The FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage continues today with three blockbuster Round of 32 matches featuring five former world champions and one of the tournament’s biggest surprise packages, Morocco. Here is the Match News, Starting XI, Prediction, Winner Picks for today’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 Schedule on Monday, June 29.
Brazil begin their title quest against Japan, Germany face Paraguay, and the Netherlands take on Morocco in a fascinating late-night showdown. The winners will move one step closer to the round of 16 in the expanded 48-team World Cup format.
Today’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 Schedule – Day 19 Schedule (ET)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 knockout stage officially commenced on June 28, 2026. In the opening match, Canada secured a 1–0 victory over South Africa at Los Angeles Stadium, becoming the first team to advance to the Round of 16.
🇧🇷 Brazil vs Japan – 1:00 PM ET
📍 Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas
🇩🇪 Germany vs Paraguay – 4:30 PM ET
📍 Boston Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
🇳🇱 Netherlands vs Morocco – 9:00 PM ET
📍 Estadio Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
Today’s Match News
Brazil vs Japan: Brazil enter the knockout stage among the favorites despite dealing with injury concerns during the group stage. Neymar is actively preparing for Brazil’s round of 32 match against Japan.
Asian team Japan, meanwhile, impressed with their organisation and discipline in reaching the Round of 32, will hope to produce another famous upset.
Germany vs Paraguay: Germany topped Group E despite a surprise defeat to Ecuador in their final group game and remain one of the tournament’s strongest teams.
South American team Paraguay advanced as one of the best third-placed teams and will try to frustrate Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Netherlands vs Morocco: Morocco continues to be one of the stories of the tournament after reaching the knockout stage once again.
The Dutch, led by Virgil van Dijk and Frenkie de Jong, are chasing another deep World Cup run but know Morocco has the quality to cause problems.
Today’s Predicted Starting XI
Brazil vs Japan Starting XI
- Brazil (4-3-3) vs Japan: Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Guilherme Arana; Bruno Guimarães, João Gomes, Lucas Paquetá; Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha.
- Japan (4-2-3-1) vs Brazil: Zion Suzuki; Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ko Itakura, Koki Machida, Hiroki Ito; Wataru Endo, Hidemasa Morita; Takefusa Kubo, Daichi Kamada, Ritsu Doan; Ayase Ueda.
Germany vs Paraguay Starting XI
- Germany (4-2-3-1) vs Paraguay: Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Antonio Rüdiger, Nico Schlotterbeck, David Raum; Leon Goretzka, Pascal Groß; Leroy Sané, Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala; Kai Havertz.
- Paraguay (4-3-3) vs Germany: Carlos Coronel; Juan Cáceres, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso; Andrés Cubas, Diego Gómez, Matías Villasanti; Julio Enciso, Antonio Sanabria, Ramón Sosa.
Netherlands vs Morocco Starting XI
- Netherlands (4-3-3) vs Morocco: Bart Verbruggen; Denzel Dumfries, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Aké, Daley Blind; Frenkie de Jong, Tijjani Reijnders, Ryan Gravenberch; Xavi Simons, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo.
- Morocco (4-3-3) vs Netherlands: Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saïss, Noussair Mazraoui; Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Bilal El Khannouss; Brahim Díaz, Youssef En-Nesyri, Abde Ezzalzouli.
Who Will Win Today? – Match Prediction
Brazil vs Japan
Japan are disciplined and dangerous on the counterattack, but Brazil’s attacking quality should prove decisive.
- Prediction: Brazil 2-1 Japan
Germany vs Paraguay
Germany possess too much quality in midfield and attack and should control most of the match.
- Prediction: Germany 3-1 Paraguay
Netherlands vs Morocco
This could be the closest game of the day. Morocco have already shown they can compete with Europe’s elite, but the Dutch have a slight edge.
- Prediction: Netherlands 2-1 Morocco
Day 19 Winner Picks
✅ Brazil to beat Japan
✅ Germany to beat Paraguay
✅ Netherlands to beat Morocco
Upset Alert 🚨
Netherlands vs Morocco – Morocco have enough pace and defensive organization to spring a surprise.
Day 19 marks the beginning of the heavyweight clashes in the knockout stage, and by the end of the night, three more teams will have booked their place in the Round of 16.
