It’s out with the group stage and in with the knockouts, as the World Cup round of 32 begins TODAY. Little over 15 hours since the full-time whistles blew in Group J, South Africa and and co-hosts Canada will get the next phase of the tournament underway. England, though, have plenty of time.
The Three Lions secured top spot in their group with a laboured 2-0 victory over Panama on Saturday in New Jersey, with Jude Bellingham and record breaker Harry Kane scoring in the second half.
The win wasn’t without its issues, however. England’s right-back curse struck again with an injury to Jarell Quansah, giving Thomas Tuchel a headache for Wednesday’s clash with DR Congo in Atlanta at 5pm UK time.
Elsewhere, Lionel Messi became the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches. The Argentine enjoyed a much better night than Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Portugal side were held to a 0-0 draw by Colombia and will now face Croatia.
But sadly for Scotland, their fate was finally sealed in the early hours of Sunday morning, joining fellow third-placed teams Iran, South Korea and Uruguay in exiting. Manager Steve Clarke, who was given a new four-year contract last month, has already announced his resignation.
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New UpdatesToday09:08 BST
Scotland’s fight to stay in the World Cup came to an end last night after Senegal cruised to a 5-0 victory over 10-man Iraq in Toronto to move into the top eight best third-placed sides.
The top eight third-placed teams progressed to the round of 32 but Scotland was pushed down the list last night.
Habib Diarra opened the scoring after four minutes before Rebin Sulaka was sent off for Iraq for bringing down Senegal’s Sadio Mane in the 13th minute.
Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr added a goal, and there was a stunning second-half brace from substitute Pape Gueye before Iliman Ndiaye added a valuable fifth towards Senegal’s goal difference.
Iraq coach Graham Arnold said: “Everyone in Iraq should be proud of the fact that we made it here and we performed very well in two out of the three games.
“It was very tough getting a red card so early in the game and we were playing against Senegal, who are 12th or 13th in the world. When you make those kind of mistakes you get punished.”
Elizabeta RanxburgajToday09:03 BST
Scotland have been left looking for a new head coach after Steve Clarke stepped down from his post following their exit from the tournament.
The Scots ended up third in their group but with three points and a minus three goal difference it was not enough to secure a place in the top eight third-placed squads, meaning they did not progress to the knockout stages.
Last night, a statement on the national team’s official Twitter account read: “Scotland men’s head coach Steve Clarke has stepped down from his role.
“Our most successful national team head coach has called time on his seven years in charge following our participation at the FIFA World Cup 2026.”
In a lengthy open letter to supporters on the Scottish Football Association’s website, the 62-year-old said: “The most emotional part of this goodbye is for my players, without whom we wouldn’t have had any of the memories that we’ve accumulated from 2019 until now.
“They deserve all the praise and adulation that they receive and it was truly an honour to be called their gaffer. Thanks for having me and good luck to my successor.”
Steve Clarke with his head down after their 1-0 defeat against Morocco(Image: Getty Images)