2026 FIFA World Cup Day 18 recap: Mixed fortunes for Arsenal stars as Morocco joins Nigeria group

Day 18 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup featured three round-of-32 games, with all matches serving up excitement until the very end. 

The action kicked off with Brazil’s highly anticipated match against Japan in Houston before Germany took on Paraguay in Boston. The day’s action ended with the top-quality clash between Netherlands and Morocco. 

Here’s a recap of how the action went down on day 18. 

One of the highly anticipated clashes of the round of 32 games was Brazil’s clash against Japan, and the game did not disappoint. 

The five-time champions, who finished top of their group, had to come from behind to beat a well-managed Japanese side, who had finished second in their group. 

Japan were looking to win a knockout game in a World Cup for the first time in their history, with some backing them to cause an upset after their impressive play in the group stage. 

The Samurai Blue started the game better, showing why they had a few people tipping them to cause an upset. 

Hajime Moriyasu’s men created problems for Brazil, and they got duly rewarded in the 29th minute, courtesy of Kaishu Sano’s long-range effort which went past Alisson Becker in Brazil’s goal.

Sano’s goal ensured Japan went into the break with the lead, but the story was different in the second half as Brazil dominated the encounter following the restart. 

The Selecao showed more urgency in their play and deservedly restored parity through Casemiro’s header in the 56th minute. 

Casemiro’s header gave Brazil the spark to go for the winner, but they were denied on multiple occasions by Zion Suzuki in Japan’s goal. 

However, just as it looked like Japan would hold on for extra time, Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli, who had come on as a substitute, got on the end of a brilliant pass from Bruno Guimarães to score the winner in the sixth minute of added time. 

It was indeed a deserved win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but a brutal blow for Japan, whose wait for a win in the knockout round of the World Cup continued. 

While Brazil progressed, it was an early exit for another World Cup royalty as four-time champions Germany lost to Paraguay on penalties. 

Germany came into this clash with many doubting their quality to go on a run, despite finishing top of their group. 

Those doubts were confirmed as Paraguay, who qualified in third place from their group, played a perfect match to knock out Julian Nagelsmann’s men. 

La Albirroja took the lead in the 42nd minute through Julio Enciso, but Germany restored parity in the 54th minute through Arsenal star Kai Havertz. 

Havertz’s goal gave Germany life, but despite dominating possession, the four-time world champions could not find the winner after 90 minutes. 

The extra time was a little bit different, though, as Germany thought they had taken the lead through Jonathan Tah. 

However, the Bayern Munich man’s header was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul in the build-up. That call would prove to be brutal as Paraguay held on before going on to win on penalties. 

Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all missed for Germany, while Antonio Sanabria and Fabian Balbuena missed for Paraguay. 

With the loss, the Germans have now failed to make it to the last 16 of the World Cup since they won it in 2014.

Morocco’s clash against the Netherlands lived up to the hype after many tipped it to be one of the games of the round. 

Both teams finished their group stage campaign without losing a game, with Netherlands finishing top with two wins and a draw and Morocco finishing second with the same number of points behind Brazil. 

However, while the Netherlands went into the game as the slight favourites, it was the Atlas Lions who prevailed deservedly on penalties. 

The African champions dominated the opening half and looked like the team willing to go for the win. However, despite creating the better chances, they were denied by Bart Verbruggen in Netherlands goal. 

The second half also followed a similar pattern, as Morocco continued to dominate but could not find a way past Verbruggen on multiple occasions. 

However, their failure to convert their chances would later come back to haunt them as Cody Gakpo put the Dutch ahead in the 72nd minute. 

It stayed like that until the first minute of added time when Issa Diop headed home a cross from Chemsdine Talbi to send the game into extra time. 

However, neither team could find the winner after 30 minutes, with the game going to a penalty shootout. 

Although the Oranje took an early lead in the shootout, it was the Atlas Lions who progressed after Ismael Sabari scored the winner following Crysencio Summerville’s miss. 

With the win, Morocco joined Nigeria as the only African country that has made the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup at least three times. 

This is the Atlas Lions' third time in the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup, having made it this far in 1982 and 2022, where they finished fourth.