Mexico captain Cesar Montes had to make way at halftime of his team’s round of 16 match against England at the Estadio Azteca, nursing a potential injury that appeared to limit him in the first 45 minutes.
Montes was replaced at left center back by Edson Alvarez, who took the captain’s armband and his place next to Johan Vasquez in the back line.
Montes’ most notable contribution of the first half was when he was nearly able to get on the end of a free kick coming into the back, only to see England attacker Jude Bellingham make a remarkable clearance, with his raised leg beating Montes to the ball.
It has been a turbulent World Cup for the typically steady Montes, who received a red card late in El Tri’s 2-0 win over South Africa to open the tournament. That meant he was suspended for the team’s win over Korea, returning for the win against Czechia when Mexico largely played an alternate lineup.
He then took the captain’s armband and played all 90 minutes of the round of 32 victory against Ecuador.
USA TODAY at the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 World Cup is the largest ever, and USA TODAY is going all in with reporters on the ground in all 16 host cities across three countries to cover 48 teams vying for the trophy. Get our World Cup: Extra Time newsletter in your inbox every morning and join our WhatsApp channel to get the latest updates right in your texts.
All games are being broadcast in the United States on Fox and FS1. Matches will also be broadcast in Spanish throughout the entirety of the World Cup on Telemundo and streaming on Peacock .
Meet Team USA 2026: Get to know the athletes behind the games
World Cup knockout round format
The World Cup becomes a single-elimination tournament once the knockout stage begins. The 32 remaining teams have been placed into a bracket, and the field will halve itself during each ensuing round of the tournament until a winner is crowned.
>The lone exception is that the two semifinal losers will play in a third-place game ahead of the World Cup final.
Full World Cup knockout stage bracket, matchups, schedule
Round of 32 bracket
- June 28: Canada def South Africa – SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
- June 29: Paraguay def Germany – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
- June 29: Morocco def Netherlands – Estadio Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
- June 29: Brazil def Japan – NRG Stadium, Houston
- June 30: Norway def Ivory Coast – AT&T Stadium, Arlington
- June 30: Mexico def Ecuador – Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
- June 30: France def Sweden – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
- July 1: United States def Bosnia and Herzegovina – Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
- July 1: Belgium def Senegal – Lumen Field, Seattle
- July 1: England def DR Congo – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- July 2: Spain def Austria – SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
- July 2: Portugal def Croatia – BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
- July 2: Switzerland def Algeria – Vancouver Stadium, Vancouver, Canada
- July 3: Argentina def Cape Verde – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
- July 3: Egypt def Australia – AT&T Stadium, Arlington
- July 3: Colombia def Ghana – Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Round of 16
- July 4: France def Paraguay – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- July 4: Morocco def Canada – Houston
- July 5: Norway def Brazil – East Rutherford
- July 5: Mexico vs. England – Mexico City – shop tickets
- July 6: Portugal vs. Spain – Arlington – shop tickets
- July 6: USA vs. Belgium – Seattle – shop tickets
- July 7: Argentina vs. Egypt – Atlanta – shop tickets
- July 7: Switzerland vs. Colombia – Vancouver – shop tickets
Quarterfinals
- July 9: PAR/FRA vs. CAN/MRC – Foxborough
- July 10: POR/ESP vs. USA/BEL – Inglewood
- July 11: BRA/NOR vs. MEX/ENG – Miami
- July 11: ARG/EGY vs. SWI/COL – Kansas City
Semifinals
- July 14: Foxborough/Inglewood winners – Arlington
- July 15: Miami/Kansas City winners – Atlanta
Final
- July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
