For the first time at a FIFA World Cup, finishing third in your group does not necessarily mean going home.
With 48 teams competing in 2026, FIFA expanded the field to include the eight best third-place finishers across all 12 groups. The top two teams in each group advance automatically, and the remaining eight spots in the 32-team knockout bracket go to the highest-ranked third-place teams, determined by points, goal difference, goals scored and other tiebreakers.
That means 12 teams will be competing for eight spots, and the race to stay in the top eight is one of the most compelling subplots of the final days of the group stage.
Here’s where the third-place standings sit after the matches on Thursday.
| Rank | GP | Points | Goal Diff. | |
| 1 | Sweden* | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | Ecuador* | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina* | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 4 | Paraguay | 3 | 4 | -2 |
| 5 | Croatia | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 6 | South Korea | 3 | 3 | -1 |
| 7 | Algeria | 2 | 3 | -2 |
| 8 | Scotland | 3 | 3 | -3 |
| Cutline | ||||
| 9 | Cape Verde | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Belgium | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | DR Congo | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| 12 | Senegal | 2 | 0 | -3 |
Teams with an asterisk (*) have clinched a spot in the knockout round.
The third-place standings will shift considerably over the next few days as the final round of group stage matches is played. Follow the live standings at FOXSports.com and watch every match on FOX and FS1 or stream live on FOX One.
Ecuador vs Germany Highlights | 2026 FIFA World Cup™
2026 FIFA World Cup Standings Rules
How Do Points Work? How Do Tiebreakers Work?
In a group, a team will earn three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. That could mean some teams are equal on points at the end of the three-game group stage. That leads us to tiebreakers.
If two or more teams finish equal on group-stage points, here is the order of who finishes on top:
1. Most points obtained in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
2. Superior goal difference in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
3. Most goals scored in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
There are even more tiebreakers if any teams remained locked after all that. From there, ties are broken by these rules:
4. Superior goal difference in all group matches
5. Most goals scored in all group matches
6. Highest team conduct score in all group matches (taking into account yellow cards and red cards)
7. FIFA World Ranking
Which Third-Place Teams Will Advance?
To fill out the World Cup knockout bracket, the best eight third-place teams out of the possible 12 in the tournament will advance. The criteria for those teams are based on:
1. Points
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Highest team conduct score in all group matches (taking into account yellow cards and red cards)
5. FIFA World Ranking
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