World Cup what to know: Multiple teams playing for spots in knockout stage as schedule ramps up

The World Cup opened with two games per day over during its first two days and expanded to four games a day over the next 10.

Now the schedule gets even more condensed.

Starting Wednesday, there are six games a day until the end of group play on Saturday.

Reigning World Cup champion Argentina, the United States, France, Germany, Mexico and Norway have already secured spots in the knockout stage.

There's still plenty up in the air as teams get ready to play their third and final group-stage games.

Canada faces Switzerland in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the winner likely earning the top spot out of Group B. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Qatar both need to win in Seattle to have any hope of reaching the knockout stage.

Scotland needs a draw or maybe even a narrow loss to Brazil to get through to the knockout stage for the first time in nine attempts. South Korea and South Africa play for a chance to finish second in Group A behind Mexico.

Morocco can clinch second in Group C with a win over Haiti.

Got all that?

Yeah, things are about to get interesting.

— Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Qatar, 3 p.m. EDT in Seattle (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Switzerland vs. Canada, 3 p.m. EDT in Vancouver, British Columbia (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Morocco vs. Haiti, 6 p.m. EDT in Atlanta (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Scotland vs. Brazil, 6 p.m. EDT in Miami Gardens, Florida (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Czech Republic vs. Mexico, 9 p.m. EDT in Mexico City (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— South Africa vs. South Korea, 9 p.m. EDT in Guadalupe, Mexico (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

Mexico has Group A locked up, giving coach Javier Aguirre an opportunity to send off veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in style in front of his home fans.

The 40-year-old Ochoa was added to Mexico's roster for this year's World Cup, the record sixth in the career of the player known as “Memo.” Ochoa has announced he's retiring following the World Cup, but has yet to see the field, serving as backup to Raúl Rangel.

He's expected to get a chance to play against Czech Republic Wednesday in Mexico City.

Ochoa will join Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to appear in six World Cups.

The Czech Republic likely needs a win to have any hope of advancing to the round of 32.

South Africa needs to beat South Korea in Guadalupe, Mexico, to have any chance of getting out of Group A. South Korea would finish second in the group with a draw.

Qatar and Bosnia-Herzegovina will be short-handed for a match critical to both teams' hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.

Bosnia will be without center back Tarik Muharemovic, who received a red card in a 4-1 loss to Switzerland.

Qatar has two players out due to red cards in a 6-0 loss to Canada: left back Homam Ahmed and midfielder Assim Madibo, who broke the leg of Canada’s Ismaël Koné with a tackle from behind.

Bosnia and Qatar have to win Wednesday in Seattle to have any chance of earning one of the eight third-place qualifiers into the knockout round thanks to poor goal differentials.

Scotland's fans have been the toast of this year's World Cup, taking over Boston's bars before their team's opening match, then turning the Miami Marlins' ballpark into a giant party.

Imagine what the Tartan Army will do if the Scots advance to the knockout stage for the first time in nine World Cups.

Sitting third in Group C, Scotland needs a draw or potentially even a narrow loss against Brazil to make it out of the group stage. Scotland has three points and a goal differential of minus-4, so a 1-0 defeat could be enough to get through.

The bagpipes will blare if Scotland advances.

— Ronaldo becomes first player to score in six World Cups with two goals against Uzbekistan

— England and Ghana play to 0-0 draw at World Cup despite flurry-filled final minutes

— Messi and Mbappé romping through World Cup in dazzling display of history-making goals

— Iran’s World Cup team will be allowed to travel to US 2 days before next match

— Infantino says FIFA will analyze using hydration breaks at future World Cups

— Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron gets one-game suspension after red card for covering his mouth

— France coach Didier Deschamps to return home from World Cup to attend his mother’s funeral

— World Cup Day 13 in photos

With his two goals against Uzbekistan, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo moved into an eight-way tie for eighth on the World Cup career scoring list with 10 goals. He has scored against six teams during his record streak of scoring in six straight World Cups: Spain (three); Ghana (two); Uzbekistan (two); Iran (one), North Korea (one) and Morocco (one).

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Ghana's Antoine Semenyo (11) reacts as he goes for the ball during the World Cup Group L soccer match between England and Ghana in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Scotland fans celebrate a win following the World Cup Group C soccer match between Haiti and Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Krupa)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group K soccer match between Portugal and Uzbekistan in Houston, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Associated Press (AP) — A closely watched Democratic primary race pitted Kennedy scion and political novice Jack Schlossberg against a roster of other hopefuls — including two state lawmakers and a prominent ex-Republican — for an open congressional seat in the heart of Manhattan.

Whoever ultimately wins the hotly contested primary will be well positioned for the November general election to succeed Democratic longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler, who's retiring. Democrats make up two-thirds of the district's registered voters.

As results came in, Schlossberg made an early appearance at his watch party at a Manhattan concert venue to thank his campaign workers and reiterate his message that Democrats need to put forward more frank, responsive and inspiring candidates "who are willing to speak plainly about the cost of living, about corruption and fearlessly about the Constitution."

“We don’t just need younger candidates. We need different people,” he said, adding, “unless Democrats learn from the signals that are being sent all across the country, we are going to keep on losing.”

The campaign was colorful and hotly contested, partly because of Schlossberg's star power as the social-media-savvy grandson of the late President John F. Kennedy, but also because the race became an expensive proxy fight among artificial intelligence interests.

Schlossberg got plenty of attention in the race, as a member of a political dynasty who delivered his own “progressive and aggressive” message in dynamic and popular, if sometimes wacky, social media posts.

Supporters “don’t just like me because I’m a Kennedy," Schlossberg told The Associated Press this spring. “They like me because of my experience, my ideas, and they trust me because they see what’s going on with their very own eyes.”

But he also faced questions about his limited professional resume and his seriousness as a candidate. The 33-year-old, who holds a joint law and business degree, worked briefly at the State Department’s environmental bureau and has written political opinion pieces for Vogue. He said that family money bought him independence from political fund-raising.

Money cascaded into the race as some tech and AI companies lined up against candidate Alex Bores, a former tech company engineer and a state Assembly member who wrote legislation that many in the industry opposed. But some other, more regulation-friendly AI heavyweights counterpunched by trying to help Bores.

Voters in the district were deluged with mailers and ads, particularly about Bores and rival Micah Lasher, a fellow Assembly member and former Nadler aide. Lasher emphasized his long experience working in government for Nadler and others. Bores positioned himself as a fresher face who stood up to powerful interests.

“The battle lines, in this race in particular, are whether we can regulate AI at all,” Bores said in a CNN interview Tuesday evening.

Besides the AI backer battle, the race featured competing endorsements from Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, the fellow Congress member whom he defeated in a 2022 primary after their once-neighboring districts were largely combined by redrawn maps. This year, Maloney endorsed Bores, while Nadler endorsed Lasher.

Candidate George Conway had his own political connections, though not necessarily ones he embraced — a former Republican, he was married to Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to Republican President Donald Trump before distancing himself from both of them. A veteran attorney, George Conway helped create the anti-Trump organization called The Lincoln Project.

Several other candidates also vied for the nomination.

New York Assemblymember Alex Bores campaigns for the Democratic nomination for Congress in New York City on Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Izaguirre)

A man walks past a campaign sign for Democratic Congressional Candidate Jack Schlossberg during New York's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

FILE - From left, Alex Bores, George Conway, Micah Lasher, and Jack Schlossberg, democratic candidates in New York's 12th Congressional District, and Errol Louis attend "NY-12 for Congress: Candidate Forum" at 92NY, on April 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)