KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Group Stage play wraps up in Kansas City on Saturday night with a match between Algeria and Austria at Arrowhead Stadium. While that matchup is set, the clubs in Kansas City’s next match in the Round of 32 on July 3 are not.

The Round of 32 match will feature the winner of Group K facing off against the third-place team from Group D, E, I, J, or L. It was determined later Saturday that the third-place team from Group L, which is Ghana, will be in Kansas City.

In Group K, Colombia and Portugal will play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Both teams have already qualified for the knockout round; Saturday’s match will decide who plays in Kansas City, though.

If Colombia wins or forces a draw, they’ll play at Arrowhead in the Round of 32. If Portugal wins, it’ll be them at Arrowhead on July 3.

Click here to view FIFA World Cup Group Stage standings.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Mohammad Abualnadi had a decision to make. 

It wasn’t easy. 

The 25-year old bet on himself, reaping the benefits of an historic summer.

Abualnadi is playing in the 2026 World Cup representing Jordan. The Kansas City-born player is making history for his team and family.

From pharmacy school to the World Cup 

After a strong collegiate soccer career at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, Abualnadi wasn’t sure if professional soccer was his path. 

Starting out in the lower divisions can be a grind, and Abualnadi knows it. 

Instead, he decided to enroll in pharmacy school at the University of Florida in Aug. 2024. 

“It wasn’t an ultimatum with my parents, but it was a reality check with how my football was,” he said. “I’m realistic with my goals and realistic with where I am in life.”

World Cup: Why Kansas City is ‘the heart of soccer’

Hard work and achieving objectives is ingrained in the Abualnadi household. Reaching pharmacy school was the next chapter that Abualnadi’s parents were expecting. 

Abualnadi had stints with Jordanian club Al-Hussein and Iraq’s Al-Qasim prior to pharmacy school. His time with both clubs didn’t pan out the way that he wanted. 

That’s why he wanted to continue his studies. Maybe his dream of playing professional football had ended, he thought.

Instead, Abualnadi decided to bet on himself.

One week into school, Abualnadi dropped out, opting to continue his dream of professional soccer. 

It was a shock to the family, according to Abualnadi’s sister Noor, but Abualnadi’s soccer goals were far from over.

“I think he realized that you can try to mold yourself in so many different ways,” Noor said. “But, you just really can’t deny what your passion is.”

Abualnadi made the jump to Malaysia, playing for Selangor FC. It’s there where his career began to blossom. 

Less than three weeks after joining Selangor, the Jordan national team called up Abualnadi. It was another big break for the defender. 

He made his debut in a non-sanctioned FIFA friendly against North Korea. Abualnadi made his first official appearance against South Korea — where he played for 13 minutes — in World Cup qualification in October 2024. 

Since that match, Abualnadi has been a mainstay in the Jordanian national team. 

He started in Jordan’s 3-0 win over Oman in June 2025. The win sealed a place in the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history. 

From Kansas to Algeria: Check out this massive World Cup flag art

How a Kansas City-born player can represent Jordan

Abualnadi is Kansas City through and through. He was a ball boy for MLS club Sporting Kansas City as a youngster. 

Abualnadi’s father is Palestinian and was born in a refugee camp, while his mother was born in Jordan. 

The pair arrived in America in the mid-1980’s. The patriarch was studying to become a physician, spending time at the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University before settling in Kansas City. 

According to FIFA, for a player to represent their non-birth nation, they need to have a parent or grandparent born in that country. This is how Abualnadi can represent the Jordan national team. 

Abualnadi and his family would travel to Jordan every other summer to visit family. He wanted to keep up with his soccer when making the trip overseas. His mother found a person on Facebook to help train her son. 

That person ended up being a coach on the Jordan youth national team. From that point on, Abualnadi was on the map with the federation. 

“When he would go overseas, he would get to train with them and I think they continue to get to know him,” Noor said. “I think it’s really interesting as an American, to be able to have more than one national identity and be able to traverse both opportunities.”

Abualnadi shines as a ‘student of the game’

In America, Abualnadi played for Sporting Kansas City’s youth teams. He rose through the ranks and was an impressive player for the team.