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Brazil’s Vini Jr. celebrates a goal. FIFA photo via Getty Images
👋 Good morning!
📰 Headlines:
USMNT to play Bosnia and Herzegovina in World Cup round of 32
The United States, fresh off winning Group D, will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The Americans closed out the group stage with a 3-2 loss to Turkey.
Ronaldinho comes out of retirement
Brazil legend Ronaldinho has signed with Italian Serie C club Ravenna at age 46, more than a decade after retiring. The club is run by Ignazio Cipriani of the Cipriani restaurant chain.
After Italy debacle, Lazio hires Gattuso to 2-year deal
Former Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has been officially hired by Lazio to a two-year deal. Gattuso left the Italy job in April, days after the Azzurri failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. He previously coached AC Milan and Napoli.
⚽ The big story: Welcome to the knockout round
The World Cup knockout round is one of the most exciting stages in all of sports. After weeks of intense competition during the group stage, only the strongest teams remain.
Going forward, every match becomes a battle for survival because there are no second chances. A mistake or moment of brilliance can determine whether a team continues its dream of becoming world champion or goes home.
Image courtesy of FIFA
The group stage was loaded with individual star power. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored goals. More of the same is expected from them in the knockout rounds.
One of the main reasons the knockout round is so exciting is its winner-takes-all format. Unlike the group stage, where teams can recover from a loss or draw, knockout matches are do-or-die. Games that end in a draw after 30 minutes of extra time are decided via a penalty-kick shootout.
In this expanded tournament, the 32 teams that advanced are a mix of traditional powers, like defending champions Argentina, and home sides such as the United States. Co-host Canada edged South Africa 1-0 on Sunday to open the round of 32.
The possibility of upsets also contributes to the appeal of the knockout stage. Nine of the 10 African participants made the round of 32, including Cape Verde (who next face Argentina). As for the rest of the field, 13 are from UEFA, five are from CONMEBOL, three from CONCACAF and two are from the AFC.
Several matchups this week stand out as must-watch: Portugal-Croatia is a clash between two technically-gifted European sides with plenty of tournament experience, while Brazil-Japan promises to be an entertaining battle.
France-Sweden features one of the tournament favorites against a dangerous Scandinavian side capable of upsetting elite opponents, while Netherlands-Morocco could be one of the most intriguing.
Anything can happen between now and the final on July 19. Perhaps we will get an Argentina-France final in a rematch of the 2022 final.
🔢 By the numbers:
You can get all the latest World Cup scores here.
💬 What they’re saying:
“Maybe the coach can reassess certain situations, correct certain mistakes. The players get a little rest and come back in full speed. Well, is that bad necessarily? Maybe it’s good. And we see as well the intensity of the games. We’ve never seen 90 minutes in a tournament like this played in such an intensity.”
— FIFA President Gianni Infantino on keeping hydration breaks at future World Cups.
📺 Upcoming top games this week (all times ET):
You can view the complete World Cup broadcast schedule here.