Man City 2026 World Cup Watch: How the Blues fared in the Round of 32

Man City 2026 World Cup Watch: How the Blues fared in the Round of 32 The 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage concluded on June 28, with 32 of the 48 qualifying nations advancing to the first knockout stage. The tournament began with Manchester City having the largest representation after Bayern Munich with respect to club football and 18 stars from the Premier League side represented 12 different nations. The conclusion of the group stage saw 16 Manchester City stars across 11 nations qualify for the Round of 32, who fought for a spot to move on to the Round of 16, which kicked off on July 4. The curtains dropped for City defender Abdukodir Khusanov and Uzbekistan as they failed to move further up in the competition. Here’s how Manchester City players have performed in the World Cup Round of 32: 18 Manchester City stars confirmed for FIFA World Cup Round of 32 Netherlands vs Morocco Netherlands suffered a 2-3 loss on penalties against Morocco in the Round of 32 at Monterrey Stadium on June 30. Cody Gakpo netted the first goal of the match for the Oranje in the 72nd minute, while Issa Diop found the equaliser for Morocco at the beginning of the second half’s injury time. Manchester City’s Nathan Ake was included in Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman ’s starting XI and was on the pitch for 71 minutes before being replaced by Teun Koopmeiners . Tijjani Reijnders , who arrived at the Etihad Stadium from AC Milan last summer, was named on the bench and remained an unused substitute in the match. Norway vs Ivory Coast Norway secured a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in the Round of 32 at Dallas Stadium on June 30. Antonio Nusa opened the scoring for Norway in the 39th minute, while Amad Diallo netted the equaliser for Ivory Coast in the 74th minute. Manchester City star Erling Haaland scored the winning goal for Norway after being set up by Patrick Berg in the 86th minute. The 2025/26 Premier League Golden Boot winner has registered five goals in three matches in the ongoing World Cup campaign. France vs Sweden France bagged a 3-0 win against Sweden in the Round of 32 at New York New Jersey Stadium on June 30. Les Bleus captain Kylian Mbappe found the back of the net in the 45th minute following an assist from Ousmane Dembele . Bradley Barcola scored next for France in the 53rd minute after being set up by Michael Olise , who also provided the assist for Mbappe’s second goal in the 74th minute. Manchester City midfielder Rayan Cherki came off the bench to replace Olise in the 85th minute. Rayan Cherki enduring ‘sleepless nights’ over France difficulties at FIFA World Cup England vs DR Congo England earned a 2-1 victory over DR Congo in the Round of 32 at Atlanta Stadium on July 1. After conceding a goal just seven minutes into the clash, the Three Lions’ captain, Harry Kane , netted a brace in a span of 11 minutes, with Anthony Gordon providing assists for both goals. Manchester City duo Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi were named in Thomas Tuchel ’s starting XI and were on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. Club record signing Elliot Anderson has also been a regular for the Three Lions at the tournament. Guehi provided five defensive contributions and five clearances in the match, while City academy graduate O’Reilly made three defensive contributions and two clearances. England’s third-choice goalkeeper James Trafford , who returned to his boyhood club Manchester City last summer, was named on the bench against DR Congo. Belgium vs Senegal Belgium secured a 3-2 win against Senegal in the Round of 32 at Seattle Stadium on July 1. Senegal were able to maintain their two-goal lead, courtesy of Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr , until the 85th minute, following which Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for the Red Devils from an assist by Thomas Meunier . Youri Tielemans found the equalizer for Belgium in the 89th minute and also netted the winning goal by successfully converting a penalty in the concluding added minutes of the second half of extra time. Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku came off the pitch in the 56th minute and was replaced by Dodi Lukebakio . Man City 2026 World Cup Watch: Jeremy Doku withdrawn early as Belgium beat Senegal in all-time classic Spain vs Austria Spain march on in the 2026 World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Austria in the Round of 32 at Los Angeles Stadium on July 2. Mikel Oyarzabal netted a brace (36’, 89′) for La Roja, with Marc Cucurella assisting both of his goals, while Pedro Porro scored their second goal in the match after being set up by Alex Baena in the 66th minute. Manchester City’s midfield maestro Rodri was on the pitch for the entirety of the match, maintaining a pass accuracy of 92% and being involved in two key passes. Croatia vs Portugal Croatia were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat against Portugal in the Round of 32 at Toronto Stadium on July 3. The match included a total of four Manchester City players. Following an eventful yet goalless first half, Croatia took the lead with Ivan Perisic ’s goal in the 53rd minute. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the equaliser for Portugal by successfully converting a penalty in the 68th minute, followed by Goncalo Ramos netting the winning goal from an assist by Rafael Leao in the fourth minute of the second half’s injury time. After being named in the Vatreni’s starting XI, Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic was subbed off with Andrej Kramaric replacing him on the pitch in 90+6 minutes. City defender Josko Gvardiol , meanwhile, came off the bench two minutes into the second half’s injury time and impressively found the back of the net in the concluding moments of the match. However, the 24-year-old’s goal was ruled out after VAR determined that Mario Pasalic, who provided the assist, was offside in the build-up. As for Portugal, Manchester City defender Ruben Dias was on the pitch full time, making 10 defensive contributions and five clearances, while his clubmate Matheus Nunes was an unused substitute in the match. Real Madrid to be considered by Ruben Dias as summer transfer destination Algeria vs Switzerland Algeria suffered a 2-0 defeat against Switzerland in the Round of 32 at BC Place Vancouver on July 3. Breel Embolo opened the scoring for Switzerland just 10 minutes into the clash from an assist by Johan Manzambi , followed by Dan Ndoye doubling their score in the 46th minute. During his full 90 minutes on the pitch, Manchester City left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri made 12 defensive contributions and three clearances while winning 6 (5) tackles and being involved in three interceptions and four recoveries. Egypt vs Australia Egypt secured a 4-2 win on penalties against Australia in the Round of 32 at Dallas Stadium on July 3. Emam Ashour found the back of the net for the Pharaohs in the 13th minute from an assist by Karim Hafez , while Australia’s equaliser came from an own goal scored by Mohamed Hany in the 55th minute. After making it to head coach Hossam Hassan ’s starting XI, Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush was involved in one key pass while maintaining a pass accuracy of 80% before being subbed off at the beginning of the second half of extra time. Omar Marmoush receives Manchester City faith amid transfer uncertainty Ghana vs Colombia Ghana faced a 1-0 defeat against Colombia in the Round of 32 at Kansas City Stadium on July 4. Colombia’s sole and winning goal of the match was netted by Jhon Arias in the 14th minute, while Ghana failed to open the scoring. Antoine Semenyo was on the pitch for the entirety of the match and was involved in a key pass. Which Man City players are in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16? The conclusion of the 2026 World Cup Round of 32 marks the end of the road for six Manchester City players – including Ake and Reijnders (Netherlands), Kovacic and Gvardiol (Croatia), Ait-Nouri (Algeria) and Semenyo (Ghana). Cherki, along with the rest of the French squad, entered the quarter-final with a narrow 1-0 Round of 16 win over Paraguay at Philadelphia Stadium on July 4. Haaland and Norway have also advanced to the next stage and are pitted against Brazil on July 5 – an eye-watering clash. England have made the cut for the Round of 16 and the Three Lions’ squad – including Trafford, Nico O’Reilly, Guehi and Anderson – will now face Mexico at Mexico City Stadium on July 6. Spain are paired against Portugal in the next knockout stage, where clubmates Ruben Dias, Matheus Nunes and Rodri will fight for their respective nations to keep the World Cup dream alive at Dallas Stadium on July 6. Belgium and Doku are set to face USA in their next match, slated for July 6 at Seattle Stadium, while Marmoush and Egypt will face Argentina at the Atlanta Stadium on July 7. Overall, 11 Manchester City stars across seven nations have made it to the 2026 World Cup Round of 16. Now, it remains to be seen which among them will advance further in the competition.