England, Portugal, United States: Who is sleepwalking towards a shock FIFA World Cup exit?

It's funny, isn't it? You wait half a tournament for the knockout shocks to begin and suddenly, they all arrive at once.

Brazil may have dodged elimination thanks to a last-gasp winner over Japan, a stroke of brilliance from the Selecao.

Germany and the Netherlands though? Well, they weren't so lucky, sunk in back-to-back penalty shootout reverses.

For Paraguay, massive underdogs against the former, and Morocco against the latter, progress to the last-16 is theirs.

True, Achraf Hakimi and company have blue-chip pedigree in the bank after making the semi-finals of Qatar 2022.

But now, the FIFA World Cup 2026 has come alive with the exit of a pre-tournament favourite entirely in their hands.

So what does it say about the rest of the field composed of leading contenders in this next round, and who is at risk?

DAZN News runs an eye over the remaining matchups, to see which heavy favourite might come unstuck this week.

Who is safe as houses?

By the numbers at DAZN Bet, you can paint a picture of the remaining heavyweights expected to make deep runs.

Champions Argentina, plus France, England, the United States, Spain, Portugal and Colombia are all odds-on.

Of those, it is likely Argentina and Spain who seem locked and loaded against Cape Verde and Austria respectively.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT / Contributor

Lionel Messi and company have earned a particularly favourable route through to the last four, per their high ranking.

Meanwhile, the EURO 2024 champions shouldn't struggle too much, even if European opposition is a little tougher.

Perhaps the USA could also be argued with home advantage - but there are caveats still to be considered with this.

Who runs the risk of an upset?

Truthfully, anyone else feels like they may end up packing their bags early from among the assembled major players.

France have been dominant for most of the group stage, but Sweden may have the tools to make it a difficult night.

England meanwhile have only looked truly brilliant for maybe one half of football and face a mounting injury crisis too.

They should sweep past the DR Congo - but so much may rely on whether their best players have the space to thrive.

Getty

The United States meanwhile looked to be cruising until that late group-stage defeat to Türkiye in a dead rubber clash.

Against a Bosnia and Herzegovina side spoiling for a result, they could find themselves unstuck on their own porch.

Portugal and Colombia meanwhile face Croatia and Ghana - two sides who have shown they can trouble foes already.

Cristiano Ronaldo's men, in particular, may be troubled by Luka Modric and his ability to unpick chances on a dime.

What about the best of the rest?

The remaining ties in the last-32 seem more balanced, though there is an argument to be made nominal upsets await.

For the Euro-centric mind, Norway, Switzerland and Belgium should beat the Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Algeria.

But the trio of African nations are strong enough to suggest that victory isn't necessarily an upset if they prevail here.

Buda Mendes / Staff

Elsewhere, co-hosts Mexico should engineer a win over Ecuador, but the latter can also prove more than a handful.

Lastly, Australia - a nation where football is effectively their fifth sporting code - must line up against old enemy Egypt.

The former were foiled at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by the latter, and several of their stars want their revenge.

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