Germany Bowed Out on Penalties. England Might Be Playing in Front of Empty Seats.

The 2026 World Cup knockout stage is only a few days old and it’s already a mess for the big names. Germany is gone. Brazil barely survived. And England might have a bigger problem than their own inconsistent play: actually filling the stands.

Let’s start with the biggest shock so far. Paraguay, a team that hadn’t made the knockout rounds since 2010, sent Germany home from the round of 16. It went to penalties after a 1-1 draw, and the Germans just crumbled. Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all missed from the spot. That’s not a typo. Three misses. Paraguay’s goalkeeper Orlando Gill stopped two of them and watched Tah sky the third over the bar. For a country that has only ever won one World Cup knockout tie in its history, this was massive.

Germany’s exit isn’t entirely shocking if you’ve been paying attention. They haven’t won a knockout match at a World Cup since 2014. But Julian Nagelsmann’s side looked like they had turned a corner in the group stage. They hadn’t. Paraguay defended deep, took their one real chance through Julio Enciso, and then held on like their lives depended on it. They did not care that Germany had more possession. They did not care that Germany had more shots. They won.

Brazil had their own scare. Japan led 1-0 at halftime after Kaishu Sano scored just before the break. Casemiro equalized early in the second half with a header that looked like it hurt. Then Bruno Guimaraes threaded a pass through the Japanese defense that Gabriel Martinelli finished calmly off the post in the 85th minute. Japan has now lost all six World Cup knockout matches they’ve ever played. Brazil has now advanced from the round of 16 nine straight times. Those streaks feel like they’ll never flip.

France plays Sweden later this week at MetLife Stadium, and the numbers on that French attack are genuinely scary. They scored ten goals in the group stage, tied for the most in the tournament. Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele are both playing at a level that makes defenders look slow. France has not lost a knockout match to a UEFA opponent in seven tries. Sweden might have history on their side — they finished third at the 1994 World Cup in the United States — but they also lost 5-1 to the Netherlands in the group stage. Consistency is not their thing.

England’s ticket problem might be real

There’s a weird story developing around England’s round-of-16 match against DR Congo at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. According to reports from Telegraph Sport, nearly 600 tickets were still unsold as of Monday morning. That’s not a huge number on its own, but the resale market tells a different story. Almost 3,000 tickets are available on FIFA’s official resale platform, with Category 1 seats listed at $885 and some resale tickets going for as much as $138,000. That last number is obviously absurd and probably just someone testing the system, but the volume of available tickets is real.

FIFA listed all three of England’s group matches as sellouts. But this is a Wednesday afternoon game in Atlanta during a tournament where ticket prices have been a recurring complaint. Empty sections have been visible in nearly every stadium so far. England hasn’t played well enough to justify the hype either. Thomas Tuchel’s team won their group but the performances were unconvincing. They needed late goals against lesser opponents. The crowd might be sparse and the team might need every voice they can get.

Haaland gets his first knockout test

Erling Haaland has scored four goals in his first World Cup, which is exactly what everyone expected. But Norway hasn’t won a knockout match at the World Cup in either of their previous appearances. They play Ivory Coast at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and Ivory Coast features RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, who is attracting serious interest from PSG and other top European clubs. That game has the makings of a genuine shootout. Norway has the star power. Ivory Coast has the momentum of being tournament debutants who have nothing to lose.

The knockout rounds rarely go the way the bracket predicts. Germany is already gone. England might play in front of a half-empty building. Brazil almost choked. And somewhere in Atlanta, there are 600 unsold seats that might still be empty when the whistle blows.