Only 16 teams remain in the 2026 World Cup, with the race to reach the final at MetLife Stadium on 19 July now firmly underway.
BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton had a strong round of predictions for the last 32, finishing with 13 correct results from 16 matches attempted.
Paraguay’s shock victory over Germany caught Sutton out, along with the vast majority of readers, as just 2% of over 60,000 user predictions backed Paraguay to win.
Morocco’s win over the Netherlands was the only other result that caught readers off guard, with most other outcomes correctly anticipated.
Across the full tournament so far, with 88 of 104 matches completed, readers lead the standings with 62 correct predictions, equating to an impressive 70% accuracy rate.
Sutton sits just behind on 54 correct predictions, while AI generated through Microsoft Copilot Chat has managed 55, giving both a broadly similar record across the competition.
One of the most anticipated ties of the round sees Brazil face Norway in New York, with Sutton backing an upset, predicting the game will end 2-2 after extra time before Norway win on penalties.
Sutton pointed to Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland as a potential hero in the shootout, and noted that Brazil have never beaten Norway in four meetings since 1998.
He also flagged that Brazil have been knocked out by the first European side they face in every knockout round since 2002, suggesting the historical pattern could continue.
Sutton believes England can progress past Mexico in Mexico City, predicting a 1-2 win for Thomas Tuchel’s side, with Harry Kane expected to take a couple of chances in the tie.
He expressed concern over England’s defensive reliability but felt they would create enough to get through, despite Mexico’s formidable home record at Azteca Stadium in competitive matches.
Sutton was blunt about Portugal’s chances against Spain, stating that Cristiano Ronaldo is “wrecking Portugal’s chances” and backing Spain to win 3-1, with Mikel Oyarzabal expected to score twice.
France are tipped to ease past Paraguay in Philadelphia, with Sutton predicting a 5-0 scoreline should Kylian Mbappe and the French attack be given an early foothold in the game.
Morocco are backed to beat Canada 2-0 in Houston, with Sutton expressing genuine belief that Morocco have the quality to go all the way and win the entire tournament.
Elsewhere, Argentina are expected to beat Egypt 3-0, the USA are tipped to edge Belgium 2-1, and Colombia are predicted to edge out Switzerland 3-2 after extra time.
