Serie A

Serie A at the World Cup: The Strikers Take Centre Stage

De Ketelaere enjoyed a record-breaking night with Belgium, Lukaku continued his sensational scoring streak, and Lautaro once again proved decisive for Argentina. Here's a recap of the World Cup Round of 16.

The Round of 16 further highlighted the impact of Serie A Enilive players on the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Charles De Ketelaere made Atalanta history, Romelu Lukaku continued his flawless form, and Lautaro Martínez delivered when it mattered most. Meanwhile, the quarter-final line-up is now complete, with Serie A continuing to play a leading role.

De Ketelaere makes history, Lukaku keeps delivering

Belgium dominated against the United States with a commanding 4-1 win in Seattle, and Charles De Ketelaere stole the show. After spending much of the tournament operating away from goal in Rudi Garcia's false-nine system, the Atalanta forward finally took centre stage. He scored a brace to put Belgium in control before providing the assist for Vanaken's goal to make it 3-1, producing the finest performance of his international career.

🇧🇪CDK x ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/wzLGOjOVDH
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA) July 7, 2026

It was also a historic night for Atalanta. De Ketelaere became the first player from the Bergamo club to score a brace in the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup. Before him, only Glenn Strömberg and Claudio Caniggia had scored at a World Cup while representing La Dea. Both Strömberg and Claudio Caniggia had scored in Italia '90, but neither found the net in a knockout match. The two goals were also De Ketelaere's first at a World Cup, his eighth for Belgium, and his sixth in his last nine appearances under Rudi Garcia.

Romelu Lukaku sealed Belgium's impressive victory with the fourth goal. Big Rom is enjoying an outstanding tournament: across his last three matches, every shot on target has ended in a goal, with three goals and one assist in fewer than 200 minutes on the pitch.

Haaland knocks out Brazil, Lautaro makes the difference

Another brace stole the headlines as Erling Haaland fuelled Norway to a 2-1 win over Brazil, sending the Scandinavians into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.

The result kept an unusual statistic alive: Norway are the only national team Brazil have met without ever managing to beat, despite their five previous encounters. Among the Serie A contingent, Torbjørn Heggem once again stood out with an excellent defensive display, while Éderson came on in the closing stages.

Argentina also survived a major scare. The reigning world champions trailed Egypt 2-0 with just eleven minutes remaining before completing a spectacular comeback. Lautaro Martínez played a key role after coming off the bench, providing the assist for Enzo Fernández's late winner to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory, proving decisive even without getting on the scoresheet.

Morocco reach the quarter-finals as all three hosts exit

The Round of 16 also saw all three host nations eliminated.

After the United States bowed out, Canada became the first co-host to exit, with Jonathan David's side beaten 3-0 by an impressive Morocco side. The Atlas Lions reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the second consecutive tournament, becoming the first African nation ever to achieve the feat. Roma midfielder Neil El Aynaoui once again impressed, cementing his status as a key figure in Morocco's midfield.

Mexico also exited after a 3-2 defeat to England, as the Three Lions ended their 40-year winless run at the Estadio Azteca. Johan Vásquez played another full 90 minutes, once again highlighting his importance at the heart of Mexico's defence.

Leão and Conceição exit as France and Switzerland progress

Portugal's World Cup journey came to an end in Dallas after a narrow defeat to Spain in the Iberian derby, decided late on by Mikel Merino. Rafael Leão and Francisco Conceição both came off the bench but were unable to change the course of the match, which also marked Cristiano Ronaldo's final World Cup appearance.

France, featuring their Serie A trio of Mike Maignan, Adrien Rabiot and Manu Koné, edged past Paraguay thanks to Kylian Mbappé's decisive penalty.

Switzerland, meanwhile, eliminated Colombia in a penalty shootout. Manuel Akanji's miss proved inconsequential, while Ardon Jashari made his first start of the tournament before being substituted at half-time. In midfield, Remo Freuler once again proved crucial in midfield, offering the balance that has become a defining feature of Switzerland's play.

Switzerland's #SerieA stars book their spot in the #FIFAWorldCup quarters! ✅ pic.twitter.com/WZVj8gzXqm
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) July 8, 2026

Serie A in the quarter-finals: 21 players and 12 clubs remain

With the Round of 16 complete, 21 Serie A Enilive players remain in the tournament, representing six of the eight nations through to the quarter-finals.

Twelve Italian clubs are still represented. Milan lead the way with five players, followed by Inter with three. Napoli, Bologna, and Roma each have two representatives, while Atalanta, Como, Genoa, Torino, Sassuolo, Pisa, and Cremonese each have one player still chasing World Cup glory.