世界杯进入下一阶段，伴随着巫医、惊喜和紧急啤酒配送
The World Cup enters its next stage after witch doctors…
The World Cup is into the knockout phase after an action-packed group stage in which athletes and fans shone.
经过一场精彩的小组赛，世界杯已进入淘汰赛阶段，运动员和球迷们闪耀其中。
We are two weeks into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the knockout rounds starting after the group stages concluded.
我们已经进入了2026年国际足联世界杯的第二周，淘汰赛将在小组赛结束后开始。
On Monday morning, co-hosts Canada left it late to beat South Africa to win through to the round of 16 for the first time in men’s World Cup history.
周一早上，联合主办国加拿大在比赛末段击败了南非，首次成功晋级男子世界杯十六强。
So, what have been the key moments so far and what are the most important games to watch as the tournament heats up?
那么，到目前为止的关键时刻是什么？随着比赛越来越激烈，哪些是值得关注的最重要比赛呢？
The group stages delivered plenty
分组赛阶段带来了许多精彩
Despite numerous controversies in the lead-up, coverage of the tournament has been largely positive, on and off the pitch.
尽管赛前争议不断，但对本次锦标赛的报道在场内和场外都总体上是积极的。
News coverage has praised visiting fans, particularly those from Scotland and Japan.
新闻报道赞扬了来访的球迷，特别是来自苏格兰和日本的球迷。
Scotland’s first two matches, against Haiti and Morocco, were both held in Boston. This was Scotland’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years and their fans were keen to celebrate.
苏格兰的两场比赛，对阵海地和摩洛哥，都在波士顿举行。这是苏格兰28年来首次参加世界杯，他们的球迷们非常渴望庆祝。
The “Tartan Army” made a big impression, primarily with their bagpipes, their fondness for putting traffic cones on famous sculptures, their singing and their drinking.
“苏格兰格子军”留下了深刻的印象，主要体现在他们的风笛、他们热衷于在著名雕塑上放交通锥筒、唱歌和饮酒。
Pubs ran out of beer and had to schedule emergency deliveries, as sales were triple those seen on other busy drinking occasions such as St Patrick’s Day and the Superbowl.
酒馆啤酒售罄，不得不安排紧急补货，因为销量是圣帕特里克节和超级碗等其他热闹饮酒场合的三倍。
The Boston Globe newspaper devoted a full page to thank Scottish fans as they left to go to Miami for their final group match against Brazil.
《波士顿环球报》为苏格兰球迷专门刊登了一整页，感谢他们前往迈阿密参加对阵巴西的最后一场小组赛。
Japanese supporters continued their tradition of helping clean the stadium after games.
日本球迷继续着他们帮助比赛后清理体育场馆的传统。
Norwegian fans also went viral, performing a mass viking row in Times Square in New York.
挪威球迷也爆红了，在纽约时代广场进行了一场大规模的维京人划船表演。
Dutch fans took over Texas and turned it orange for their games against Japan and Sweden.
荷兰球迷占领了德克萨斯州，并为他们对阵日本和瑞典的比赛将其染成了橙色。
So, the fans have been great – but what about the teams?
所以，球迷们太棒了——但那球队呢？
A new format
新的赛制
The 2026 World Cup is the biggest World Cup ever.
2026年世界杯将是史上规模最大的世界杯。
Expanding the competition from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 this year has given more countries the opportunity to be involved.
将参赛队伍从2022年的32支增加到今年的48支，让更多国家有机会参与其中。
Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan all made their World Cup debuts in 2026.
佛得角、库拉索、约旦和乌兹别克斯坦都将在2026年首次亮相世界杯。
More teams means more games in the group stage and a more complicated process to qualify for the knockout stage.
更多队伍意味着小组赛更多的比赛，以及更复杂的淘汰赛资格晋级流程。
In previous World Cups there have been eight groups of four (32 teams) in the group stage. The top two teams from each group (16 teams total) made it to the knockout stage.
在以往的世界杯中，小组赛设有八个小组（共32支队伍）。每个小组排名前两名（共16支队伍）进入淘汰赛阶段。
The number of teams still playing halved in each round (eight in the quarter finals, four in the semi finals) until there are only two teams left in the final.
参赛队伍的数量在每一轮都会减半（四分之一决赛八支，半决赛四支），直到只剩下两支队伍进入决赛。
However, halving 48 multiple times does not eventually leave two teams. So, a different format was required.
然而，多次将48支队伍减半并不能最终留下两支队伍。因此，需要采用不同的赛制。
This year, 32 teams qualified for the knockout stage: the top two teams in each of the 12 groups (24 teams) , along with the eight highest-ranked third-placed teams.
今年，共有32支队伍晋级淘汰赛：来自12个小组的每组前两名（共24支队伍），以及排名前八位的第三名队伍。
The ranking of third-placed teams was based on factors such as points scored and goal difference.
第三名队伍的排名是根据得分和净胜球等因素确定的。
The 2026 format results in two thirds of teams making the knockout stage.
2026年的赛制使得三分之二的队伍能够进入淘汰赛阶段。
This format reduces the danger of early elimination for stronger countries, and also allows lower-ranked countries a better chance of making the knockout stage.
这种赛制降低了强队过早被淘汰的风险，同时也让排名较低的国家有更好的机会进入淘汰赛阶段。
Surprises and failures
惊喜与失利
Most of the highly ranked teams have made it to the knockout stage, with teams from Africa, Europe and South America performing particularly well.
大多数排名靠前的球队都进入了淘汰赛阶段，其中来自非洲、欧洲和南美洲的队伍表现尤为出色。
The highest-ranked teams to miss out were Uruguay (16th) and Turkey (22nd) .
排名最高但未能晋级的球队是乌拉圭（第16位）和土耳其（第22位）。
Belgium (9th) and Senegal (15th) only made it through after strong wins in their final group match.
比利时（第9位）和塞内加尔（第15位）是在小组赛最后一场比赛中取得强劲胜利后才得以晋级。
Some of the biggest surprises have been draws rather than wins.
最大的惊喜并非是获胜，而是平局。
Examples include Cabo Verde (ranked 67th) drawing with Spain (2nd) , New Zealand (85th) drawing with Iran (20th) , and Ghana (73rd) drawing with England (4th) .
例如，佛得角（排名第67位）与西班牙（第2位）战平；新西兰（第85位）与伊朗（第20位）战平；加纳（第73位）与英格兰（第4位）战平。
The biggest ranking difference for an upset win was South Africa (60th) beating South Korea (25th) .
排名差距最大的爆冷胜利是南非（第60位）击败了韩国（第25位）。
The lowest-ranked teams to make the knockout stage are Ghana (73rd) , Cabo Verde (67th) , and Bosnia and Herzegovina (64th) .
进入淘汰赛阶段的排名最低的队伍是加纳（第73位）、佛得角（第67位）和波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那（第64位）。
Ghana’s qualification for the knockout stage may or may not have been helped by a renowned Ghanaian witch doctor putting a curse on English captain Harry Kane.
加纳能否进入淘汰赛阶段，可能与一位著名的加纳巫医对英格兰队长哈里·凯恩施了诅咒有关。
Thankfully for Kane, the curse was reversed after the 0-0 draw against Ghana, and he scored again in England’s final group game against Panama.
幸运的是，在与加纳的0-0平局后，这个诅咒被解除，他在英格兰对阵巴拿马的小组赛最后一场比赛中再次进球。
The big guns are firing
重炮正在轰鸣
The Golden Boot is awarded to the player who scores the most goals at the World Cup.
金靴奖授予在世界杯上进球最多的球员。
143 different players contributed to the 215 goals scored during the 72 group-stage matches. The average of 2.99 goals per game is the highest average since the 1950s.
在72场小组赛中，共有143名不同的球员贡献了215个进球。平均每场比赛2.99个进球是自上世纪50年代以来的最高平均水平。
Unsurprisingly, some of soccer’s biggest stars are at the top of this list.
毫不意外的是，一些足球界最大的明星位居榜首。
Lionel Messi (Argentina) is currently leading with six goals.
莱昂内尔·梅西（阿根廷）目前以六个进球领先。
Other stars such as Kylian Mbappe (France) , Ousmane Dembele (France) , Vinicius Junior (Brazil) and Erling Haaland (Norway) all have four goals.
其他明星球员，如基利安·姆巴佩（法国）、奥斯曼·登贝莱（法国）、维尼修斯·儒尼奥尔（巴西）和埃尔林·哈兰德（挪威），都打进了四个进球。
Messi is now at the top of the all-time World Cup scorers’ list with 19 goals.
梅西目前以19个进球位居世界杯历史最佳射手榜首。
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) meanwhile became the first player to score at six consecutive World Cups.
而克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多（葡萄牙）则成为第一位在六届世界杯上进球的球员。
What to look for in the knockout stage
淘汰赛阶段看点
So, as we look ahead to the knockout round, what are some of the must-watch matches?
因此，当我们展望淘汰赛阶段时，哪些比赛是必看之战呢？
For Australians, the Socceroos’ match against Egypt on Saturday morning must be top of the list. These teams have similar world rankings and it should be close.
对于澳大利亚人来说，周六上午澳足雄狮对阵埃及的比赛一定排在首位。这两支球队的世界排名相似，预计会非常胶着。
Morocco vs Netherlands should be another cracking contest. These teams, currently ranked 6th and 7th, would not have expected to meet this early in the tournament.
摩洛哥对阵荷兰应该会是另一场精彩的较量。这两支目前排名分别为第6位和第7位的球队，没想到会在锦标赛这么早的阶段相遇。
Finally, the match between Argentina (ranked 1st) and Cabo Verde (64th) will be fascinating.
最后，阿根廷（排名第1位）和佛得角（排名第64位）之间的比赛将会非常引人入胜。
Can the smallest country ever to make the knockout stage stop the defending champions? The contest between Messi and Cabo Verde’s inspirational 40-year old goalkeeper Vozinha will be key.
最早进入淘汰赛的最小国家能否阻止卫冕冠军？梅西与佛得角励志型40岁守门员沃辛亚之间的较量将是关键。
Vaughan Cruickshank does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Vaughan Cruickshank 不受任何从本文受益的公司或组织的工作、咨询、股票所有权或资金支持，并且除了其学术任命之外，没有披露任何相关的隶属关系。
