Canada-Morocco, France-Paraguay Open Round of 16, Set First Quarterfinal

The 2026 World Cup’s Round of 16 opens Saturday with Canada facing Morocco in Houston and France meeting Paraguay in Philadelphia, and the winners will meet in the tournament’s first confirmed quarterfinal.

Canada plays Morocco at 1 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium, and France faces Paraguay at 5 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field. Saturday’s winners meet Thursday, July 9, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Jesse Marsch is still weighing whether captain Alphonso Davies will start against Morocco, Reuters reported. Davies played his first minutes of the tournament in Canada’s 1-0 Round of 32 win over South Africa, entering in the 75th minute in his first national-team appearance since March 2025. Marsch pointed to fitness as a possible edge after Morocco played 120 minutes in its penalty-shootout win over the Netherlands.

France have won all four of their matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding two, with captain Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola accounting for 12 of them. Barcola said France expect Paraguay to defend in numbers, Reuters reported, and that the Philadelphia heat could take a toll, though the team has adjusted to warm conditions during the tournament. France reached the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Sweden; Paraguay eliminated four-time champion Germany 4-3 on penalties.

France expect Paraguay to defend in numbers, and the Philadelphia heat could take a toll. — Bradley Barcola, via Reuters

The Round of 32 closed Friday with the holders nearly falling. Argentina beat World Cup debutant Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time in Miami Gardens, Florida. Lionel Messi scored in the 29th minute, Cape Verde twice equalized, and an extra-time own goal off Diney Borges sent Argentina through to face Egypt in Atlanta.

Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jhon Arias’ 14th-minute goal from a Luis Suárez cross, and will face Switzerland in Vancouver.

The United States must play Belgium on Monday in Seattle without forward Folarin Balogun, who scored his third World Cup goal in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina but was sent off in the second half and is suspended.