2026 World Cup: Groups and standings

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Group A ›	PTS.
Mexico	9
South Africa	4
South Korea	3
Czech Rep.	1

Group B ›	PTS.
Switzerland	7
Canada	4
Bosnia/Herz.	4
Qatar	1

Group C ›	PTS.
Brazil	7
Morocco	7
Scotland	3
Haiti	0

Group D ›	PTS.
United States	6
Australia	4
Paraguay	4
Turkey	3

Group E ›	PTS.
Germany	6
Ivory Coast	6
Ecuador	4
Curacao	1

Group F ›	PTS.
Netherlands	7
Japan	5
Sweden	4
Tunisia	0

Group G ›	PTS.
Belgium	5
Egypt	5
Iran	3
New Zealand	1

Group H ›	PTS.
Spain	7
Cape Verde	3
Uruguay	2
Saudi Arabia	2

Group I ›	PTS.
France	9
Norway	6
Senegal	3
Iraq	0

Group J ›	PTS.
Argentina	9
Austria	4
Algeria	4
Jordan	0

Group K ›	PTS.
Colombia	7
Portugal	5
D.R. Congo	4
Uzbekistan	0

Group L ›	PTS.
England	7
Croatia	6
Ghana	4
Panama	0

The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup knockouts are underway. You can follow the action right here, from the bracket and forecast pages within The Athletic’s World Cup Tracker

If you’re just tuning in, here are the basics from the group stage: there were 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four teams each (the United States was in Group D). Over the course of 16 days, the teams in each group played each other once. The top two teams in each group automatically advanced to the Round of 32, along with the top eight third-place teams. You can find a more detailed explanation here

Current third place standings

Teams that finished in third place were sorted first by points (three points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss), then goal differential (goals scored minus goals allowed), then goals scored

Detailed group standings

Mexico won all three of its group-stage games to advance to the knockout rounds as the winner of Group A. It will face Ecuador in Mexico City on June 30 in the Round of 32

South Africa stunned South Korea in its final group-stage game, winning 1-0, to secure its first-ever knockout-round berth

South Korea finished third with three points and a goal differential of -1, which wasn’t enough to advance

The Czech Republic had a chance to move on but lost its final game, against Mexico, to finish fourth in the group

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Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina will advance to the Round of 32 out of Group B

Switzerland topped the group after beating Canada 2-1 in its final group-stage game. Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina both had four points, but Canada had the better goal differential and finished in second place

Bosnia and Herzegovina secured third place with a 3-1 win over Qatar. It will be one of the eight third-place teams that advances and will face the United States in the Round of 32

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Brazilwon Group C and will face the runner-up from Group F (Japan) in the Round of 32. Moroccoadvanced in second place after winning its final game, against Haiti, 4-2

Scotland’s 3-0 loss in its final group game, against Brazil, dropped its goal differential to -3, which wasn’t enough to advance as a third-place team

Haiti lost all three games and was eliminated before its final match

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The United States won Group D and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. The Americans began their World Cup run with dominant wins — 4-1 againstParaguay and 2-0 againstAustralia — and had clinched first place before the final game

The U.S. team rested some of its top players and closed group play with a 3-2 loss to Turkey, which scored the winner late in stoppage time. (Entering the game, Turkey was guaranteed to finish fourth in the group, no matter the result.)

Australia and Paraguay tied 0-0 in their final group-stage game. Both finished with four points, but Australia finished second thanks to an edge in goal differential. Paraguay still earned a spot in the Round of 32 as a third-place team

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Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador advanced to the knockout rounds out of Group E. Germany clinched the top spot before its final group-stage game and will face Paraguay on June 29 in Boston in the Round of 32

Ecuador stunned Germany in the group’s final game, winning 2-1, to earn a knockout-round berth as a third-place finisher. Only eight of the 12 third-place teams will advance, but Ecuador’s four points and +0 goal differential was enough to secure a spot

Second-place Ivory Coast won two games, against Ecuador and Curacao, and will play in the knockout rounds for the first time

Curacaofinished fourth in the group with two losses and a draw

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The Netherlands, Japan and Sweden advanced to the Round of 32 out of Group F. The Netherlands will face Morocco, the runner-up from Group C, in Monterrey on June 29 in its first knockout-round game

Japan finished in second after tying the Netherlands and Sweden but rolling past Tunisia 4-0. Sweden lost to the Netherlands in its second match, but its draw in the final group-stage game, against Japan, clinched a spot in the Round of 32 as a third-place team

Tunisia, which fired its coach after the first game, lost all three games and finished fourth

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Belgiumwon Group G with a decisive 5-1 victory over New Zealand. Next is a Round of 32 matchup in Seattle on July 1 against Senegal

Egypt earned second in the group after surviving late drama to draw 1-1 with Iran. (Iran’s apparent late winner was disallowed after VAR ruled it just offside.) Egypt will play a knockout match against Australia in Dallas on July 3, while Iran finished third with three points and a +0 goal differential

Iran had a chance to advance until the very last moments of the last game of group play. It needed only for Algeria and Austria to avoid a draw. Algeria scored in stoppage time to go ahead 3-2 — seemingly securing the knockout-round berth for Iran — but Austria delivered a tying goal in the game’s final moments, eliminating Iran from the Round of 32

New Zealand had a path to finish as high as second on the last day of group games, but dropped to fourth with its loss and was eliminated

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Spain won Group H after edging past Uruguay 1-0, and will face Austria in Los Angeles on July 2. Uruguay’s loss sealed another disappointing group-stage exit for the two-times champions

But arguably the story of the tournament so far is Cape Verde securing yet another draw, this time 0-0 against Saudi Arabia, to finish second in the group and secure its spot in the Round of 32. Cape Verde is the smallest nation to ever reach the knockout stage, and the first debutant to do so since Slovakia in 2010. Its prize is a Round of 32 matchup with reigning champions Argentina in Miami on July 3

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France and Norwayhad already clinched spots in the Round of 32 after winning their first two group games, but approached their group-deciding matchup differently. While Norway heavily rotated its starting lineup, France kept its stars on the pitch. The result was a first-half hat-trick for Ousmane Dembele and a 4-1 win for France, which will play Sweden in New York on June 30. Norway finished second in Group I after the loss and will meet the Ivory Coast in Dallas on June 30

Senegal needed a big win over Iraq to keep its hopes alive, and the Lions of Teranga delivered. An early Senegal goal and Iraq red card opened the floodgates, and Senegal cruised to a 5-0 victory. Its comprehensive win was enough to advance to the Round of 32 from third place

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Argentina, the defending World Cup champion, had already secured the top spot in Group J entering the final group game. The drama unfolded in the match between Austria and Algeria in the tournament’s final slot of group-stage games. The 3-3 draw ensured both teams advanced to the knockout rounds

Algeria scored in stoppage time to go ahead 3-2, which would have left Austria out of the Round of 32. (Iran instead would have been the final third-place team to advance.) But then Austria responded in stunning fashion with its own late goal, securing the draw and eliminating Iran

Jordanlost all three games and finished fourth

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Colombiawon Group K after holding Portugalto a draw in its final game — a marquee matchup that ended without a goal. What appeared to be a late winner for Colombia was called offside, preventing the South Americans from winning all three group games. Despite the draw, the outcome is the same: Colombia will play Ghana in its first knockout game

Portugal finished group play with just one win — against Uzbekistan, which lost all three of its games. With five points, Portugal advanced in second place and will face Croatia in the Round of 32

Third-place D.R. Congo reached the knockout rounds for the first time in its history. After trailing 1-0 in its final game, D.R. Congo scored three goals in the second half to beat Uzbekistan — the country’s first-ever World Cup win

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England advanced to the knockout rounds as the group winner after beating Croatia and Panama and tying Ghana. It will play D.R. Congo in the Round of 32

Croatia won 2-1 against Ghana in the final group-stage game to secure second place. Despite the loss, Ghana’s four points (a win against Panama and the draw against England) were enough to advance as a third-place team

Panamalost all three games to finish fourth

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