The World Cup 2026 round of 16: is football coming home?
The 2026 World Cup has reached the round of 16, with European and South American teams continuing to dominate the field. Notable upsets included Germany's elimination by Paraguay, while favorites like Argentina and France remain in contention for the title.
Why it matters
The analysis provides a data-driven look at sports performance and betting probabilities in a major global event.
A further 16 matches over six days has whittled down the World Cup field from 32 teams to 16. Germany’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Paraguay was the main shock of the first knockout round, as the Germans had about a 63% chance of progressing. Had Senegal held on against Belgium, that would have been about as big a shock as the Paraguayans’ victory.
The content is purely analytical and based on statistical modeling of sports outcomes.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in