Completion of the Round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup.. Thrilling Matches Begin Saturday as Morocco and Egypt Continue the Arab Dream

SadaNews - On Saturday morning, the list of qualified teams for the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup was completed, directing attention towards a series of strong matchups that will commence on Saturday, with the Arab presence continuing through the teams of Morocco and Egypt.

The Argentine team, the defending champion, concluded the group stage of the 2026 World Cup by securing a ticket to the Round of 16, after narrowly defeating the Cape Verde team with a score of 3-2 following extra time, in an exciting match held in Miami.

Thus, the roster of teams qualifying for the Round of 16 is now complete, which will kick off on Saturday, with "La Albiceleste" facing off against the Egyptian team in one of the standout matches of this round.

Argentina's qualification came after a complicated match against one of the tournament's biggest surprises, with Lionel Messi opening the scoring, raising his tally to 7 goals in this edition and 20 goals in his World Cup history, before Deroy Duarte equalized for Cape Verde.

In extra time, Lisandro Martínez scored the second goal for Argentina, and then Sidney Cabral equalized again, before the defending champion settled the match with the winning goal in the 111th minute following a corner taken by Messi, ending Cape Verde's adventure and continuing their journey to defend their world title.

The Moroccan team will open their Round of 16 campaign against Canada on Saturday in the American city of Houston, while France will meet Paraguay in Philadelphia.

The matches will continue on Sunday, with Brazil facing Norway at the New York/New Jersey stadium, while Mexico will clash with England in the Mexican capital.

Monday will witness a highly anticipated European summit between Portugal and Spain in Dallas, alongside a match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle.

The Round of 16 will conclude on Tuesday when Argentina takes on Egypt in a tough match where the "Pharaohs" seek to continue their historic journey, while Switzerland faces Colombia in Vancouver, Canada.

Quarterfinal matches are scheduled to take place between July 9 and 11, hosted by the cities of Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Kansas.

The semifinals will be held on July 14 and 15 in Dallas and Atlanta, while Miami will host the third-place match on July 18.

The tournament will conclude with the final match on Sunday, July 19, at the New York/New Jersey stadium, where the winners of the two semifinal matches will compete for the title of the 2026 World Cup.