The knockout phase of the World Cup is underway, with co-hosts Canada the first side to book their place in the last-16 when they saw off South Africa in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Stephen Eustaquio's injury-time winner meant the round-of-32 got off to a dramatic start as the tournament's various big hitters get ready for their first knockout matches.
That includes England, who topped Group L following their 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday night, meaning the dream of ending 60 years of hurt is still on. That'll be easier said than done, though, as Thomas Tuchel's men have a laundry list of tricky potential opponents coming up...
Who do England play next in the World Cup 2026?
England already knew that they will face one of the eight best third-placed teams from another group on Wednesday, July 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with kick-off set for midday local time (5pm UK time).
And they did not have to wait long to find out their next opponents at the World Cup: it was settled in the very next game.
Round of 32: Who could England play in the last 32?
Round of 32: DR Congo
The makeup of the other third-placed qualifiers meant the Democratic Republic of the Congo were guaranteed to meet the Group L winners in the round of 32 if they finished third in Group K.
DR Congo started the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Portugal and put up a good fight in their 1-0 defeat to Colombia, but knew victory over Uzbekistan would put them through.
A Yoan Wissa brace either side of Fiston Mayele's strike in a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan on Saturday evening sealed third place for DR Congo, who had to mount a second-half comeback after going behind in the first half.
Round of 16: Who could England play in the last 16?
Round of 16: Mexico or Ecuador
If they get past DR Congo, England's next game would be on Sunday, July 5 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with kick-off set for 6pm local time (1am UK time).
They would play the winner of Mexico's round of 32 clash against Ecuador.
There had previously been a possibility that it could have been Scotland, but, well...
Quarter-finals: England's potential path and fixtures
Quarter-finals: Brazil, Japan, Ivory Coast or Norway
Brazil face Japan in one round of 32 clash, while Ivory Coast take on Norway in the other.
But that's about as far as we can guess what will happen, with surprises more than possible in either of those games – and in the resulting clash between the two winners.
Yes, France or Brazil would be the most likely to reach the quarter-final, but despite the whole point of this exercise, football isn't played on paper, is it?
Semi-finals: Who could England play in the semis?
Semi-finals: Argentina (probably)
England and Argentina are on paper the strongest sides in each quarter of the draw, and they have a relatively generous-looking route to the semi-finals.
Lionel Messi and co will take on Cape Verde in the round of 32, before going on to face the winners of Australia's meeting with Egypt.
The other half of that quarter-final will be either Switzerland, Algeria, Colombia or Ghana.
World Cup Final: Date, UK time and potential opponents
Final: Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Morocco or Portugal
That's one hell of a half of a draw.
Germany play Paraguay in the Round of 32, and France play Sweden (with the two winners facing off); South Africa play Canada, the Netherlands play Morocco (those two winners play one another); Portugal play Croatia, and Spain play Austria (winner of each face one another); United States play Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Belgium will face Senegal (the winners of those two play each other).
Anything could happen in that side of the draw – but there are six clear favourites, plus the US, who may be the most in form of anyone.
Best and worst case scenarios
The best case scenario for England's route to the World Cup final (that's likely to happen)
- Last-16: Ecuador
- Quarter-finals: Japan
- Semi-finals: Egypt
- Final: United States
The worst case scenario for England's route to the World Cup final (that's likely to happen)
- Last-16: Mexico
- Quarter-finals: Brazil
- Semi-finals: Argentina
- Final: France or Spain
