Home cooking! Canada, Mexico & USA advance to World Cup Round of 16

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2 July 2026

By Jonathan Sigal

It's often said that nations hosting a

FIFA World Cup

benefit from a home-field boost during the tournament.

That's certainly unfolding during the 2026 tournament, with

Canada

Mexico

and the

United States

all winning in the Round of 32 and advancing to the Round of 16.

That trio of co-hosts are inspiring an entire continent and showing the quality of soccer throughout Concacaf.

Here's how they got this far and sparked dreams across North America.

While Canada's knockout path doesn't involve games on home soil, Jesse Marsch's side capitalized on that luxury during the Group Stage.

The CanMNT earned their first-ever

World Cup

point in Toronto, then their first-ever

win in Vancouver. That earned them second place in Group B and a Round of 32 showdown with South Africa.

Another historic result followed, with Stephen Eustáquio's late volley sealing a

1-0 win

over Bafana Bafana for the program's first-ever

knockout win.

Their reward? A July 4 showdown with Morocco, who overcame the Netherlands on penalty kicks following a

1-1 draw

Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez scored in the first half, giving

enough cushion for a confident

2-0 win

over Ecuador in the Round of 32.

El Tri took full advantage of playing on home soil, much like they did while topping Group A with wins over

South Africa

South Korea

and

Czechia

That's given

a high-profile showdown with England in the Round of 16, in one of the country's biggest-ever matches.

England completed a Round of 32 comeback, with Harry Kane's second-half brace highlighting their

2-1 triumph

over DR Congo.

Fresh off topping Group D, the US won their second-ever

knockout game courtesy of a

2-0 victory

over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Folarin Balogun scored just before halftime and Malik Tillman extended the lead with a beautiful free kick, though the match was not without controversy.

Balogun was shown a red card in the 64th minute following Video Review, which forced the USMNT to grind out the result.

Now, the Yanks face a Belgian side that

won 3-2

over Senegal in extra time. Youri Tielemans scored the latest goal in

history with a 125th-minute penalty kick to cap his brace and complete the Round of 32 comeback.

USA win first World Cup knockout game since 2002 vs. Mexico

USMNT book Belgium World Cup showdown: "Why not us?"

USMNT answer adversity to march into World Cup Round of 16

Borussia Dortmund monitor USMNT and Monaco star Folarin Balogun

Bulinews

Mauricio Pochettino gives firm stance on Folarin Balogun red card for USA at World Cup

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