How do third-placed teams go through to 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 32? How many teams can advance? What are tie-break rules?
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Published 17/06/2026 at 14:51 GMT+1
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This year’s bumper history-making FIFA World Cup is the first to feature 48 sides, meaning more matches, more groups and more rounds of action for fans to feast on.
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The tournament kicked off on June 11 with co-hosts Mexico beating South Africa in the first of 104 matches across the tournament.
The last of these matches will, of course, be the final, taking place on July 19 at the 82,500-capacity New York New Jersey Stadium.
But long before that, the tournament is broken up into a round-robin group stage where nations battle it out to make the knockouts, with this year’s tournament taking on a somewhat less familiar approach in deciding who advances.
How many rounds are there in the 2026 World Cup?
The 48 competing nations in the United States, Canada and Mexico have been divided into 12 groups of four which began on June 11 and will finish up on June 28, with the top two teams advancing to the first knockout round of 32.
These games start on June 28 and end on July 4 with the winners of these single-elimination games moving to the round of 16, with the last of these matches on July 7.
After a rare two-day break, the four quarter-finals take place from July 9-12, before the semis on July 14 and 15, and then the eyes of the world on New York for the final on Sunday, July 19.
There is also a third-place play off on July 18 featuring the two losing semi-finalists.
| Round | No. of teams | Dates |
| Group stage | 48 | June 11 - June 27 |
| First knockout round | 32 | June 28 - July 3 |
| Second knockout round | 16 | July 4 - July 7 |
| Quarter-finals | 8 | July 9 - July 11 |
| Semi-finals | 4 | July 14/15 |
| Third-place playoff | 2 | July 18 |
| Final | 2 | July 19 |
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How does the group stage work?
Every team faces the other three sides in their group once each, with the top two teams from the 12 groups advancing to the round of 32.
How do third-placed teams go through?
Hold on, I hear you say, that math does not quite work! Two teams from 12 groups only totals 24 teams making up 32? So who makes up the shortfall?
Well, fear not, as the remaining teams will be made up of the best eight sides to finish third in their respective groups.
All twelve third-placed teams are ranked, with the eight teams that have the best record moving to the next round.
What is the tie-breaker if two third-place teams finish on the same record in their groups?
As per FIFA, the best eight are ranked primarily on the most points obtained in their group.
If two teams amass the same points, they are then ranked based on who has the better goal difference from their group games, and if they level after that, then most goals scored.
If teams still can’t be separated, then they are ranked on their team conduct score, relating to the number of red and yellow cards picked up during the group stage.
If, even after all this, two or more teams still have identical records, they are then ranked based on their position in the most recently published FIFA World Ranking.
Who will the third-placed teams face in the round of 32?
According to FIFA’s official tournament regulations, eight of the 12 group winners will be paired with a third-place team in the round of 32.
These will be the winners of groups A, C, D, E, G, I, K and L.
Round of 32 fixtures (And possible third-place teams' opponents)
- Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group B
- Winner Group E vs Best 3rd place Group A/B/C/D/F
- Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group C
- Winner Group C vs Runner-up Group F
- Winner Group I vs Best 3rd place Group C/D/F/G/H
- Runner-up Group E vs Runner-up Group I
- Winner Group A vs Best 3rd place Group C/E/F/H/I
- Winner Group L vs Best 3rd place Group E/H/I/J/K
- Winner Group D vs Best 3rd place Group B/E/F/I/J
- Winner Group G vs Best 3rd place Group A/E/H/I/J
- Runner-up Group K vs Runner-up Group L
- Winner Group H vs Runner-up Group J
- Winner Group B vs Best 3rd place Group E/F/G/I/J
- Winner Group J vs Runner-up Group H
- Winner Group K vs Best 3rd place Group D/E/I/J/L
- Runner-up Group D vs Runner-up Group G
Have third-placed teams qualified before?
While the format is now used in both the 24-team European Championships and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) among others, seasoned (read: old) World Cup watchers will not be unfamiliar with seeing it on the grandest stage.
When the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams in 1982, the format consisted of two group stages – six groups of four followed by four groups of three – to whittle it down to a final four to contest the semis.
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However, from Mexico ’86, the six groups saw the top two teams advance to the round of 16 where they were joined by four best third-place sides.
This format continued to be used in Italia '90 and USA '94 until the tournament was expanded to 32 teams in France '98, creating more symmetry with just the top two teams in each group going through.
This remained for the next six tournaments until FIFA kicked open their doors for the 48-team bonanza we are enjoying today.
Has a team finishing third in a World Cup group ever won the tournament?
No, but Argentina and Italy have come closest, with both sides finishing as runners-up in 1990 and 1994 tournaments respectively, after coming third in their groups.
Recent examples in other tournaments, however, include Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal winning Euro 2016 despite finishing third in their group after three draws and only advancing on goal difference.
But perhaps even more remarkably, 2023 AFCON hosts Ivory Coast looked on the brink of elimination, and even sacked their manager before scraping through their group as the worst of the four third-placed teams, only to go on to lift the trophy.
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