World Cup 2026: Canada end draught in style, Mexico through to R32, USMNT chase 1930 feat

The drama has already reached another level at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with knockout places already being secured and several nations facing defining moments.

Some teams have taken a giant step towards the next round, while others are already running out of room for error.

Read on as we break down the biggest stories from the latest round of action and look ahead to what’s still to come.

Canada find World Cup breakthrough in dominant fashion

Canada had to wait eight matches for their first World Cup victory, but Jesse Marsch’s side made the wait worthwhile last night.

After being held to a 1-1 draw by Bosnia & Herzegovina on matchday one, the Canucks cruised to a 6-0 win over Qatar at BC Place in Vancouver.

Juventus striker Jonathan David inspired his country to a long-awaited triumph over the lowest-ranked nation in Group B, scoring a hat-trick against Julen Lopetegui’s ill-disciplined side.

In doing so, he became the second player at this World Cup to score three goals in one game after Argentina icon Lionel Messi. He has also entered the race for the Golden Boot, just like his teammate Cyle Larin.

After scoring an equaliser against Bosnia, the Southampton centre-forward returned to the scoresheet with a simple tap-in to open the scoring.

Meanwhile, Qatar couldn’t replicate their heroics from round one, when they held Switzerland to a late draw, as they received two red cards.

Chilean referee Cristian Garay sent off the likes of Homam Al-Amin and Assim Omer Madibo on either side of half-time, with both players receiving straight reds for cynical fouls on Tajon Buchanan and Ismael Kone, respectively.

Despite a heavy loss, Qatar’s hopes of progressing as one of the best-ranked third-placed teams are not entirely gone, though they’d have to pull off an epic win over Bosnia, who slumped to a 4-1 defeat to the Swiss yesterday.

Mexico book knockout place

Co-hosts Mexico squeezed past South Korea in Group A’s top-table six-pointer to secure a place in the round of 16, avenging a heartbreaking group-stage exit in Qatar four years ago.

Buoyed by a 2-0 win over South Africa on the opening day, Javier Aguirre’s side knew they were in for a much more complicated contest this time around, with the Taegeuk Warriors standing on the other side.

Following a disappointing first half that produced just a single shot on target, El Tri drew first blood early in the second half as Chivas Guadalajara midfielder Luis Romo scored the winning goal at his home stadium.

With 40 minutes left on the clock, Mexico had to dig deep to protect their slender lead and uphold their 100% win rate over Asian opposition at World Cups, having now won all six such matches.

Most importantly, they’ve secured a knockout berth with a game to spare.

As for South Korea, they’ll have to avoid defeat against South Africa in their final group-stage outing to lock in second place, provided the Czech Republic fail to beat Mexico in the other fixture.

USMNT & Australia both seeking history in Seattle

After a 4-1 rout of Paraguay on day one, the United States are in pole position to join Mexico in the knockouts, as they face Asian qualifiers Australia in Seattle later in the evening.

Mauricio Pochettino oversaw the USMNT’s joint-largest World Cup victory last time out, with the co-hosts also finding the net four times in a single World Cup match for the first time.

On that basis, confidence should be sky-high for the home team as they seek back-to-back World Cup victories for the first time since 1930.

Achieving that feat would also see them register multiple triumphs at one World Cup for the first time since going all the way to the quarter-finals in 2002.

Seattle may provide a perfect backdrop, given that they’ve won seven consecutive games in this city, yet there’s no room for complacency as they face a high-flying Australia side.

The Socceroos defied the odds to beat Turkey 2-0 in their Group D opener, marking their first day-one win at World Cups since 2006. As a result, they could move on to the next stage with a win here.

It would be an unprecedented success for Australia, as they could reach the knockouts twice in a row for the first time after qualifying for the round of 16 in Qatar.

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What to watch

Folarin Balogun set the tone for the United States’ thrashing of Paraguay with a first-half brace and is now halfway to becoming the second USMNT star to score four goals at a single World Cup.

It has been almost a century since Bert Patenaude struck four times at a single World Cup in 1930, and Balogun now stands on the verge of ending that wait and writing his own chapter in USMNT history.

Elsewhere, Brazil will look to bounce back from a lacklustre day-one performance against Morocco when they take on Group C minnows Haiti overnight, hoping to get their faltering World Cup campaign back on track.

Another upset, no matter how unlikely it may feel, would significantly derail the Selecao’s chances of extending their proud record of topping their World Cup group in every tournament since 1982.

Not since 1978 have Brazil failed to win their opening two World Cup matches, and there’s little doubt that veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti will expect nothing less than a statement victory here.