The 2026 World Cup knockout rounds are here, and the storylines are already getting messy. France looks unstoppable. Norway is suddenly a real threat. And England is quietly hoping nobody notices how shaky they’ve looked.
Let’s start with Mbappe because honestly, where else would you start? The guy scored twice against Sweden in the round of 32, pushing his career World Cup total to 18 goals. That’s one shy of Lionel Messi’s 19. And Messi is still in this tournament with Argentina, which means the race for the all-time scoring record just got personal.
France put three past Sweden with Mbappe scoring a brace and Bradley Barcola adding one. Didier Deschamps actually pulled Mbappe off while he was chasing a hat trick. That’s either ruthlessly smart or a missed moment, but either way France is the first team in World Cup history to score at least three goals in five straight matches. They’ll face Paraguay next.
Norway Keeps Haaland Fed and It’s Working
Norway is here for the first time since 1998 and they’re not just making up the numbers. Stale Solbakken’s team knocked out Ivory Coast in a 2-1 win that featured a brilliant first-half strike from Antonio Nusa, an equalizer from Amad Diallo, and then Haaland doing what Haaland does — tapping in from two yards out in the 86th minute. That’s five goals for him this tournament. Now they get Brazil in the round of 16. Good luck with that.
England’s Problem Isn’t Talent. It’s Tuchel’s Track Record Against African Teams.
England topped Group L but they didn’t exactly cruise. A 0-0 draw with Ghana left a bad taste, and now they face DR Congo in the round of 32. Here’s the thing: under Thomas Tuchel, England has played four winless matches. Two of those came against African opposition. That’s not a coincidence. DR Congo is nobody’s idea of a pushover, especially after they held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in group play.
Harry Kane is England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer now after his header against Panama. He’s sitting on 11 career goals in the tournament. He’s three behind Messi in the Golden Boot race but he tends to score early against African teams — two of England’s last three matches in that scenario saw Kane find the net before halftime. So there’s that.
But the bigger concern is whether England can actually string together a complete performance. They haven’t done it yet. If they sleepwalk through another half, Congo will make them pay.
Belgium vs. Senegal Is a Weirder Matchup Than It Looks
Belgium got wrecked in their first two games, then dropped five goals on New Zealand to somehow top their group. It was the most Belgian thing possible. Romelu Lukaku finally got involved, notching a goal and an assist. He’s now Belgium’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with eight goal contributions.
Senegal limped in with three points as the best third-place team. They beat Iraq 5-0 but lost to France and Norway. That defense is leaky — they gave up three goals in both of those losses — and they’ve lost four straight against European teams in World Cup play. But momentum is weird in knockout tournaments, and Senegal has nothing to lose.
Belgium hasn’t lost in 16 straight matches. That streak is the second-longest in their history. But nobody is buying them as a real contender yet. This game will tell us if that run is real or just paper.
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