The 2026 FIFA World Cup will look a little different than previous installments.
World Cup 2026: Third-place standings, tiebreakers explained
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Starting with the size of the field.
For this year’s World Cup, the field expanded to 48 nations, up from the previous number of 32. This means the field is divided into 12 four-team groups, and it also means that the knockout stage begins with the round of 32, and not the round of 16, as in previous World Cups.
That also means that teams that finish in third place in a group could still advance.
To complete the round of 32, in addition to the top two teams from each group, the eight best third-place teams will move on as well.
Here, we will be tracking the standings among the third-place teams.
Update: Ecuador became the first team to clinch a spot in the Round of 32 with a 2-1 win over Germany.
Update two: Both Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina have clinched spots in the knockout round as third-place teams.
Update three: Paraguay’s 0-0 draw with Australia moved them to four points, but they are not guaranteed a spot in the Round of 32 just yet. Teams like Croatia, Algeria, Cape Verde, Belgium, and DR Congo could still pass them in the standings, and drop them to ninth in these standings.
Update four: Senegal’s big 5-0 win over Iraq moved them to fifth place in these standings. It also dropped Scotland out of the top eight teams in the third-place standings. There is a chance Scotland still qualifies, depending on how Croatia and Algeria fare, but it is looking shaky.
Update five: Uruguay became the first third-place team officially eliminated, as they finished with two points after Friday night’s 1-0 loss to Spain.
Update six: Senegal is now officially through to the Round of 32, and Iran could join them with results today. Senegal is currently fifth in the third-place standings, and cannot be overtaken. Iran is sixth, and has to sweat a little bit.
Update seven: Ghana lost to Croatia in the final round of group play, but they had enough points to claim a third place spot in the round of 32.
Update eight: DR Congo has clinched a spot as a third-place team. Seven of the eight slots have been filled, and the final spot is down to Iran and Algeria. Iran is in now with three points, and a goal differential of 0. Algeria plays against Austria tonight, with a draw good enough to get Algeria in with four points as a third-place team, while clinching second place in Group J for Austria. That might lead us to a “Disgrace of Gijon 2.0” situation.
Update nine: Algeria clinched the final third-place spot with a 3-3 draw against Austria, knocking Iran out of contention.
World Cup third-place standings
Here are the latest third-place standings. Remember, the top eight advance to the round of 32.
Note: These are the final third-place standings
Team | Group | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | TCS | Points | FIFA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR Congo | K | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | -5 | 4 | 46 |
| Sweden | F | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | -5 | 4 | 8 |
| Ghana | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -3 | 4 | 73 |
| Ecuador | E | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | -5 | 4 | 23 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | -10 | 4 | 64 |
| Algeria | J | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | -1 | 4 | 63 |
| Paraguay | D | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | -12 | 4 | 22 |
| Senegal | I | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Iran | G | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -6 | 3 | 20 |
| South Korea | A | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | -4 | 3 | 25 |
| Scotland | C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | -5 | 3 | 42 |
| Uruguay | H | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | -3 | 2 | 16 |
Ecuador became the first team to clinch a spot in the Round of 32 as a third-place team. Even if every remaining third-place team wins its final match, Ecuador will drop no lower than eighth, which would be enough to see them through to the knockout round.
Sweden then clinched a spot in the knockout round with a 1-1 draw with Japan. In addition, Bosnia and Herzegovina is now confirmed to be one of the top eight third-place teams.
As for Paraguay, while they secured another point to move to fourth place -- with four points -- they can still drop to ninth. As you can see five teams can pass them: Croatia, Algeria, Cape Verde, Belgium, and DR Congo, and if all five do, Paraguay would drop to ninth.
DR Congo would finish with four points with a win in their final match, and with a current goal differential of -1 (compared to -2 for Paraguay) a win would move DR Congo ahead of Paraguay in this tiebreaker. Read on for how the tiebreakers work with third-place teams.
How do World Cup third-place tiebreakers work?
Here is how FIFA will stack the third-place teams for potential tiebreakers:
- First, the greatest number of points in all group matches
- Second, the goal difference from all group matches
- Third, the number of goals scored in all group matches
- Fourth, a team’s conduct score.
If there are still ties after those four steps are applied, the teams still equal on points will be ranked according to the most recent FIFA World Rankings.
For more on the team conduct score, including the current overall standings, we have you covered here.
Update (Sunday June 21): With results from Saturday, Sweden is now the team atop the third-place standings, followed by Scotland and Paraguay.
Previously: We have a new team atop the third-place standings. With both Brazil and Morocco winning on Friday, those two teams have moved up into first and second places, respectively, in Group C. That drops Scotland down into third place in Group C, and sees Scotland move to the top of the third-place standings, as they have three points from a previous win over Haiti.
Results from Thursday have changed the table a bit. Now Brazil, Belgium, and Portugal are the three teams tied that played in 1-1 draws. As we saw earlier, Portugal drops out due to the three yellow cards — the team conduct score — and Brazil and Belgium are ranked according to their spot in the FIFA rankings. Bosnia and Herzegovina slide into the rankings thanks to the two goals over three matches, dropping Qatar down to fourth place in Group B (and out of these standings).
Applying those tiebreakers to some of the standings you see above, the Netherlands currently sit atop these standings thanks to that third tiebreaker, and the two goals they scored against Japan.
Then we can look at the four teams that played in 1-1 draws: Brazil, Belgium, Qatar, and Portugal. The next tiebreaker, following points, goal difference, and goals scored, is the team conduct score. Those first three teams each have two yellow cards, while Portugal secured three yellow cards in their 1-1 draw with DR Congo. So Portugal drops out, and the other three remain tied, and are therefore sorted by FIFA Rankings for the moment.
The next tie we can look at is between Czechia, Ecuador, and Panama, teams that lost and have a goal differential of -1. Czechia scored two goals, so they slot into seventh place, leaving Ecuador and Panama fighting for the eighth and final spot (for the moment).
Again, it comes down to the team conduct score between Ecuador and Panama. Ecuador currently has one yellow, while Panama has two. Ecuador slots in as the eighth team, while Panama drops out.
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