Tuesday at the 2026 FIFA World Cup offers up a pair of matches in Group K.
World Cup 2026: What are the knockout round scenarios in Group K?
What are the knockout round scenarios for Group K at the World Cup?
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
One match could see a team book a spot in the Round of 32.
The other match could see a team eliminated.
Colombia has a chance to clinch a spot in the Round of 32 against DR Congo, and could also win the group depending on the result between Portugal and Uzbekistan. For Uzbekistan, elimination is possible depending on how they fair against Cristiano Ronaldo and company.
Here are the scenarios in Group K heading into the second set of matches in group play.
What are the standings in Group K?
Ahead of the matches set for June 23, here are the scenarios in Group K.
Team | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +2 | 0 | 3 |
| DR Congo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Portugal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Uzbekisatan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
What are the next matches in Group K?
Here are the four remaining matches in Group K, starting with the pair set for Tuesday, June 23. All times listed are Eastern.
Tuesday, June 23
Portugal vs. Uzbekistan, 1:00 p.m.
Colombia vs. DR Congo, 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 27
Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30 p.m.
DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 7:30 p.m.
What are the scenarios in Group K?
Here are the scenarios in Group K, ahead of the second set of matches.
Colombia
Colombia can guarantee a spot in the Round of 32 as one of the top two teams in Group K with a win against DR Congo. They will clinch a spot in the Round of 32 as the winners of Group K if they beat DR Congo, and Portugal loses or draws against Uzbekistan. If Portugal wins against Uzbekistan, they would move to four points, with Colombia on six points. That would give Portugal a chance to win Group K in the final set of matches with a win over Colombia.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan will be eliminated from knockout round contention with a loss to Portugal, and a DR Congo win against Colombia.
DR Congo and Portugal
With a point from the first matches, both these teams cannot be eliminated on Tuesday. However, neither can book a spot in the Round of 32.
What about tiebreakers in Group K?
Here is how tiebreakers work at the World Cup this year. If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points following the group stage, a three-step process will be followed to determine tiebreakers.
In the first step, the greatest number of points in the group matches between the tied teams will be applied. Then, the superior goal difference from the group matches between the tied teams will be applied, and finally, the greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the tied teams will be applied.
If that cannot determine a tiebreaker, then the teams that are still equal will advance to step two. In this stage, the first step is the goal difference in all group matches, then the greatest number of goals in all group matches, and finally the highest team conduct score (relating to yellow and red cards) will be applied.
If that does not break the tie, then the teams still equal on points will be ranked according to the most recent FIFA World Rankings.
That first step, which reads “greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned” according to FIFA, effectively turns into a head-to-head tiebreaker in the case of ties between two teams.
Ahead of the second matches in Group K, the tiebreakers are not a factor. We’ll revisit this section as needed.
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