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The second round of the group stage at the FIFA World Cup 2026 is over. 48 matches have been done so far, and the tournament is beginning to take shape for the knockouts. With 48 teams in the competition this time, the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup will begin the knockout stage with the Round of 32, which will be played between June 28 and July 3. And ahead of the start of the final round of the group stage, we take a look at where all 48 teams stand.
Of the 48 teams in this World Cup, 16 will be eliminated at the end of the group stage, leaving just 32 to proceed to the first stage of the knockout rounds.
Those 32 will comprise the top two teams from each of the 12 groups, while the remaining spots will be occupied by eight third-placed teams with the best records.
If two or more countries are level on points, the head-to-head results will be used as a tie-breaker to determine positions. If teams still remain tied, goal difference, goals scored, FIFA’s Team Conduct Score – a disciplinary metric for red and yellow cards, and finally, whoever had the higher FIFA ranking in June’s published update – will be used in order to determine the
higher-ranked side.
Through to Round of 32
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After 48 games in the group stage, seven teams have qualified for the knockouts.
Two World Cup co-hosts, Mexico (Group A) and the USA (Group D), were the first teams to advance after topping Group A and D, respectively. Former world champions Germany (Group E), who failed to get out of the group stage at both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2014, became the third. Defending champions Argentina (Group J) joined the party as well, riding on Lionel Messi’s record show. France (Group I) and Norway (Group I) followed suit after both won their opening two matches. Colombia (Group K) became the last team after the end of the group stage to make it through.
Which teams have been knocked out of the World Cup 2026?
Five teams have been left heartbroken after their hopes and dreams were crushed in the opening few weeks of the tournament.
Haiti (Group C), playing in their first tournament since 1974, were the first to get eliminated. Türkiye (Group D), Tunisia (Group F), Jordan (Group J) and Panama (Group L) soon followed suit.
