After a matchday 17 in which we saw only one match (where Canada beat South Africa 1-0), Matchday 18 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup saw three different round of 32 knockout ties take place.
Brazil beat Japan 2-1; Brazil will now face the winner of Ivory Coast vs Norway in the round of 16.
Germany lost to Paraguay 3-4 in a penalty shootout; Paraguay will face the winner of France vs Sweden in the round of 16
Netherlands 1 (2) lost to (3)1 Morocco; Morocco will now face Canada in the round of 16.
Here's how the games played out:
Netherlands 1 (2) - (3) 1 Morocco
(Gakpo 72'; Diop 90+1')
A chaotic penalty shootout saw Yassine Bounou and Morocco come up on top after the Netherlands failed to convert thrice, Morocco twice and Ismael Saibari (Morocco's player of the tournament so far) converted his. It was a game which Morocco dominated, with the Dutch seemingly content to venture on the rare counter while waiting for penalties.
After a tense first half, in which both ends saw action - Morocco shaving the better of the chances - both teams kept at it in the second half. Morocco seemed to be taking the upper hand, bossing possession and troubling the Netherlands' 3-4-2-1 formation by amping up the intensity of their movement and forward passing. That is when a swift Netherlands counter caught them out. Wout Weghorst flicked on a long pump forward from the back, Crysencio Summerville ran onto it and prodded it forward to Gakpo under immense pressure, and he made no mistake with the finish. Coming just a week after he and his partner had announced the death of their unborn child, he broke down in tears as the team rushed to embrace him.
Morocco threw men forward in search of an equaliser, and the pressure told in the first minute of added on time when a stunning Chemsdine Talbi cross was thundered in by Diop from close range. That goal meant we would have a second consecutive match in the round of 32 head into Extra Time.
Germany 1 (3) - (4) 1 Paraguay (penalties)
(Havertz 54'; Enciso 42')
Orlando Gill was the hero of the day as Paraguay's goalkeeper saved two penalties and saw another get skied as the unfancied South Americans beat Germany in a thrilling penalty shootout. Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade had their penalties saved by Gill, but Antonio Sanabria's miss and Manuel Neuer's save off Fabián Balbuena pushed the shootout into sudden death. Jonathan Tah stepped up and skied his, before José Canale made no mistake with his attempt to give Paraguay a 4-3 win in the shootout.
Earlier the match was tied at 1-1 after extra time. Having started the game aggressively, winning a corner inside thirty seconds, Paraguay had been sitting deep in their own half for almost all the first half when an enterprising Julio Enciso run won them a corner late. After the initial delivery was cleared, Matías Galarza swung in a delicious cross that found a completely unmarked Enciso in the box, and the forward made no mistake with his header.
A furious Julian Nagelsmann and his Germany team were out on the pitch very early for the second half, and their pace quickened up noticeably. It had an early effect, when Kai Havertz brilliantly headed on Florian Wirtz's cross. Germany kept pressing for the winner and were sure they had got late in extra time when Tah headed home a header at the far corner, but a VAR review advised the ref to go to the pitch side monitor and the goal was ruled out for Waldemar Anton blocking Gill's path to the ball.
Brazil 2 - 1 Japan
(Casemiro 56', Martinelli 90+5'; Sano 29')
A late Gabriel Martinelli goal sealed a thrilling win for five-time world champions Brazil against Japan.
Japan took the lead in the first half: after a loose pass was intercepted by midfielder Kaishu Sano, he sprinted straight down the middle, leaving Casemiro in the dust before taking an off-balance shot that Alisson Becker had no chance with, in the Brazil goal.
Brazil, who had been sloppy in the first half, sharpened up in the second with the introduction of Endrick in place of the injured Matheus Cunha. With Japan sitting deep and inviting Brazil on, this change meant they had much more attacking options inside the box. It paid dividends 11 minutes in when Gabriel Maghalaes clipped a superb cross into the far post, where Casemiro rose highest to head home unerringly.
Brazil kept amping up the pressure - a Vinícius Júnior run where he nutmegged two Japanese markers and hit a shot at goal that Zion Suzuki did superbly to tip onto the post the biggest highlight - and that pressure told eventually when in a moment of calm amid the chaos, Bruno Guimarães found Gabriel Martinelli at the edge of the six-yard box, and the Arsenal forward took a touch and dispatched it into the far post.