Soccer games today close the Round of 32 on Friday, with Australia-Egypt in Dallas, Argentina-Cape Verde, and Colombia-Ghana all on the same slate. Lionel Messi leads the day’s headliners after tying for the tournament lead with six goals, giving Argentina the sharpest attacking edge in a bracket that now turns on knockout results.
Day 23 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup wraps up the Round of 32, and every match airs on FOX and streams live and on demand on FOX One. That gives viewers one place to watch the full knockout slate without switching platforms, while the day’s results decide three more teams’ paths through the bracket.
Messi and Argentina pace the slate
Argentina comes in as the defending champion and has won its last 10 matches. Messi has 19 World Cup goals at age 39, and his six-goal tournament total puts him level with the scoring lead. That is the number that changes the tone of Friday’s card: one team arrives with a proven finisher and a run that has not slowed down.
Cape Verde has its own draw. The team finished second in Group H after going unbeaten through three draws, including a scoreless result against Spain. Vozinha has been outstanding for Cape Verde, which has become one of the tournament’s best underdog stories without needing a high-scoring path to get here.
Australia faces Egypt in Dallas
Australia and Egypt meet in Dallas in a game shaped by two different pressure points. Australia advanced from Group D on four points after beating Turkiye 2-0, losing to the United States, and drawing Paraguay 0-0. Egypt advanced from Group G on five points, but Mohamed Salah was forced off with a hamstring strain in the group finale against Iran.
Hossam Hassan is optimistic that Mohamed Salah will play. He said, “Salah will play,” which leaves Egypt in a narrower lane: the captain’s fitness still matters, but the head coach is pushing the idea that his most important attacker can still be available for a knockout match that both sides need.
The match also carries a blunt historical marker. Neither Australia nor Egypt has ever won a World Cup knockout match. Australia has leaned on Beach in goal, with Popovic benching veteran starter Matthew Ryan before the first game, and Beach responding with a clean sheet against Turkiye and a second one against Paraguay. Beach has only five caps, so the goalkeeper choice has already become part of the team’s route into Friday.
Colombia, Ghana and the late slot
Colombia and Ghana finish the slate in Kansas City. Colombia won Group K, beating Uzbekistan and DR Congo before drawing 0-0 with Portugal, and its attack has been led by Luis Diaz and James Rodriguez. Ghana advanced as one of the third-place finishers out of Group L, while Carlos Queiroz has quickly repaired its defense after a group stage in which Ghana managed 15 shots.
Colombia is heavily favored against Ghana, but the lineup still matters because the day is built around knockout outcomes rather than seeding talk. The bracket closes Friday with three games that all go to the same TV and streaming setup, and the most immediate watch point is whether Mohamed Salah is on the field or still limited by the strain that forced him off against Iran.
