The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage format, criteria and rules for qualification. Find out who’s in and who’s out.
Published On 20 Jun 2026
The knockout bracket in the FIFA World Cup 2026 is starting to take shape.
It begins with the round of 32, which runs from June 28 to July 3.
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What is the format and criteria for qualification, and which teams have progressed or been eliminated?
What is the format of the World Cup knockouts?
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advance to knockouts.
The knockout phase begins with the round of 32, introduced for the first time at a World Cup after the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams.
Then comes the round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and a playoff for third place. The final is on July 19.
The stage-wise breakdown of the tournament’s schedule is:
- Group stage: June 11 to June 27
- Round of 32: June 28 to July 3
- Round of 16: July 4-7
- Quarterfinals: July 9-11
- Semifinals: July 14-15
- Bronze medal match: July 18
- Final: July 19
What are the rules change for the tie-breaker criteria at the 2026 World Cup?
Fifa is using head-to-head records instead of goal difference as the primary tiebreaker for teams level on points for the first time at a World Cup.
Haiti and Turkiye have been eliminated because they are unable to catch the third-placed teams in their respective groups because of they lost to those teams.
Tie-breaker criteria for World Cup groups
According to FIFA’s rules for the tournament, if two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the group stage ends, the following criteria, in the order below, will be applied to determine the ranking:
Step one
- Greatest number of points gained in the group matches.
- Superior goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head).
- Greatest number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head).
If the teams are still tied, the criteria below applies:
Step two
- Superior goal difference across all group matches.
- Greatest number of goals scored across all group matches.
- Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained.
If the teams somehow still cannot be separated, then the following criteria below applies:
Step three
- The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA world rankings.
The criteria for the eight best‑ranked teams
The eight best teams among those ranked third will be determined as follows:
- Greatest number of points gained in all group matches.
- Goal difference resulting from all group matches.
- Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
- Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained in all group matches.
- The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA world rankings.
Which teams have reached the World Cup round of 32?
(As of June 20, 07:00 GMT)
Mexico (Group A)
The cohosts were the first to qualify for the knockouts, after taking top spot in Group A with a 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday, June 18. The Mexicans started their campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa in a chaotic tournament opener.
USA (Group D)
The United States were the second team to punch their ticket to the knockouts, thanks to their 2-0 win over Australia in Group D on Friday, June 19. The USA thumped Paraguay 4-1 to kick off their campaign.
Which teams have been knocked out of the World Cup 2026?
Haiti (Group C)
Haiti became the first team to be sent home packing from the World Cup after suffering a 3-0 loss to Brazil on Friday, June 19. Playing in their first tournament since 1974, they also lost 1-0 to Scotland in their first game.
Turkiye (Group D)
Turkiye soon followed suit, bowing out of the tournament after a 1-0 defeat to 10-man Paraguay later on Friday. They also suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Australia in the first group match – their first appearance at the tournament after 24 years.
