asia’s hopes in the knockout stage as the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage concluded on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was heartbreak for Iran and Korea as both missed out after finishing third in their respective groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan, seeking to advance past the Round of 16 for the first time, face five-time champions Brazil in their last-32 clash on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan finished second in Group F with five points, two behind the Netherlands while Brazil – seeking to lift the title for the first time since 2002 – topped Group C with two wins and a draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia, the Group D runners-up, will face Egypt – who advanced to the knockout stage for the first time after finishing second in Group G.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia will be featuring in the knockout stage for the third time, with their previous appearances ending in the Round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defending champions Argentina will face tournament debutants Cabo Verde on Friday while 2018 winners France face a potentially tricky tie against Sweden on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uzbekistan bid farewell to the FIFA World Cup following a 3-1 defeat to Congo DR in their Group K tie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result meant the tournament debutants concluded their campaign with three losses while Congo DR advanced to a Round of 32 clash against England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uzbekistan knew before kick-off they were realistically elminated given the massive swing in goal difference they would need to progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Italian great Fabio Cannavaro stressed the importance of a win as a legacy for their first FIFA World Cup appearance and his players flew out of the traps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eldor Shomurodov smashed home after just 30 seconds but was flagged offside but Uzbekistan’s captain and all-time leading scorer had to wait just 10 minutes longer for his moment to savour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Istanbul Basaksehir striker produced a sumptuous lob over Mpasi from a narrow angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nathanael Mbuku thought he had brought the Congolese level with an equally fine strike that arrowed into the top corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, after a VAR review Mbuku was punished for a soft foul on Sherzod Nasrullaev in the build-up as his hand brushed the face of the Uzbek defender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congo DR head coach Sebastien Desabre said Yoane Wissa was showing the best version of himself after a poor first season at Newcastle since a US$73 million move from Brentford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wissa scored his side’s equaliser in an impressive 1-1 draw against Portugal, but fired wastefully wide with a huge chance to level early in the second half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the other end Shomurodov nearly produced a second sublime lob as this time his effort dropped onto the roof of the net from the edge of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congo DR were beginning to run out of ideas until a rash challenge from Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov on Wissa gifted them a route back into the game and into the knockout stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wissa picked himself up to calmly send Abduvohid Nematov the wrong way and whip up an explosion of noise from the nearly 70,000 in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just two minutes later, the majority of the fans saw the moment of history they came for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meschack Elia’s deflected shot held up just enough for Fiston Mayele to nip in ahead of Nematov and flick the ball into the net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wissa completed the comeback by curling into the far corner from the edge of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia finished top of FIFA World Cup 2026 Group K after playing out a highly-entertaining end-to-end 0-0 draw with Portugal on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia will feel hard done by nevertheless as a marginal offside ruled out a late goal by Davinson Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Colombians will play Ghana in the last 32 next Friday, while runners-up Portugal will see Cristiano Ronaldo face his old Real Madrid teammate Croatian icon Luka Modric on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Ronaldo was a peripheral presence in the fast-paced match, outshone by another former Real teammate, 34-year-old James Rodriguez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The game watched by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FIFA President Gianni Infantino was played to the backdrop of a cacophony of noise from Colombian fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia should have opened the scoring early on but Jhon Cordoba headed over from close range after being brilliantly teed up by Bayern Munich star Luis Diaz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cordoba went close again in the 17th minute, showing some sparkling skills to shrug off a Portuguese defender and unleash a piledriver of a strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa did well to beat it away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portugal have their talisman in the ageing Ronaldo but Colombia have their own in Rodriguez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his 11th FIFA World Cup appearance \u2013 a record for his country \u2013 the 34-year-old produced a typical piece of magic, a reverse pass found Jhon Arias, whose goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Ruben Neves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ronaldo’s sole contribution was a free-kick which went straight into the arms of Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Colombian goalkeeper produced a save of the highest order shortly afterwards to deny Bruno Fernandes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodriguez was pulling the strings but he had a go himself close to the break, his shot was on target but Costa gathered it safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second half began at the same frenetic pace, Joao Felix should have done better than send his header way over the bar from Diogo Dalot’s cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dalot raised his face to the sky in frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia replied with two fine attempts at goal, Costa fisting away Jefferson Lerma’s shot and then Jhon Arias let fly from long range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ronaldo’s blushes were spared when he shot wide with just the goalkeeper to beat, but he was flagged for offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia midfielder Richard Rios went close just seconds after coming on, perhaps caught a bit cold he wasted an excellent chance to break the deadlock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Costa was having a cracking game, fortunately for his weary defenders who were being run ragged by the vibrant Colombian attack, as he brilliantly denied Jhon Arias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodriguez departed after a fine performance with 15 minutes remaining but Portugal coach Roberto Martinez preferred to replace others such as Felix and Vitinha whilst keeping Ronaldo on despite his being largely ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Costa came to the rescue again with the clock ticking down, sticking out a leg to clear a dangerous cross but the ball fell to Luis Suarez whose bicycle kick went over the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia looked to have finally got the goal they deserved when Sanchez headed home at the back post \u2013 but it was ruled out for offside, seemingly by a toe, even after a VAR referral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wagged his finger in disagreement and the Colombian fans groaned in disappointment but they at least had reason to celebrate finishing top of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valiant Jordan’s FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign ended with a 3-1 defeat to Argentina in their Group J tie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tournament debutants gave it a go against the South American side but had to concede to the defending champions’ superiority, with Lionel Messi coming off the bench to score his sixth goal of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With qualification already confirmed, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni made nine changes, retaining only goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and forward Lautaro Martinez from the Austria win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jordan were already eliminated after defeats to Algeria and Austria, rendering the match inconsequential in terms of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giovani Lo Celso got the party started, bending in a free-kick on 19 minutes that goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila got nowhere near having inexplicably moved in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A relaxed-looking Messi smiled broadly from the sidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after the champions doubled their lead when Martinez rifled in a penalty following a VAR review when Marcos Senesi appeared to be kicked in the face as he went for a diving header.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minutes after half-time the crowd began calling for their captain Messi, the leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As he stripped off to come on, Tamari stabbed in from close range to pull a goal back and stun much of the stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The match went into a lull after that, before Messi bent in a tame free-kick with 10 minutes left to go with his hat-trick against Algeria and brace versus Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Algeria and Austria played out an incredible 3-3 draw in Kansas City on Saturday that ensured both teams qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout rounds and eliminated Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veteran forward Marko Arnautovic put the European side in front at Arrowhead Stadium but Rafik Belghali levelled shortly before half-time, benefiting from a huge slice of luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marcel Sabitzer restored Austria’s lead with a superb strike but minutes later Algeria were all-square again thanks to former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mahrez netted again in the 93rd minute and then, in the final seconds Sasa Kalajdzic, just on as a substitute, headed home \u2013 sparking scenes of wild joy from the Austrian squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The match, played in humid conditions in the American Midwest, burst into life after the first hydration break, which was booed by the largely Algeria-supporting crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veteran forward Arnautovic broke the deadlock in the 28th minute with the first effort on target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 37-year-old controlled a long ball from David Alaba and finished calmly past Oussama Benbot, brought into the team at the expense of Luca Zidane, son of France great Zinedine Zidane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Algeria were a whisker away from an equaliser in the 40th minute when Fares Chaibi’s powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area smashed off an upright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Belghali levelled in the 45th minute, dancing past three Austrian defenders before lashing home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Algeria were fortunate that the chance came their way \u2013 defender Phillipp Mwene tried to shepherd the ball out of play but it ricocheted back off the corner flag and was picked up by Belghali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The game fell quiet in the early stages of the second half but caught fire again in the 55th minute when Sabitzer finished off a superb team move, striking in home Konrad Laimer’s cross from the edge of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was another twist five minutes later when Mahrez finished powerfully after fine work from Houssem Aouar, who produced a pinpoint cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the clock ticked down, both teams played cagily, cutting out the risks, knowing a point was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the late, late drama means Iran, who had hoped to progress as one of the best third-placed teams, are out of the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Algeria and Austria both finish Group J on four points behind Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who topped the section with nine points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austria are in the FIFA World Cup knockout round for the first time since 1982 while Algeria have matched their performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Algeria will play Switzerland in the next round while Austria, who finished second in the group, will face European champions Spain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australia and Japan will carry Asia’s hopes in the knockout stage as the FIFA World Cup 2026 group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[430],"tags":[276,63],"class_list":["post-14307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-fifa","tag-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t