World Cup 2022: How Teams Can Advance to the Round of 16 (Published 2022) (2024)

Brazil, which had already qualified for the knockout stage, lost to Cameroon, 1-0, in its group stage finale. It still won the group and will face South Korea.

Switzerland advanced with a 3-2 victory over Serbia and will face Portugal in the knockout stage.

Cameroon defeated Brazil, the world’s top-ranked team, with a goal in stoppage time, but lost out to Switzerland for the second spot in the group.

Serbia lost, 3-2, to Switzerland in a foul-filled affair and exited the tournament.

Portugal lost to South Korea, 2-1, but had already clinched a place in the round of 16. Portugal won the group and will face Switzerland in the knockout stage.

South Korea advanced in dramatic fashion with a stoppage-time goal by Hwang Hee-chan in a 2-1 win against Portugal. It took the No. 2 seed in the group and will face Brazil in the knockout stage.

Uruguay scored two goals in the first half against Ghana, after not scoring at all in its first two games. But it was a late goal by South Korea, in its game against Portugal, that wound up knocking the Uruguayans out of the tournament.

Ghana fell behind early against Uruguay and exited the tournament with a 2-0 loss.

The Netherlands finished group play with a decisive 2-0 victory over Qatar, ending on top of Group A. It will face the U.S. — the second-place finisher in Group B — in the round of 16.

Senegal edged out Ecuador, 2-1, with a 70th-minute go-ahead goal by Kalidou Koulibaly to clinch the group’s second spot, behind the Netherlands. It will now face the winner of Group B, England, in the knockout round.

All Ecuador needed to advance to the round of 16 was a tie against Senegal. It did not get it, losing, 2-1, and finishing third in the group.

Qatar lost its third consecutive game, finishing last in Group A. It exits the World Cup with the worst record of a host country, scoring one goal in three games.

England cruised against Wales, 3-0, and will play Senegal, the second-place team in Group A, in the knockout stage. Its only bump in the road in the group stage was a draw against the United States. It routed Iran, 6-2, in its opener.

After defeating Iran, the United States will face the the Netherlands, the winner of Group A and the eighth-ranked team in the world. The Americans needed a victory against Iran — a draw wouldn’t do to advance to the round of 16 — and Christian Pulisic’s first-half goal was the difference. Pulisic was injured while scoring, and it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to play against the Dutch.

After a brutal 6-2 loss in its opener against England and a bounce-back 2-0 victory over Wales, Iran needed only a tie against the U.S. to advance. But a 1-0 loss to the Americans ended its tournament.

A late rally and 1-1 tie against the U.S. in the opener proved to be the highlight for Wales, which lost to Iran and then lost its finale against England in exiting its first World Cup since 1958.

Argentina defeated Poland, 2-0, to take the group’s No. 1 seed and advance to the knockout stage, completing its comeback after a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in its opener. The Argentines will face Australia.

Poland advanced, taking the group’s No. 2 seed, after some hair-raising final minutes in which it needed Mexico not to score against Saudi Arabia. Instead, Saudi Arabia scored late, ensuring Poland would move on to face France.

After seven consecutive World Cups in which it advanced out of the group stage, Mexico fell short despite a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia exited the tournament after a 2-1 loss to Mexico. It was unable to capitalize on its monumental upset of Argentina in its opener.

France lost to Tunisia, 1-0, but had already clinched a spot in the knockout stage. It will face Poland, which finished second in Group C.

In the most surprising round of 16 qualification so far, Australia advanced with a 1-0 victory over Denmark. The Australians have looked impressive since losing, 4-1, to France in their opener. They will face Argentina next.

Tunisia is out of the tournament despite a 1-0 victory over France in its final group game. It would have advanced had Australia and Denmark tied, but Mathew Leckie’s goal for Australia in the 60th minute against Denmark wound up being the difference.

Denmark completed a disappointing World Cup with a 1-0 loss to Australia. It managed only a draw in three games, scoring one goal.

Upstart Japan defeated two European giants — rallying against both Germany and then Spain — to take the top spot in the group. It will face Croatia in the knockout stage.

Spain lost to Japan, 2-1, but advanced as the No. 2 seed with the help of a hefty goal differential edge it banked in its first game against Costa Rica. Spain will face Morocco in the knockout stage.

Germany made a stunning exit despite defeating Costa Rica, 4-2, ultimately unable to make up for an opening loss against Japan.

Costa Rica failed to advance but was in contention until late in the second half of a 4-2 loss to Germany in their group finale.

Morocco confounded experts by winning the group, ahead of proven European powers Belgium and Croatia. The Moroccans defeated Canada, 2-1, in their group stage finale and will face Spain.

Croatia, a finalist in 2018, managed to hold Belgium without a goal, advancing to the knockout round as the group’s second seed. It will face Japan in the knockout stage.

Belgium’s golden generation of players crashed out with a 0-0 draw against Croatia, perhaps signaling a time to rebuild for the world’s second-ranked team.

Canada lost all three of its games, a disappointing result for a team that finished ahead of Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in regional qualifying.