Co-hosts Canada begin the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup when they face South Africa in the lone contest on Sunday, June 28. The Canadians finished second in Group B after suffering a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in the final group stage match, and they’ll have to play this game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles rather than in front of their home crowd. South Africa managed to get a late draw against Czechia thanks to a penalty, then took advantage of one of the few opportunities they had against Korea Republic in a 1-0 win. Neither country has played a World Cup knockout game in its soccer history, but we know one will make history by going to the Round of 16.

We’ve taken how both teams fared in the group stage into consideration ahead of Sunday’s knockout game and put together a same-game parlay for South Africa vs. Canada, with additional insights from SportsLine experts Jon Eimer, Brad Thomas and Martin Green. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

South Africa vs. Canada World Cup same-game parlay

• Under 2.5 goals
• Both teams to score “No”
• South Africa double chance

FanDuel SGP price: +319

Under 2.5 goals

Canada’s six-goal outburst against a nine-man Qatar side has to be largely dismissed, since it’s unlikely South Africa will have multiple players sent off. Similarly, South Africa’s expected goal number of 0.07 from their opener against Mexico can largely be thrown out. These teams are fairly evenly matched on paper, though Canada have the edge when it comes to experience, especially in the attacking third. However, South Africa have defended quite well for most of the tournament. They’ve only allowed three goals, and one of those was conceded after they went down a man. I expect this to be a largely defensive contest that finishes Under 2.5 goals in regular time.

Both teams to score “No”

This has hit in two of Canada’s three group stage games and once in South Africa’s three matches. Canada produced 1.23 expected goals against Bosnia and 1.66 expected goals against Switzerland, while South Africa had 1.38 expected goals against Czechia and 1.16 against South Korea. And yet, I don’t believe either of these sides are truly that creative offensively. Canada have the talent edge but they might not have the crowd support they usually do, and South Africa have done well to hold off some solid attacking units in the group stage. I’ve already backed the Under, and I don’t think both teams get a goal in this one.

South Africa double chance

As mentioned above, I see this being a low-scoring match where both teams try to avoid major mistakes. Typically, this would favor a squad like Canada. However, all logic goes out the window with this South Africa team. They’ve already made history advancing to the Round of 32 out of a group where many expected them to finish last by a considerable margin. They’ve gotten quite lucky with timely goals and despite arguably not controlling any of the games they played, but they’re here. I’ll ride with the momentum they have to back a South Africa double chance in regular time.

Need to know

The World Cup has reached the knockout stage with 32 teams still in the hunt to land the trophy

The World Cup knockout fixtures are now set in stone after the group stage concluded in the early hours of Sunday morning. Of the 48 teams who began the tournament in North America, 32 remain standing and will now face off over the next few days to determine the last 16.

England will be among them. The Three Lions wrapped up top spot in their World Cup group with a win over Panama on Saturday night. Thomas Tuchel’s men now take on DR Congo on Wednesday at 5pm in the first knockout round.

Scotland’s tournament is over though, a 1-0 win over Haiti in their opening game was followed by defeats to Morocco and Brazil and their three point tally but minus three goal difference was not enough to see them through to the next round.

Three teams came through qualifying with a 100 per cent record. France justified their pre-tournament favourite status as they came through a testing looking group with nine points from nine and Didier Deschamps side will now play Sweden. Argentina also recorded maximum points and they will play surprise package Cape Verde.

Mexico were the third side with a perfect group phase and they now play Ecuador. All three co-hosts secured their passages into the knockout stages with the USA topping their group to set up fixtures against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Canada finished second behind Switzerland and will kick off the last-32 against South Africa later today.

Of the other favourites, Brazil picked up two wins and a draw to top their group and earn a date with Japan while Spain face Austria.

The Netherlands were impressive in winning their group while Germany wrapped up top spot with a game to spare. Portugal were less than convincing to finish second to Colombia with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side now facing Croatia.

Plenty tipped Erling Haaland’s Norway as dark horses and they now face the Ivory Coast, who are one of a number of sides to have made history by reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

Full fixtures and UK kick off times: Tonight, 8pm: Canada vs South Africa; Monday, 6pm Brazil vs Japan, Monday, 9.30pm, Germany vs Paraguay. Tuesday, 2am, Netherlands vs Morocco, Tuesday, 6pm, Ivory Coast vs Norway; Tuesday, 10pm, France vs Sweden. Wednesday, 2am, Mexico vs Ecuador, Wednesday, 5pm, England vs DR Congo, Wednesday 9pm, Belgium vs Senegal. Thursday, 1am, USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, Thursday, 8pm, Spain vs Austria. Friday, 12midnight, Portugal vs Croatia, Friday, 4am, Switzerland vs Algeria, Friday, 7pm, Australia vs Egypt, Friday, 11pm, Argentina vs Cape Verde.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is only 15 years old, but the maturity the player has shown is way beyond his age. His sensational batting has helped him earn the ‘Boss Baby’ tag. In the Indian Premier League 2026, the teenager represented Rajasthan Royals and won the Orange Cap with 776 runs to his name. He also hit a record 72 sixes in the season, comfortably surpassing previous topper Chris Gayle’s 59 maximums from the 2012 season. RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara, a legendary wicketkeeper batter from Sri Lanka, recently talked about Sooryavanshi’s massive declaration ahead of a chase against Lucknow Super Giants.

Sangakkara revealed that Sooryavanshi claimed that he would hit around 13 sixes in the innings and ended up smashing 10.

“This year, we were playing Lucknow Super Giants. We had to chase 220 (221) to win the game and stay in the competition. We fielded first. Vaibhav is walking out, he winks at me and says, ‘Coach, don’t worry. It’s done.’ He walks into the dressing room and tells Donovan Ferreira and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, ‘Listen, the two of you. I am going to hit 13 sixes now. And once I do that, you just do the rest.’ He hit 10. And when he was on five sixes, Donovan and Pretorius thought, ‘What is he talking about?’ Then they suddenly sat down and said, ‘We better start counting this down because this kid is actually going to do it.’ So, that is the level of confidence he has,” said Kumar Sangakkara on Sky Sports.

The incident took place during the mid-innings break of RR’s IPL 2026 game against LSG at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on May 19.

RR’s stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal won the toss and opted to bowl in the game. However, a good batting display from LSG helped the side post 220 for 5.

Sooryavanshi smashed 93 off just 48 balls as Rajasthan Royals completed the chase with seven wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Dhruv Jurel scored 53 not out off 38, helping the cause of his side.

RR had a good run in IPL 2026 as they reached Qualifier 2, where they lost to Gujarat Titans.

Catch India’s tour of England, 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs, from July 1-19, LIVE on JioHotstar

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Delhi vs Mumbai IPL 2026: Fans Flood Arun Jaitley Stadium for High-Voltage Clash

India vs Ireland Live Score: India will have little time to recover from their surprise defeat in the first T20I as they return to the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Sunday for the second and final match of the series.

The reigning T20 World Cup champions were beaten by 34 runs after Ireland recovered from 36/3 to post 182/9 before bowling India out for 148. The win gave Ireland a 1-0 lead and put them one victory away from a famous bilateral T20I series triumph over India.

For Shreyas Iyer’s side, Sunday’s game is a must-win if they are to avoid an unexpected series defeat.

India need better execution

India made a brilliant start with the ball in the opening match, reducing Ireland to 36/3 inside the Powerplay through Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh.

However, the visitors failed to maintain that pressure. Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany rebuilt the innings before George Dockrell’s late hitting helped Ireland score 66 runs in the final five overs.

Captain Shreyas Iyer admitted after the match that India lost control during the middle overs and allowed Ireland to target the shorter straight boundaries. He said the team would “forget what’s happened” and come back “all guns blazing” in the series decider.

Bowling under the spotlight

India’s bowling, especially in the death overs, is likely to come under focus.

Although Harshit Rana impressed with figures of 3/24, India struggled to contain Ireland in the final overs. Better execution and smarter use of bowlers will be crucial if they are to stop another late assault.

Batters need to step up

India’s batting also failed to deliver in the opening match.

Abhishek Sharma smashed a quickfire 50 off just 20 balls to keep the chase alive, but once he was dismissed, the innings fell apart.

Captain Shreyas Iyer managed only three runs, while Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel all failed to convert their starts. Shivam Dube played a useful cameo, but India never built the partnerships needed to chase 183.

Will India make changes?

With the series on the line, India could make changes to the playing XI.

Young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is waiting for his opportunity and could be considered if the team management decides to freshen up the batting line-up after the disappointing performance in the opener.

Ireland chasing another historic moment

Ireland will enter the match full of confidence after registering their first-ever T20I win over India.

Captain Lorcan Tucker led from the front with a composed half-century, while Gareth Delany made a valuable contribution with the bat.

Debutants Matthew Hollard and Jai Moondra also impressed. Hollard picked up three wickets to win the Player of the Match award, while Moondra claimed two wickets with a disciplined spell.

Ireland now have the chance to seal a memorable series victory over the world champions on home soil.

India look to bounce back

Despite the setback, India have often responded strongly after defeats.

Shreyas Iyer’s side will be determined to level the series and avoid a rare bilateral T20I series loss, while Ireland will look to complete another famous chapter in their cricket history.

With pride, momentum and the series on the line, an exciting contest awaits in Belfast.

Squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (captain), Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Humphreys, Gavin Hoey, Matthew Hollard, Liam McCarthy, Jai Moondra, Harry Tector, Tim Tector and Reuben Wilson.

28/06/2026 – 00:56

28/06/2026 – 00:55

Full time! Panama 0-2 England

Austria and Algeria both secured places in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage after producing one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament, with a thrilling 3-3 draw that knocked Iran out of the competition.

The result meant Austria finished second in Group J and booked a last-32 clash with Spain, while Algeria claimed one of the final qualifying spots among the best third-placed teams and will face Switzerland.

Austria looked set for elimination when captain Riyad Mahrez scored his second goal of the match in the 93rd minute to give Algeria a 3-2 lead in Kansas City.

At that moment, Iran, who had drawn all three of their group matches, were on course to progress to the knockout stage.

However, substitute Sasa Kalajdzic produced a dramatic late equaliser in the 96th minute, heading home just over a minute after coming off the bench to send Austria through and spark wild celebrations among their players and supporters.

The draw also saw Austria make history as the first team to avoid defeat in a World Cup match after falling behind beyond the 90-minute mark.

Despite the fact that both teams knew a draw would guarantee qualification, the match was played with great intensity and excitement from start to finish.

Austria took the lead in the first half through Marko Arnautovic, who controlled a long pass from David Alaba before finishing past goalkeeper Oussama Benbot.

Algeria responded before half-time when Rafik Belghali scored after reacting quickest to a loose ball inside the penalty area.

Austria regained the lead shortly after the break as Marcel Sabitzer fired home from a cut-back by Konrad Laimer.

But Algeria hit back again within five minutes when Mahrez converted a brilliant cross from Houssem Aouar.

As the match entered stoppage time, Mahrez appeared to have completed a famous comeback when he fired home from a tight angle in the 93rd minute to put Algeria 3-2 ahead and seemingly send Austria out.

However, Kalajdzic had the final say, heading home in the sixth minute of added time to rescue Austria and ensure both teams advanced.

The result was particularly painful for Iran, whose hopes had already suffered after a late winner was ruled out by VAR in their 1-1 draw against Egypt earlier on Saturday.

Austria will now face Spain in Los Angeles on Thursday, while Algeria travel to Vancouver to take on Switzerland on Friday in the last 32.

Jul 19, 2019; Miami Beach, FL, USA; A general view of custom PlayStation controllers sold by a vender during the Call of Duty League Finals e-sports event at Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

OpTic Texas charged into the upper-bracket final of the Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major, cruising to a 3-0 win over G2 Minnesota on Saturday in Nanterre, France.

OpTic move on to face Los Angeles Thieves, who eked out a 3-2 win over FaZe Vegas in the other upper-bracket semifinal.

Meanwhile, the host Paris Gentle Mates stayed alive with a pair of victories in the lower bracket. First, the Gentle Mates overtook the Miami Heretics 3-2. Then Paris ousted G2 Minnesota 3-1 in a lower-bracket quarterfinal match.

In the other lower-bracket quarterfinal, FaZe Vegas swept the Toronto KOI 3-0.

The 12 Call of Duty League teams played five qualifying matches apiece to determine seeding for the fourth major of the season, which is being held through Sunday with a $365,000 prize pool. The winning team earns $150,000 and 100 CDL points. All matches are best-of-five until the best-of-seven grand final.

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On Saturday, Texas toppled Minnesota 250-186 on Scar Hardpoint, 6-2 on Gridlock Search and Destroy and 3-1 on Den Overload.

The United States’ Mason “Mercules” Ramsey produced 75 kills and a plus-11 kill-death differential. Cesar “Skyz” Bueno of the U.S. paced G2 with 64 kills and a minus-1 K-D differential.

The Thieves opened with a 250-202 win on Den Hardpoint and a 6-3 victory on Gridlock Search and Destroy, but FaZe equalized by taking Scar Overload 5-0 and Scar Hardpoint 250-141. On the decisive fifth map, Den Search and Destroy, Los Angeles prevailed 6-5.

France’s Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez amassed 98 kills and a minus-7 K-D differential for the Thieves. The United States’ Jovan “04” Rodriguez totaled 119 kills and a plus-28 K-D differential for Vegas.

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Miami jumped to a 2-1 edge on Paris by sandwiching a 250-167 victory on Gridlock Hardpoint and a 4-1 win on Gridlock Overload around a 6-2 loss on Fringe Search and Destroy. The Gentle Mates took the final two maps, 250-227 on Scar Hardpoint and 6-0 on Hacienda Search and Destroy.

Joseph “JoeDeceives” Romero of the U.S. carried Paris with 103 kills and a plus-22 K-D differential. David “RenKoR” Isern propelled the all-Spanish Heretics with 95 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential.

The Gentle Mates got off to a hot start in their second match of the day, taking Colossus Hardpoint 250-188 and Fringe Search and Destroy 6-4. Minnesota extended the contest by winning 4-3 on Den Overload, but Paris wrapped up the series by claiming Den Hardpoint 250-144.

JoeDeceives shined again, finishing with 106 kills and a plus-23 K-D differential. The United States’ Dylan “Envoy” Hannon wound up with 86 kills and a minus-21 K-D differential for G2.

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Vegas blitzed the KOI 250-208 on Gridlock Hardpoint, 6-2 on Fringe Search and Destroy and 8-2 on Scar Overload behind the United States’ Zachary “Drazah” Jordan (68 kills and a plus-17 K-D differential). Jamie “Insight” Craven of Great Britain and Nicholas “Kips” Lyons of the U.S. each had 55 kills for Toronto.

The Sunday schedule

–Upper-bracket final: Los Angeles Thieves vs. OpTic Texas

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–Lower-bracket semifinal: Paris Gentle Mates vs. FaZe Vegas

–Lower-bracket final: Los Angeles/Texas winner vs. Paris/Vegas winner

–Grand final: upper-bracket winner vs. lower-bracket winner

Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major prize pool (Money winnings, CDL points)

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1. $150,000, 100 — TBD

2. $90,000, 75 — TBD

3. $50,000, 60 — TBD

4. $30,000, 45 — TBD

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5-6. $15,000, 30 — G2 Minnesota, Toronto KOI

7-8. $7,500, 15 — Boston Breach, Miami Heretics

9-12. no money, no points — Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9 New York, Riyadh Falcons, Vancouver Surge

–Field Level Media

Jude Bellingham scored one goal and set up another to ensure England qualified for the World Cup knockout rounds as group winners on Saturday with a laboured 2-0 victory over Panama in New Jersey.

Bellingham provided the crucial breakthrough for England with a 62nd-minute goal at a rainswept MetLife Stadium and then provided the cross for Harry Kane to double England’s advantage minutes later and seal top spot in Group L.

Until Bellingham’s intervention, England had looked to be heading for another lacklustre stalemate following their 0-0 draw with Ghana in their second group game.

But the Three Lions’ victory means they will now face one of the best third-placed teams in the last 32 in Atlanta on Wednesday, rather than a potential meeting with Portugal in the knockout rounds.

Read moreWorld Cup 2026: Group standings

 

Croatia meanwhile made sure of claiming second place in the group behind England with a 2-1 victory over Ghana in Philadelphia.

Petar Sucic and Nikola Vlasic scored the goals for Croatia, as Ghana were forced to settle for third.

Kane moves past Lineker

Kane’s third goal of the tournament, after his brace in the opening 4-2 win over Croatia, means the England captain has now moved clear of Gary Lineker as his country’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with 11.

Three of those goals came when England thrashed Panama 6-1 at the 2018 tournament in Russia, but the Three Lions did not have things quite so easy this time against hard-working but limited opponents.

Questions were perhaps being asked about England’s World Cup prospects an hour into this match, following the goalless draw against Ghana in Boston last Tuesday.

They have not yet reached the same heights again as in their victory against Croatia, but England advance to the next round on top of the group with seven points out of a possible nine.

Topping the section is important, as it means they avoid a possible clash with Spain in the last 16.

Instead they will head to Atlanta for a tie next Wednesday, July 1 against a third-placed team. Win that, and they will be off to Mexico City in the last 16, possibly to play Mexico, in the Azteca Stadium where they lost to Diego Maradona’s Argentina in 1986.

Read morePelé’s third, Baggio’s miss and the ‘Hand of God’: Iconic World Cups in Mexico and the US

Tuchel will not be getting carried away thinking that far ahead, and there is surely a lot for England still to do before they are truly ready to take on and beat the tournament’s other heavyweights.

That said, it is unlikely they will come up against any more sides who play with such a low defensive block as Ghana did, and as Panama did for much of this contest.

The Central American nation, ranked 34th in the world, competed well but created few chances and have still never won a point at the tournament.

They lost all three group games at their debut World Cup in 2018, and go out after losing all three matches this time — all without scoring, with this result following 1-0 reverses against Ghana and Croatia.

Rashford to the fore

Tuchel made five changes to his line-up following the Ghana encounter, notably choosing to rest Declan Rice from the midfield. Marcus Rashford and Saka got their first starts of the World Cup on the wings.

Rashford forced a good save from Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera inside the opening 10 minutes, and later headed over an Elliot Anderson cross before curling a free-kick just past in first-half stoppage time.

Panama did also threaten once in the opening period, when Jordan Pickford had to get down to stop a Jose Luis Rodriguez shot at his near post.

England were pedestrian before the break, but the match started to open up for them following the restart.

Jose Cordoba nearly forced an own goal when his clearance came off teammate Andres Andrade and went narrowly over, and Mosquera then denied Kane.

A goal was beginning to feel inevitable and it arrived on 62 minutes as Bellingham held off Jorge Gutierrez at Saka’s corner to turn the ball in.

That was his second goal of the competition, and he then turned provider for Kane to make sure of the win.

Jose Fajardo then thought he had a late consolation for Panama, but his effort was disallowed for offside.

It has probably been England’s least remarkable group-stage showing at a World Cup since 2014, when they went out in the first round. This time, however, they are safely through.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Live Score: Zimbabwe captain Richard Ngarava has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Harare. With plenty of grass on the surface, the hosts are backing their seam attack to make early inroads.

Ngarava explains toss decision

“We are going to bowl first. We know these conditions well, with a bit of grass on the wicket, we want to bowl first,” said Zimbabwe captain Richard Ngarava.

On leading the side, he added: “There are no nerves. You don’t become a leader in one or two days, it’s long coming. We had a preparation camp that lasted almost two months.”

Shanto wanted to bowl too

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto admitted he would also have chosen to bowl first.

“We would have bowled first, but it doesn’t matter if we bat properly for the first two hours. There is some moisture in the wicket and the new ball will be challenging with extra bounce,” he said.

Shanto confirmed Bangladesh are playing one spinner, Taijul Islam, along with three seamers.

Pitch report | Early help for pacers

The pitch at Harare is expected to favour the fast bowlers early on.

“It’s a nice spread of grass with good coverage. The seamers will have a big say in the first hour if they keep hitting the right areas,” said commentator Athar Ali Khan in his pitch report.

He also advised batters to stay patient, saying it’s a five-day game and there is plenty of time to build an innings.

Ben Curran confident after long break

Zimbabwe opener Ben Curran believes the break from Test cricket has helped him work on his game.

“I’ve had a few months to simplify my game and focus on the basics. I had good preparation with net sessions and time in the middle. I’ve also worked on my batting skills and technique,” he said.

Playing XIs announced

Zimbabwe: Ben Curran, Innocent Kaia, Brendan Taylor, Brian Bennett, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava (capt), Blessing Muzarabani.

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Amite Hasan (wk), Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain.