All eight VfB players at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the USA have made it through to the knockout stage and the round of 32 with their respective countries. With three goals and two assists in the group stage, Deniz Undav is Germany’s top scorer, while Ermedin Demirovic has played 265 out of a possible 270 minutes with Bosnia and Herzegovina. He and Bilal El Khannouss have both started every match for their countries, with the eight VfB players getting a total of 760 minutes of playing time between them thus far.
Jaquez’s Switzerland top their group
Luca Jaquez made his first appearance in Switzerland’s starting line-up at the tournament in their third group game and went on to play 75 minutes in their 2-1 win over Canada. In the round of 32, the Swiss will now face a third-placed team from one of Groups E, F, G, I and J on Friday 3 July 2026 at 5:00 CEST in Vancouver, Canada.
Demirovic through to knockout stage
Demirovic played the full 90 minutes in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Qatar. The VfB striker’s side finished third in Group B on four points and are also through to the knockout stage, where they will face hosts USA in San Francisco on Thursday 2 July 2026, at 2:00 CEST.
El Khannouss and Morocco cruise through
In Group C, Morocco picked up another three points against outsiders Haiti, winning 4-2 and finishing on seven points, just behind Brazil on goal difference. El Khannouss played the full match against Haiti, and his Morocco side will now face the Netherlands on Tuesday 30 June 2026 in Guadalupe, Mexico. Kick-off is at 3:00 CEST.
Ecuador upset Germany
Ecuador are also through to the round of 32 after recording a shock 2-1 win over Germany. VfB forward Jeremy Arévalo was an unused substitute for La Tri, who do not yet know their opponents or the venue for their next round.
Paraguay in Round of 32
Julian Nagelsmann's side qualified as Group E winners and will now meet Paraguay in Boston on 29 June. Angelo Stiller made his World Cup debut in the 2-1 defeat to Ecuador, coming on at half-time, while Undav was brought on for the last half an hour.
