ABC Top Stories6/25/2026Sports1 min readAustralia
World Cup Third-Place Teams Await Knockout Stage Fate
Quick Look
- Third-placed teams in the World Cup are anxiously awaiting results to determine qualification for the Round of 32.
- The top eight third-place finishers will advance, with rankings based on points, goal difference, goals scored, and tiebreakers like discipline and FIFA rankings.
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Why It Matters
The World Cup group stage is concluding, with third-placed teams monitoring other matches to see if they will advance to the next round.
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The World Cup group stage is winding down, with third-placed teams anxiously watching other results to learn their fate.
The best eight third-place finishers across the 12 groups will qualify for the Round of 32.
The teams are ranked in order of points won, goal difference and then goals scored, with discipline (yellow and red cards) and then FIFA rankings used as tiebreakers if needed.
The below table shows all teams currently ranked third in their groups, with the teams in ninth to 12th to miss out on the knockout stages.
See the live table to see who is on track to progress.
Open Questions
- Which specific teams will qualify?
- What are the final rankings?
Related Topics
This article was originally published by ABC Top Stories.
