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The knockout road to Lusail

The 2022 knockout phase was defined by penalty shoot-outs and one historic underdog. Croatia won two shoot-outs — eliminating Japan and then favourites Brazil — to reach a second consecutive semi-final. Morocco beat Spain on penalties and then Portugal outright to become the first African semi-finalist in World Cup history, conceding no goal to an opponent until the semi-final itself.

Argentina's path ran through a bad-tempered classic — the quarter-final against the Netherlands, 2–2 after a stoppage-time Dutch equaliser from a free-kick routine, settled 4–3 on penalties — before a 3–0 semi-final dismantling of Croatia. France, meanwhile, beat England 2–1 in a quarter-final remembered for a missed late penalty, then ended Morocco's run 2–0.

The final at Lusail finished 3–3 after extra time — Messi twice, Mbappé three times — with Argentina winning the shoot-out 4–2. Argentina became only the second champion to lose its opening match, after Spain in 2010. Croatia took third place, beating Morocco 2–1 in the play-off.

Reading the bracket

The tree on this page maps every tie from the Round of 16 to the final, plus the third-place play-off. Where a match went to penalties, the shoot-out score is shown alongside the 90/120-minute result — under World Cup rules a shoot-out win is officially recorded as a draw, which is why Croatia's run to third place included only one regulation win in four knockout matches.