New Delhi, June 29 -- The goal came in the 95th minute, Stephen Eustaquio's strike settling a match that Canada had controlled without ever looked like winning. South Africa, fresh from eliminating South Korea in a group stage result that shook the tournament, went home. Canada moved on. The 2026 World Cup's round of 32 had its first result, and it announced clearly that the bracket was not going to sort itself out quietly.

the product of a 48-team field that demanded an extra knockout stage before the conventional last 16. It runs from June 28 through July 3, a six-day window in which half the remaining field gets eliminated and the tournament's true shape emerges. What makes the bracket striking is not only who is in it, but how severa...