The knockout rounds are almost here.
The field for the Round of 32 will be finalized on Saturday following more than two weeks of competition across three countries.
While majority of the field is set, there are still some spots up for grabs with six group-stage matches remaining, leaving some teams jockeying for position and others fighting to advance.
Still others find themselves on the bubble, to determine their World Cup fate.
The knockout rounds begin Sunday.
The expansion to 48 teams in the World Cup has added intrigue 鈥� and in some cases, the confusion 鈥� over which 32 teams advance, with tiebreakers coming into play. The top two finishing teams from each of the 12 groups and eight third-place finishers move on.
The most intriguing match on Saturday might be Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal against Colombia.
Colombia has already secured a spot in the Round of 32 and can win Group K with a win or draw. Portugal needs a win to take the group, but can also advance with a draw or possibly even a loss.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said winning the group would be nice, but it doesn’t matter as long as the team advances.
鈥淚t doesn’t. It doesn鈥檛,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淢y experience, probably in my first World Cup, I would have said yes. You sit down and you are so inexperienced, you want to plan everything … and then you realize that doesn鈥檛 happen in competitions.鈥�
Martinez said in the end, 鈥測ou have to be able to beat everybody and anybody.鈥�
The match in Miami Gardens, Florida, will be played in typical June conditions, with temperatures expected to hover around 87 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) with high humidity when the match kicks off.
What to watch on June 27
鈥� Panama vs England, 5 p.m. EDT in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
鈥� Croatia vs. Ghana, 5 p.m. EDT in Philadelphia (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
鈥� Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30 p.m. EDT in Miami Gardens, Florida (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
鈥� Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 7:30 p.m. EDT in Atlanta (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
鈥� Algeria vs. Austria, 10 p.m. EDT in Kansas City, Missouri (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)
鈥� Jordan vs. Argentina, 10 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)
Congo looks to join African teams in the Round of 32
Congo pulled off one of the surprising results of the World Cup by holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in its opener, earning a point in the tournament for the first time. Now it hopes to earn its first win and join the wave of African teams advancing to the knockout rounds.
鈥淲e are very, very happy to have got this first point and first goal for Congo, but we have a final to play tomorrow,鈥� coach S茅bastien Desabre said ahead of Saturday鈥檚 Group K game against Uzbekistan. 鈥淚 hope that I鈥檒l get the Congolese people to dream tomorrow a little bit.鈥�
Congo鈥檚 one previous appearance at the World Cup was under its former name, Zaire, in 1974, when it lost all three games, including a 9-0 rout at the hands of Yugoslavia.
A win gives Congo a chance to advance.
Uzbekistan has never earned a World Cup point.
Croatia and Ghana play for right to advance to knockout round
Separated by one point, Ghana and Croatia both have something meaningful to play for in their Group L match.
Ghana needs only a draw to reach the knockout round. Croatia, however, needs a win to be assured of a spot in the Round of 32.
are tied at four points after they played to a 0-0 draw, and Croatia has three points. England will face Panama in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while Ghana and Croatia will play in Philadelphia.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 ready, everyone was real happy with the result against England,鈥� Ghana midfielder Antoine Semenyo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a tough game tomorrow, but everyone is excited and ready.鈥�
Ghana hasn鈥檛 made it to the knockout round since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010 in South Africa.
Is Austria better off losing on Saturday?
By the time Austria and Algeria begin their Group J finale, both will know how the knockout bracket looks, and what the consequences will be for finishing second or third behind group winner Argentina.
This is where things get awkward: It might actually behoove Austria to lose.
The way the bracket is set up, the Group J runner-up faces the Group H winner, which could be reigning European champion Spain. But the third-place finisher would face the Group B winner, which means a potentially easier matchup against Switzerland.
Asked if he wanted his team to avoid winning, Austria coach Ralf Rangnick replied: 鈥淣o, definitely not.鈥�
鈥淥nce we start we will know,鈥� Rangnick said Friday, 鈥渂ut it will not influence our match. … If we have a draw tomorrow, we can go on, but we cannot go into a match and just say, 鈥榃e鈥檒l play for a draw.鈥欌��
In 1982, in what became known as the 鈥淒isgrace of Gijon,鈥� West Germany beat Austria 1-0, a result that advanced both teams over Algeria. Both teams seemed to quit trying after the first goal was scored, leading FIFA to implement simultaneous kickoffs on the final day of group play.
鈥淲e go out, we want to win the game,鈥� Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter who we face.鈥�
Some R&R ahead of group stage finale for Messi?
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has an interesting choice entering his team’s match against Jordan: Allow Lionel Messi a chance to build on his World Cup scoring record, or rest the 39-year-old for the knockout round?
The defending champion has already won Group J, so the wiser move might be to sit Messi and not risk injury. Of course, Messi might disagree.
More World Cup news
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Stats of the day
Scoring first in the World Cup is obviously a huge advantage, but doesn’t necessarily lead to a win or draw. In fact, seven teams have overcome deficits in group play to win. South Korea rallied to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 with two late goals, Algeria battled back from a halftime deficit to top Jordan 2-1 and, most recently, Turkiye stunned the United States with a last-second goal to win 3-2. Egypt, Germany, Morocco and Ecuador have also overcome deficits to win.
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AP Sports Writers Dave Skretta, Alanis Thames, James Robson, Ronald Blum and Dan Gelston contributed to this report.
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