Knockout stage heats up with three games Monday on TSN, where Canada will learn Round of 16 opponent

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The World Cup’s knockout stage is already providing some premier matchups in the round of 32.

It’s part of a bracket that features an easier road for some teams than others.

There are three games on Monday, starting with Brazil vs. Japan in Houston. The Brazilians — who won Group C — are five-time World Cup champions but face a tough opponent in Japan, which is ranked No. 17 in the world. The Japanese finished second in Group F with one win and two draws.

Group E winner Germany faces Paraguay in the day’s second game. Germany scored 10 goals in the group stage, which was tied for the most of any team. Paraguay bounced back from a 4-1 loss to the United States by beating Turkey and fighting to a draw with Australia to narrowly qualify for the knockout stage after finishing third in Group D.

The nightcap is a matchup of top-10 teams when the Netherlands faces Morocco. The Dutch are often considered the best country to never win a World Cup, while Morocco has jumped into soccer’s elite over the past few years after a surprise run to the 2022 World Cup semifinals in Qatar.

What to watch on June 29

All games on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

— Brazil vs. Japan, 1 p.m. EDT in Houston

— Germany vs. Paraguay, 4:30 p.m. EDT in Foxborough, Massachusetts

— Netherlands vs. Morocco, 9 p.m. EDT in Monterrey, Mexico

Brazil-Japan matchup features countries with close relationship

Watch LIVE at 12:45pm ET/9:45am PT on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

These countries have extremely strong ties with Brazil being home to about 2.7 million Japanese descendants, which is the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

Those ties extend to soccer where Brazilian superstar Zico moved to Japan in 1991 to play for the Kashima Antlers and help build Japan’s professional soccer network. He managed the Japan national team from 2002-06, leading the team to the World Cup in 2006.

It was in that World Cup where these teams had their first and only meeting in the tournament with Brazil notching a 4-1 victory.

Brazil leads the overall series with 11 wins. The teams have played to two draws and Japan collected its first-ever win over Brazil in a friendly in Tokyo in October. Japan trailed 2-0 at halftime before rallying for the 3-2 victory.

Coach Hajime Moriyasu thinks that win will impact how Brazil approaches his team Monday.

“They will be so much more motivated to play against us,” he said. “They are intent on winning against us. Because of that we feel that the match will be very intense.”

Germany returns to knockout rounds for first time since 2014

Watch LIVE at 4:15pm ET/1:15pm PT on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

Germany is back in the knockout round for the first time since the 2014 final in Brazil when the Germans beat Argentina 1-0 to capture their fourth World Cup title.

Leading those hopes will be coach Julian Naglesmann. At 38 years and 341 days old on Monday, he will be the youngest manager in the knockout round since France’s Henri Michel in the 1986.

Paraguay has appeared in five knockout stage games, but has failed to score in each. It advanced only once in those games, winning on penalty kicks against Japan in the round of 16 in 2010.

Paraguay is expected to be without defender Omar Alderete, who is doubtful with a knee injury he suffered in the second half of its 0-0 draw against Australia. Jose Canale is expected to start in his place.

“This will be a match all about details,” Paraguay captain Gustavo Gómez said. ”We need to be concentrated to compete to take advantage of all the opportunities we might have.”

The winner will face the winner of France and Sweden on July 4 in Philadelphia.

Netherlands vs. Morocco premier clash in round of 32

Watch LIVE at 8:45pm ET/5:45pm PT across the TSN Network, on TSN.ca and the TSN App.

The Netherlands has a tough draw in the round of 32 as it hunts for the nation’s first World Cup title.

The nation of Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten has long held the moniker of best never to have won the tournament. Three times the Dutch have advanced to the finals and each time they have lost, most recently to Spain in extra time in 2010.

The Netherlands topped Group F after a draw against Japan and big wins over Sweden and Tunisia. The Dutch haven’t lost in six previous World Cup matches against African countries.

Morocco finished second in Group C. The Atlas Lions fought to a 1-1 draw against Brazil in their opener before wins over Scotland and Haiti.

The winner will face Canada in the round of 16 on July 4 in Houston.

More World Cup news

— Iran narrowly knocked out of tumultuous World Cup on Austria’s last-second goal

— Messi becomes first to score in 7 straight World Cup games while extending goals record

— Austria, Algeria trade goals in stoppage time, both advance at World Cup with stunning 3-3 draw

— Money can’t buy success in World Cup for gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar

— Canada beats South Africa 1-0 in World Cup’s first knockout match on late goal by Stephen Eustáquio

— World Cup Day 18, in photos

Stats of the day

— Canada won its first World Cup knockout round game and advanced to the round of 16 for the first time.

— Nine out of 10 African countries advanced to the knockout round of this year’s World Cup, which is by far the continent’s most ever. Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, Egypt, DR Congo, Algeria all made it to the round of 32. Tunisia was the only country eliminated after the group stage.

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AP Sports Writers Kyle Hightower, Dave Skretta and Kristie Rieken contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

David Brandt, The Associated Press