World Cup 2026 knockout round: Who will come to Boston and the future of the team

The knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup have officially begun, and that means new countries — along with millions of their fans — will be coming to Gillette Stadium. The opening match is a confrontation between Germany and Paraguay, taking place at 4:30 pm in Foxborough. Below is some essential information for you to follow this match, what's about to happen at "Boston Stadium" and the road ahead for the US national team.

Let's start with Germany, who are considered strong favorites for Monday's match. This is actually the first time the German team has made it past the World Cup group stage since 2014 (the year they won the championship). They quickly qualified for the knockout round with a 7-1 victory over this World Cup's smallest nation, Curaçao, in their opening match, and a 2-1 comeback against the young and talented Ivory Coast. (They lost their last match 1-2 to Ecuador.) Germany has a deep squad filled with stars from the Premier League and Bundesliga such as Bayern Munich's Jonathan Tah and Jamal Musiala, Liverpool's Florian Wirtz and Arsenal's Kai Havertz. The standout player of the tournament, however, has been replacement striker Deniz Undav, who has scored three goals and two assists in Germany's first two games, despite only playing about a third of the time.

Two issues that may cause concern for Germany are that midfielder Nico Schlotterbeck will not participate in the rest of the World Cup due to an ankle injury, and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, 40 years old, has just returned to play but has not regained his best form. Off the field, a prominent German star is "Freddy", a rather mysterious fan who has become a phenomenon on social networks with trips across the United States to cheer for the team.

Now let's move on to Paraguay, the team is ranked much lower than Germany. This is Paraguay's first return to the World Cup since 2010, when they made an impressive run to the quarter-finals and almost beat Spain, if not for a controversial decision and a saved penalty. After losing this year's opening match with a score of 1-4 against the US team, Paraguay did not concede any more goals. This is their typical playing style: solid defense. Center-back Gustavo Gómez, captain of Paraguay (as well as Brazilian side Palmeiras), is considered by many to be the best center-back in South America.

However, Paraguay's attack encountered difficulties. Among the 48 teams participating in this World Cup, Paraguay's "expected goals" index is 1.25, ranking second from the bottom, just ahead of Tunisia. Julio Enciso, an attacking midfielder with experience in the English and French top leagues, was the team's shining star, having assisted both of Paraguay's goals in the group stage.

The final match of the World Cup in Boston will likely be a battle between contenders for the championship. The winner of the match between Germany and Paraguay will face the winner of the match between France and Sweden on July 4 in Philadelphia. And the winner of this match will return to Foxborough on July 9 to compete in the quarterfinals.

The Americans, after winning their group, will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night (8 p.m. ET) in San Francisco. The US team is expected to win this match, because Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently ranked 62nd in the rankings and is considered one of the weakest teams to qualify for the group stage. But don't underestimate this Balkan team. Bosnia knocked Italy out of World Cup qualifying, drew with Canada at the co-hosts' home and secured third place in the group stage with a 3-1 win over Qatar last week. Their squad contained many experienced players, with Edin Džeko, captain and Bosnian football legend, leading the attack. In defense, Sead Kolašinac, who played for Arsenal before moving to the French and Italian leagues, is a reliable stopper.

If the Americans defeat Bosnia, they will face a tougher challenge in the round of 16: Belgium or Senegal. This could be a revenge match for Belgium, who eliminated the United States in the same round in the 2014 World Cup. While Belgium's golden generation is at the end of its career, they still sit 10th in the FIFA rankings and won Group G, despite some unconvincing results early in the tournament. In contrast, Senegal are one of the best teams in Africa and recently won the AFCON championship, although the title was controversially stripped away. It's too early to predict, but if the US gets through this round, they could meet a strong European team like Spain, Portugal or Croatia.

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