World Cup 2022 round of 16: Who's in, who's out, and storylines to watch

This year's World Cup has already been a soccer spectacle. Now the knockout stage begins. For the first time, teams from all six populated continents are represented in the last 16. No team from outside Europe or South America has ever played in a World cup final.

Brazil is the winningest team in World Cup history. France, Argentina and Spain are also safe picks. Spain is hoping to rekindle the magic of its 2010 World cup win.  Pedri was crowned the best young player in Europe last year.

Japan and Morocco are the trendy picks for the underdog I can bandwagon. Japan has never won a game in the knockout round, but it could do that against Croatia. Morocco helped take out Belgium with a 2-0 win.

Belgium, Germany and Uruguay have been eliminated from the World Cup. Belgium lost 2-0 to Morocco and drew 0- 0 with Croatia. Germany lost to Japan and the 2014 World champions Uruguay lost against Ghana.

Netherlands and USA play each other on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Netherlands won their group. Cody Gakpo is the star player for the Dutch. Christian Pulisic has been injured but should be fit to play.

Argentina and Australia are playing each other on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Argentina is looking to make it back to the World Cup final for the first time since 2014. Australia's advancement hinged on a 1-0 win over Denmark.

France is the favorite to win the World Cup 2022. France has won the tournament already. Poland has its own star in Robert Lewandowski, a 34-year-old striker. Lewandowski scored his first World cup goal last week.

England and Senegal are playing in the World Cup 2022 round of 16 on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2:00 p.m. ET. England has not finished better than 4th place since winning the 1966 World cup. Senegal is the top-ranked African team left in this tournament.

Japan and Croatia are playing in the World Cup 2022 round of 16 on Monday, Dec. 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Japan won Group E, beating both Germany and Spain. Croatia is the better team on paper, but it has struggled in international play recently.

Brazil and South Korea are playing each other in the World Cup on Monday, Dec. 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Brazil's star Neymar is injured and his return for the knockout round is still an open question. South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan came into the game as a substitute after missing the first two matches with a hamstring injury and scored a goal to send his team through.

Morocco and Spain are playing each other in the World Cup 2022 round of 16 on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Spain is favored to win, but Morocco can beat anyone if it beats Belgium 2-0.

Portugal and Switzerland are playing each other on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Cristiano Ronaldo is playing for Portugal. He is 37 years old and has never won a World Cup.