England, Belgium and the United States booked their places in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning their respective Round of 32 fixtures on Wednesday, completing another day of knockout action as the tournament moved closer to the last 16.

England came from behind to defeat the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 in a closely contested match, with captain Harry Kane scoring twice to keep his side’s World Cup campaign alive.

The African side made a bright start and took an early lead, putting England under pressure in the opening stages. However, England responded through Kane, who levelled the match before adding a second goal later in the contest to complete the comeback and secure qualification.

The victory sends England into the Round of 16, where they are set to face Mexico, who progressed after defeating Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday. England’s ability to recover after conceding first provided a timely boost as they prepare for a more demanding stage of the competition.

Belgium also advanced after overcoming Senegal 3-2 following extra time in one of the most competitive matches of the Round of 32.

Senegal opened the scoring before Belgium fought back to force extra time. The two sides continued to exchange attacking opportunities before Belgium eventually found the decisive goal to eliminate the African nation and book a place in the next round.

The result ended Senegal’s World Cup campaign despite a spirited performance that kept Belgium under pressure throughout much of the match.

The United States completed the day’s action with a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, securing progression despite finishing the match with ten players.

Folarin Balogun gave the Americans the lead before Malik Tillman added a second goal to strengthen their advantage. Balogun was later sent off, forcing the United States to play the closing stages with a numerical disadvantage. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina were unable to capitalise, allowing the Americans to preserve their clean sheet and advance to the next round.

The United States will now face Belgium in the Round of 16 after both nations successfully negotiated their opening knockout fixtures.

Wednesday’s results added three more teams to the growing list of nations through to the Round of 16. They join Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, Morocco, Norway, France and Mexico, all of whom secured qualification earlier in the week.

The Round of 32 has already produced several notable storylines, including Paraguay’s penalty shootout victory over Germany, Morocco’s elimination of the Netherlands, Norway’s historic first World Cup knockout-stage win, France’s convincing 3-0 victory over Sweden and Mexico’s first knockout-stage triumph since the 1986 tournament.

With the tournament entering its next phase, the remaining Round of 32 fixtures will determine the final teams to complete the Round of 16 bracket, where the competition is expected to become increasingly competitive as nations continue their pursuit of the FIFA World Cup title.