Group Stage Final Week, WSOP Crosses 56 Bracelets -- Here Is Everything Happening
The World Cup is in its final stretch of group play with the knockout bracket nearly set, and the World Series of Poker just crowned its 56th bracelet winner with the Main Event now just over a week away. Two of the biggest events in sports are both building toward their biggest moments at the same time. Here is everything you need to know.
World Cup 2026: Knockout Bracket Taking Shape -- Final Group Matches This Week
The group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is entering its final 72 hours and the picture is becoming clear. Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Norway and the United States have all already secured their spots in the round of 32, which kicks off June 28. The final round of group matches plays out across this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Germany has been one of the most dominant teams of the group stage, securing first place in Group E with two wins from two matches, highlighted by super-sub Denis Undav's stoppage-time winner against Ivory Coast. The final Group E match on Thursday sends Ecuador against Germany in New Jersey, while Curacao faces Ivory Coast in Philadelphia in a match that could still decide second place in the group.
Several groups remain wide open heading into the final round. In Group C, Brazil and Morocco both only need a draw to advance automatically, though Morocco would need to either beat Brazil's result outright or overturn a two-goal deficit in goal difference to claim top spot. Scotland sits in the same group and needs a win to guarantee automatic qualification, though a draw would likely still be enough to grab one of the eight third-place spots reserved for the best remaining teams across all twelve groups.
In Group D, the USA already locked up top spot with a 2-0 win over Australia -- the Americans' first group win at a World Cup since 2010 -- and will close out group play against Turkiye on Thursday night in Los Angeles in a match with nothing riding on it for the US other than positioning and rest management. In Group G, Egypt sits atop the table and qualifies for the knockouts with anything but a loss to Iran, while Belgium needs to beat New Zealand and overturn a two-goal swing in goal difference just to have a shot at second place after their disappointing 0-0 draw with Iran left them on the brink for a second straight tournament.
The expanded 48-team format means this final week carries extra intrigue. With eight third-place finishers also advancing alongside all 24 group winners and runners-up, teams that might have been eliminated under the old 32-team format still have a genuine path through. The round of 32 begins June 28 and runs through July 3, with the tournament building toward the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
From a betting standpoint, this final week of group play is one of the richest stretches of the entire tournament for finding value. Teams that have already clinched their spot -- like the USA, Mexico, Germany and France -- often rotate key starters in their final group match once nothing is on the line, which shifts moneylines and totals in ways the public market is slow to react to. Meanwhile, genuine win-or-go-home matches like Belgium vs New Zealand carry a different psychological weight than anything else on the calendar this week. Check bonusdrop.io for the latest World Cup odds and sportsbook promos available in your state before this week's decisive matches kick off.
WSOP 2026: 56 Bracelets Awarded, Main Event Just Over a Week Away
The 57th World Series of Poker has now crowned 56 of its 100 scheduled bracelet winners, with 134,365 total entries logged across 62 events at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The summer has already produced multiple historic moments and the pace is not slowing down with the Main Event now just over a week away.
The most recent winner is Michelle Chin, who captured Event 58, the 1,500 dollar Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, for 161,313 dollars and her maiden bracelet. Chin rallied from under two big bets at three-handed to overpower Daniel Strelitz heads-up, becoming the second woman this summer to win an open-event bracelet and the first woman to win a mixed-game variant since Carol Fuchs back in 2015.
The series has produced a steady stream of milestone performances. Kristen Foxen claimed her sixth career bracelet in the 25,000 dollar High Roller for 1,773,083 dollars -- the largest live score of her career -- joining her husband Alex Foxen, who also has four bracelets of his own this summer, as one of the defining poker power couples of the entire series. Naoya Kihara wrote his own piece of poker history by winning back-to-back championship events -- the 10,000 dollar 2-7 Championship for 428,923 dollars on a Thursday, followed by the 10,000 dollar Stud Championship for 301,970 dollars that same Sunday. He became just the sixth player in WSOP history to win two championship events in the same summer, joining a list that includes Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Greg Merson, George Danzer and Jason Mercier.
Calvin Anderson became the second player of the entire series to win two bracelets this summer. The weekend also saw Canadian Homan Mohammadi outlast a massive field of 7,538 entries to win the 1,000 dollar Seniors Championship, Eelis Parssinen capture his second bracelet of the year, and fellow Canadian Abhishek Mhatre defeat 2014 Main Event champion Martin Jacobson heads-up to claim his first career bracelet. The Monster Stack swelled to 11,933 entries earlier in the series, the single largest field of the summer.
In the Player of the Year race, Shaun Deeb currently holds the overall lead with 1,648 points, with Kihara surging into second place at 1,591 points following his historic back-to-back championship run. The race remains tight with several weeks of bracelet events still remaining before the points freeze.
The schedule remains loaded through this week. The 1,000 dollar Mystery Millions ran Tuesday with two lucky players splitting a combined 1 million dollars in mystery bounties. The Tag Team event runs today, June 24, one of the most lighthearted events of the summer where costumed teams take turns playing at the same table. The Ladies Championship runs Thursday, June 25, celebrating the women of the poker community in one of the series' most important annual events.
Looking ahead, the 10,000 dollar Main Event begins Thursday, July 2 with four separate Day 1 starting flights, with late registration remaining open through Day 2D the following Tuesday. Under a new multi-year media deal with ESPN, the final table will not play out immediately -- after action concludes July 13, the remaining nine players will return after a three-week break to play out the finale from August 3 through 5, with the champion crowned on the final night. If you have ever wanted a shot at the biggest tournament in poker without traveling to Las Vegas, subscribe to the official WSOP YouTube channel before June 28 for a chance to win a free 10,000 dollar Main Event seat, or check the WSOP Online Bracelet Series running in parallel through July 14 with 7 million dollars in guaranteed prize pools and two 25-seat scramble tournaments awarding Main Event seats on June 28 and June 30. Head to the Poker section at bonusdrop.io for the best platforms to qualify or play online right now.
What to Watch This Week
The World Cup group stage wraps up Thursday through Saturday with several matches still carrying real stakes, and the round of 32 begins June 28 -- the true start of single-elimination drama. On the poker side, the WSOP continues its march toward the Main Event with the Ladies Championship Thursday and a steady stream of bracelet events between now and July 2.
Before placing any bets this week on World Cup group finales or exploring WSOP Online satellites, compare lines and grab the best promos across all the top sportsbooks available in your state. Check bonusdrop.io for the latest odds boosts and World Cup offers -- and visit our Poker section for everything WSOP-related.