The field for the elimination phase of the World Cup is beginning to take shape, with co-hosts the United States and Canada finding out their opponents in the next round.
The U.S. will face Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara, California, getting to stay on the West Coast after competing in the Los Angeles area and Seattle during the group stage. The Americans had already clinched a spot in the knockout round before a 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday night in front of a raucous, celebrity-studded Southern California crowd at SoFi Stadium.
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Netherlands fans cheer before the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and the Netherlands in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Curaçao's Sontje Hansen (12) and Curaçao's Jeremy Antonisse (11) embrace after the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Japan's Junya Ito (14) and Sweden's Ken Sema (13) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Japan and Sweden in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)
Netherlands' Memphis Depay tries to reach the ball in front of the goal during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and the Netherlands in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
United States' Christian Pulisic walks off the field after a World Cup Group D soccer match against Turkey in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Canada will head to Los Angeles to face South Africa.
Other marquee matchups are set, including Morocco vs. the Netherlands and Japan vs. Brazil.
Several teams, including Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland and Ivory Coast, have advanced to the knockout round but still waiting to find out their opponents.
The round of 32 will be set on Saturday once the group-stage matches are done and the final standings of the 12 groups are known. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advance to the win-or-go home round.
Here's how it's looking so far:
The Americans had their powerful momentum from two consecutive victories stalled in the loss to Turkey. But in the knockout round, they’ll face a Bosnia-Herzegovina team that is 62nd in the FIFA rankings — the lowest-ranked World Cup qualifier from Europe. Bosnia finished third in Group B with four points. U.S. star Christian Pulisic entered as a substitute in the second half against Turkey. He had not played since leaving an opening win over Paraguay at halftime with a calf injury. “We play every game like a knockout game,” said U.S. midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who scored against Turkey. “You saw that in our intensity and the way we worked. For us, it’s keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
These nations have already made history. It'll be the first time both are in the knockout stage of the World Cup. Co-host Canada advanced as runner-up in Group B with four points — one win, one draw and one loss. South Africa was runner-up in Group A, also with four points, including a surprising win over South Korea.
Japan advanced as Group F runner-up with a hard fought 1-1 draw against Sweden and the Samurai Blue's reward is a knockout match against five-time World Cup champion Brazil. It'll be a full-circle moment for Japan, which welcomed Brazilian soccer legend Zico in 1991. He was brought in to professionalize the country's new domestic league and support Japan's successful bid to host the World Cup in 2002. Now, the Japanese have a chance to show how far they've come against a country that has set the standard.
The Netherlands won Group F after playing to a draw with Japan and outscoring Sweden and Tunisia by a combined 8-2. Morocco went unbeaten to finish second in Group C in pursuit of becoming the first African winner of the World Cup. Morocco reached the semifinals four years ago in Qatar.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.
Netherlands fans cheer before the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and the Netherlands in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Curaçao's Sontje Hansen (12) and Curaçao's Jeremy Antonisse (11) embrace after the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Japan's Junya Ito (14) and Sweden's Ken Sema (13) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Japan and Sweden in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde)
Netherlands' Memphis Depay tries to reach the ball in front of the goal during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and the Netherlands in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
United States' Christian Pulisic walks off the field after a World Cup Group D soccer match against Turkey in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — In cities across northern Venezuela, neighbors helped each other dig through rubble to search for loved ones on Thursday after back-to-back earthquakes that officials say killed more than 230 people and left thousands injured the night before.
The official death toll rose to around 235 late Thursday, with at least 4,300 people injured, Venezuela Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state media. The number of casualties is expected to climb with thousands reported missing and frantic rescue efforts continuing.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening was among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and was felt throughout the region.
The injured were pulled out covered in dust and blood, among them children and animals. Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive. But few government search teams were initially seen outside Caracas.
The coastal region of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties. The country’s main airport is there and was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts.
Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead. Buildings were flattened and streets cracked open.
Families posted missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched. Venezuelans abroad struggled to make contact with relatives due to interrupted phone service in the country.
In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.
Mother of three Dayana Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised and said residents were the ones digging through crumpled buildings.
“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said of her missing 8-year-old son.
One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of the missing. Some stood in silent shock.
Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters: a 1999 mudslide killed thousands and is considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters.
In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.
“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”
Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.
“May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” Mendaño said. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”
The natural disaster is the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro’s capture. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.
She appealed to businesses Thursday to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations.
“We hope to rescue as many living people as possible,” Rodríguez said.
While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
The U.S. Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas.
The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.
“It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.
Shortly after United Nations officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024 in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.
Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Canada vowed to send aid. A number of shipments were already on the way Thursday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States was immediately deploying assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of Venezuela’s main airport created logistical challenges.
“We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” Rubio said.
Rescue teams from Mexico, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic arrived in Venezuela on Thursday, along with an aid flight from Mexico.
“No country is prepared to provide the response that’s needed. That’s what neighboring countries are there for,” Dominican Air Force Major Carlos Olivares said.
The Venezuelan diaspora also was helping. In Ecuador, Félix Rodríguez said his store was receiving donations from his fellow Venezuelans as well as Ecuadorians.
“My business is always ready for whatever Venezuela needs,” he said.
Gabby Graham said she regularly sends money from Spokane, Washington, to Venezuela using a peer-to-peer payment to a local business that gives cash to her family. But since the earthquakes they can't locate the business owner and she is unable to share funds for food, water, medication and toiletries.
“I think it hasn’t been easy for them for years. Just now it’s just even worse because it’s about finding these things,” Graham said.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Gabriela Molina in Quito, Ecuador, Regina Garcia Cano in Bogota, Colombia, Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Anna-Catherine Brigida and India Grant in Mexico City, Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Alexandra Olson in New York, Julie Watson in San Diego and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
People attend a mass to honor the victims of the earthquakes in Venezuela, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A man walks over the fallen walls of his home in Moron, near the epicenter of two earthquakes that struck Venezuela the day before, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacinto Oliveros)
Residents walk among the rubble of building damaged in earthquakes the previous day in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
People camp in the street the night after the earthquake struck Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Neighbors carry a man rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building the day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
