The first day of match week 3 is in the books. Five teams qualified while those in third still need to wait for future results to see if what they accomplished was enough to push them through. Mexico became the first team to finish with a perfect nine points, while Brazil continued its tradition of topping its group in every edition of the tournament since 1982.
Switzerland 2-1 Canada
Switzerland’s victory secured first place in Group B, followed by Canada who also advances.
The Swiss controlled possession but created only half as many chances as Canada. However, their finishing was better as half of the chances that made it on target went in. Switzerland opened the scoring in the 46th minute when Rubén Vargas, after controlling a great cross from Johan Manzambi, rifled the ball into the bottom left corner.
Manzambi also scored in the 57th minute to double their lead. Canada got a goal back in the 76th minute from substitute Promise David, but unfortunately that would be the end of their scoring.
The result mattered more for Switzerland as they advance at the top of the group, meanwhile Canada advances in second, yet are the first to know who they will be playing in the Round of 32. Their match will be against South Africa and will take place at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, June 28, in Los Angeles.
As this was the last match for each team in the group, it means that Qatar was officially eliminated after their 3-1 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Brazil 3-0 Scotland
Brazil’s win helps them continue their run of finishing at the top of their group for every World Cup since 1982.
The Samba Kings were gifted their first goal in the seventh minute when a deflected pass landed right at the feet of Vinicius Jr. who was alone in the box around the penalty spot. He faked out the goalkeeper with his first touch and tapped the ball into an empty net with his second. Vini would get his second goal in the 45+3rd minute off of a cross from Bruno Guimarães, where he was able to head the ball in from inside the six-yard box.
Brazil would score their last goal in the 60th minute thanks to Matheus Cunha who took his scoring tally to three goals in the tournament so far.
This win means Brazil has clinched Group C, with Morocco advancing in second as a result of their 4-2 win over Haiti earlier today.
Mexico 3-0 Czechia
Mexico’s win makes them the first team in the Cup to finish with a perfect record of nine points and officially eliminated Czechia from the World Cup.
Although Czechia controlled the game and produced more chances, but Mexico were the ones who finished their chances, with three of their five shots on target going in.
Mexico would score only in the second half with goals from defender Mateo Chávez in the 55th minute, striker Julián Quiñones in the 61st minute, and substitute Álvaro Fidalgo in the 90+4th minute.
With day 2 kicking off tomorrow, no third-place teams have qualified yet although Bosnia and Herzegovina are in good standing as they are the only ones so far with four points, which will most likely be what it takes to make it through. Nine teams have qualified so far, with 23 teams still looking for a spot in the Round of 32.
As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous recap of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-setting game.
Cover Photo: Teams who qualified for the knockout stage. NOTE: Image generated using the prompt “generate me an image that matches the following 2026 World Cup article title: “South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil and Morocco all qualify for the Round of 32″” by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/).
One comment