This Sunday's matchday defines two tickets to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup. In New Jersey, Ancelotti's Brazil recovers Raphinha for the bench and faces the five-goal Haaland. At the Azteca, an undefeated Mexico with no goals conceded receives the England that Maradona eliminated there 40 years ago.
First modification: 07/05/2026 - 20:43
The round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues this Sunday, July 5, with a high-voltage doubleheader:
Brazil faces Norway at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (4:00 p.m. local time, 8:00 p.m. GMT) and Mexico hosts England at the Mexico City Stadium, the historic Azteca, at 6:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT on Monday). The winners will meet each other in the quarterfinals.
Brazil recovers Raphinha, but does not risk him
The big news in Brazil is the return of Raphinha. Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that the Barcelona striker, out since June 19 due to a muscle injury suffered against Haiti, will be on the bench.
"He is not yet one hundred percent, but he is available to play some minutes or be useful at times," explained the Italian coach.
However, national team sources told EFE that the player should not force unless it is extremely necessary, so his reappearance as a starter would only occur in a possible quarterfinal.
With the 11 on the sidelines, the Brazilian offensive trident would be formed by Vinícius Júnior, Matheus Cunha and Rayan, with Endrick as an alternative from the bench. Ancelotti also maintains a mystery in midfield: he did not reveal who will replace the injured Lucas Paquetá, with Danilo Santos and Gabriel Martinelli as the strongest candidates.
Regarding the main rival threat, Erling Haaland, scorer of five goals in the tournament, the Italian was blunt: "An 'anti-Haaland' plan does not exist. I am not going to explain how to mark Haaland to Gabriel, who played against him a lot of times, or to Marquinhos."
Ancelotti described the Manchester City striker as "very dangerous", but expanded the focus to the talent of Martin Ødegaard and the potential of Alexander Sorloth and Antonio Nusa, in a Norwegian team that he defined as "very well balanced".
On the other hand, Norwegian coach Ståle Solbakken focused his analysis on Vinícius, author of four goals and one assist in the tournament.
"She is a dancer who can dance with the ball," defined the Brazilian, whose brand plans to solve with coverage to avoid one on one.
The coach admitted that eliminating Brazil would be "a surprise", but warned that Norway can "do damage" based on the dead ball and its height advantage, something that Ancelotti relativized: for the Italian, the series "is not going to be decided by the physical aspect or the dead balls."
The Nordics, undefeated against Canarinha in four historic matches, even arrive prepared for penalties: Solbakken has already decided on the five executioners.
Read alsoCristiano Ronaldo stays in the World Cup: Portugal advances with two controversial referee decisions
England returns to the stage by the hand of God
In Mexico City, history weighs: England returns to the Azteca four decades after its elimination against Diego Maradona's Argentina in 1986, that match from the hand of God and the best goal of the 20th century.
Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that the wound is still open, but ruled out any revenge: "It makes no sense to talk about revenge after so much time."
The immediate challenge is the altitude: at 2,240 meters, Tuchel himself admitted to a headache and poor sleep on his first night.
"The first 15 or 20 minutes will be difficult. Mexico starts impetuous in its territory. We will overcome it and then we will be better," predicted the German, who described a Mexican team that presses, releases the wingers and is dangerous from set pieces.
In front, Javier "el Vasco" Aguirre was convinced that El Tri, who arrives with four wins, eight goals for and none against, can deal the blow against the fourth in the FIFA ranking.
"If I didn't believe we could beat the English, I would say so, but I think it will be an even match and whoever makes the fewest mistakes will come out ahead," he said, although he set demanding conditions: "We must play an almost perfect match, play better than we have done and be lucky."
The main Mexican concern has its own name: Harry Kane.
"He is a world figure; he has everything, he is sacrificed and he defends," Aguirre described the Bayern Munich forward, whom he plans to neutralize with the centre-backs, the midfielder and the full-backs, "so that he always has someone on top of him."
Mexico reached the quarterfinals in its two previous World Cups as host, in 1970 and 1986, although Vasco relativized the historical burden: "I don't know if tomorrow's game is going to be the most important game in our history; there were others before."
Con EFE
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