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World Cup 2026 knockouts: England’s path to the final explained after topping Group L

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Saturday, 11 July – 22:00 BST

Now, this is where things being to look more difficult.

Five-time winners Brazil are in England’s section of the draw and are potential quarter-final opponents, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men would first have to overcome Japan in the last 32.

Vinicius Jr. and co topped Group C – knocking out Scotland in the process – but were unconvincing on the one occasion they were truly tested, drawing 1-1 with Morocco in their opening fixture.

Japan, meanwhile, looked strong technically and tactically as they finished second behind the Netherlands in Group F, and have not lost in any of their past 16 matches, beating England 1-0 in a friendly at Wembley in March.

The two other possible quarter-final opponents for England are Ivory Coast and Norway, who will face each other in the last 32.

Ivory Coast have impressive attackers including RB Leipzig’s teenage superstar Yan Diomande, Inter’s Ange-Yoan Bonny and Manchester United winger Amad Diallo. They finished second behind Germany in the group stage.

And Norway, who finished second behind France in Group I, have impressed in their first World Cup appearance since 1998.

With Manchester City’s Erling Haaland up front, they would pose a significant threat.

If England reach this stage, they will be playing in Miami.

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New deal, new beginnings & a sudden exit – Steve Clarke’s Scotland timeline

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13 June – Scotland labour to a 1-0 victory over Haiti at the Boston Stadium – just their fifth World Cup win. “My boys are all right,” was his response as some questioned the performance.

Despite that, it was a Scotland win on the major stage, and there was a wave of relief that they didn’t slip up – heightened more by the performances of Cape Verde and DR Congo.

15 June – During a regular in-camp media conference, Naismith joked that Clarke was “doing cartwheels at breakfast” after the Haiti win.

The former forward put a real emphasis on the pre-tournament preparations and the head coach’s desire to enjoy this edition.

19 June – Scotland concede within the first two minutes of their match with Morocco and despite improving in the second half, they taste defeat. Afterwards Clarke receives some criticism after a tense off-pitch interview saying: “I don’t even know why we do these interviews.”

23 June – Speaking before the Brazil match, Clarke joked of returning to the Azteca Stadium in the last 32 – a place where he once scored as a player at the World Youth Championships in 1983.

“If we have to go to Mexico to play Mexico, we’ll be happy because it will mean we qualified. We’ll be very happy to have the chance to go.”

24 June – Scotland crash to a 3-0 defeat against Brazil in Miami leaving their chance of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in tatters.

Post-match Clarke comes under more scrutiny for his approach in his post-match interviews. After another short, tense exchange where he appears to walk off, he tells the media later, “for sure we are going home”.

Such negativity floors the fanbase, when the Scots still had a 42% chance of creating history.

25-26 June: As that percentage plummets, so does the access doors to the squad. Nobody speaks to the media while the nation is in limbo.

27/28 June – Just before midnight in the UK, Scotland’s fate is sealed as Croatia beat Ghana to confirm their exit from the tournament as one of the lowest-ranked third-place teams.

Thirty-two minutes later, it is announced Clarke has resigned as Scotland head coach penning a 1,000-word letter to the nation saying his overwhelming emotion was “pride, closely followed by satisfaction” and witnessing “the reconnection of our national team and fans”.

His departure was only announced to the squad 10 minutes beforehand, with Clarke sharing the shocking news to those he credited most in his heartfelt cheerio.

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BBC Sport quiz: Who am I? Guess World Cup star footballer No 21

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Welcome to our Who am I? game.

The rules are simple. Each day there’s a new footballer and the challenge is to guess who they are in as few attempts as possible.

After each wrong guess you unlock a new clue. Guess the answer after as few clues as possible to score more points.

Three is a good score, four or five points is exceptional.

So take part and return for more tomorrow.

Today’s player and clues set by BBC Sport’s Joe Rindl.

After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.

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Algeria and Austria both qualify for last 32 after dramatic injury-time goals

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Algeria and Austria each score injury-time goals in a 3-3 draw, a result which sees both sides qualify from Group J and into the last 32 of the FIFA World Cup.

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