The 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16 started on a high note Saturday, with the first pair of matches resulting in a rematch of one of the 2022 World Cup’s most memorable matches in the quarterfinals.
Here is everything you might have missed on Day 24 of the tournament:
BEST OF THE DAY
Moment Of The Day
Mbappé Reaches 19
Kylian Mbappé remains hot on Lionel Messi’s tail. Not only did the 27-year-old superstar score his seventh goal of the tournament, bringing him level with Lionel Messi in the World Cup Golden Boot race, but he is also now just one goal away from tying Messi’s record for the most goals ever at the FIFA World Cup.
The good news for Mbappé? All signs point to it being a matter of when, not if, he has the record all to himself.
Goal Of The Day
Azzedine Ounahi opened the scoring for Morocco with a stunner from outside the box that Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was unable to get a hand on.
Assist Of The Day
Ounahi’s second goal was a product of Brahim Diaz’s brilliant holdup play in the box. Once Ounahi was in place, Diaz just dumped it off to the 26-year-old midfielder.
Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill can leave the World Cup with his head held high. He continued his strong tournament with a four-save outing against France, the best of which came with Mbappé charging toward goal with a full head of steam.
Canada vs. Morocco
- Morocco advanced to the round of 16 with a decisive 3-0 win over 2026 World Cup co-hosts Canada at Houston Stadium. Morocco is the first African team to reach back-to-back quarterfinals at the World Cup. It will play France in the quarterfinals, a rematch of the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinals.
- Morocco is the first African team to win two knockout stage matches outright — excluding penalty shootouts — at a single World Cup. Morocco now accounts for four of the eight African knockout stage victories in World Cup history; Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, and Senegal each have one.
- Morocco has not lost in their last 34 games with 25 wins and eight draws. Its last loss was in August 2025, a 1-0 result vs. Kenya.
- Azzedine Ounahi became the first Moroccan player to score twice in a World Cup match since Salaheddine Bassir in 1998 against Scotland. He also became just the third African player to score two goals in a knockout stage at the World Cup, after Roger Milla (1990) and Henri Camara (2002).
- Canada lost its first Round of 16 appearance ever at the World Cup. A CONCACAF team has not reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup since Costa Rica in 2014.
Canada vs Morocco Extended Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 16
Paraguay vs. Morocco
- France moved on to the round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Paraguay at Philadelphia Stadium. France has won 18 of its last 21 knockout-phase matches at the World Cup.
- Kylian Mbappé scored today, extending his record for most World Cup knockout-stage goals with 11. He now has 19 World Cup goals, one behind Lionel Messi (20) for the most ever. He also joined Messi as the only player to score seven or more goals in back-to-back World Cups (2022 and 2026).
- Since the 2018 tournament, Mbappé has scored more goals in the knockout stages of the World Cup (11) than Brazil (10), England (10), Portugal (nine), and Spain (four).
- This was Mbappé’s 19th World Cup game, a France record for an outfield player; only goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (20) has played in more for France.
- Paraguay failed to record its first win ever in the World Cup knockout stage.
Paraguay vs France Extended Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 16
Check out the full game highlights between Paraguay and France in the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Announced by John Strong and Stu Holden.
