World Cup 2026 Knockout Stage Odds, Format, Rules and Predictions

Thirty-two teams made it out of the group stage and into the knockout round at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The top two teams from each of the 12 groups and the top eight third-place teams will compete for the championship over the next three weeks.

All of the regular contenders are in the knockout-round bracket from Brazil to Spain to Argentina.

While there were no massively surprise eliminations, there were a few surprise qualifiers, a group headlined by Cape Verde.

The round of 32 has some huge mismatches, including Cape Verde's clash with Argentina, but the bracket sets up for some incredible matches down the line.

World Cup Odds

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Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

France (+340; bet $100 to win $340)

Argentina (+430)

Spain (+600)

England (+650)

Brazil (+1300)

Portugal (+1400)

Netherlands (+1600)

Germany (+1600)

Norway (+3300)

United States (+3500)

Colombia (+3500)

Morocco (+4500)

Belgium (+4500)

Mexico (+5000)

Japan (+5500)

Switzerland (+6500)

Format and Rules

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There are no ties in the knockout round.

If a game is level after 90 minutes, it will go into 30 minutes of extra time.

If no winner is determined after 120 minutes, the winner be determined on penalty kicks.

That's the biggest change from the group stage.

The disciplinary slate is washed clean as well. Yellow card accumulation from the group stage is erased. A reset of yellow cards will occur after the quarterfinals as well.

The rule change allows for players to be less likely to pick up suspensions for earning multiple yellow cards in the tournament.

Predictions

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France and Argentina left the group stage as the two clear favorites.

Argentina has a much easier path to the final than any of the other powerhouses.

Lionel Messi and Co. play Cape Verde in the round of 32 and then the Australia-Egypt winner in the round of 16.

A quarterfinal clash with Colombia or Switzerland is possible before a potential semifinal with Brazil.

On the other hand, France starts the knockout round with Sweden and then likely faces Germany and the Netherlands-Morocco winner in the next two rounds.

France is more than capable of plowing through tough opponents, like we saw against Norway and Senegal, because of the Kylian Mbappe-led attack.

It's hard to pick against France and Argentina meeting in the World Cup final for the second straight time after what we witnessed in the group stage.

France looked just a bit sharper in attack with Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele joining the fun alongside Mbappe.

Prediction: France over Argentina