28 Teams Qualify for FIFA World Cup 2026 Knockout Stage

Kathmandu. As of Saturday morning, the number of teams that have confirmed their place in the knockout stage, i.e., Round of 32, for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has reached 28. 12 teams have already been eliminated from the competition. An interesting competition is expected for the remaining four teams.

• These are the 28 teams that have advanced to the knockout stage

Mexico (Group A)

Co-host Mexico became the first team to secure a place in the knockout stage. On June 18, they defeated South Korea 1-0 to secure the top spot in Group A. In the opening match of the tournament, they defeated South Africa 2-0.

USA (Group D)

The USA became the second team to qualify for the knockout stage by defeating Australia 2-0 on June 19 to secure the top spot in Group D. In their first match of the tournament, they defeated Paraguay 4-1.

Germany (Group E)

Germany secured a place in the last 32 by defeating Ivory Coast 2-1 on June 20. Germany, which was eliminated from the group stage in the 2018 Russia World Cup and the subsequent Qatar World Cup, defeated Curaçao 7-1 in their first match this time.

Argentina (Group J)

On Monday, June 22, Argentina secured their place in the knockout stage by defeating Austria 2-0. In that match, Lionel Messi scored two goals, becoming the player with the most goals in World Cup history with 18 goals. In the first match of the tournament, he also completed his first World Cup hat-trick in a 3-0 victory against Algeria. The defending champions Argentina are confirmed to finish at the top of Group J.

France (Group I)

France, considered a strong contender for the title before the tournament, secured a place in the Round of 32 by defeating Iraq 3-0 on June 22. Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in that match. The 2018 World Cup winners had defeated Senegal 3-1 in their first match, where Mbappé also scored two goals.

Norway (Group I)

Norway secured a place in the knockout stage by defeating Senegal 3-2 in their second match of the tournament. Norway, returning to the World Cup after 28 years, had defeated Iraq 4-1 in their first match.

Colombia (Group K)

Colombia secured a place in the last 32 by defeating DR Congo 1-0 on June 23. The South American team had defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 in their first match.

Switzerland (Group B)

Remaining undefeated, Switzerland became the winner of Group B with seven points. After defeating co-host Canada 2-1 in Vancouver on June 24, they officially secured their place in the Round of 32.

Canada (Group B)

Despite losing to Switzerland in the final group match, Canada maintained second place in Group B with four points. They started the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina and then defeated Qatar 6-0.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B)

Bosnia and Herzegovina secured their chances of reaching the last 32 by achieving an impressive 3-1 victory over Qatar. Coach Sergej Barbarez's team finished third in Group B behind Switzerland and Canada. They officially qualified as one of the best third-placed teams a short time after the final group match against Qatar on June 24.

Brazil (Group C)

On June 24, Brazil entered the knockout stage in spectacular fashion by defeating Scotland 3-0 in their final group match. Vinícius Júnior scored two goals. The five-time world champions Brazil finished at the top of Group C with seven points and a +6 goal difference.

Morocco (Group C)

Morocco qualified for the knockout stage as the second team from Group C with seven points from two wins and one draw.

South Africa (Group A)

Bafana Bafana officially secured their place in the Round of 32 with an unexpected 1-0 victory over South Korea on June 24. This is the first time South Africa has reached the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Ecuador (Group E)

Ecuador advanced to the last 32 by stunning Germany 2-1 in a thrilling match on June 25. With this result, Ecuador, having accumulated four points, became one of the eight best third-placed teams.

Ivory Coast (Group E)

With the help of two goals from Nicolas Pépé, Ivory Coast defeated Curaçao 2-0 on June 25 to reach the knockout stage for the first time. Previously, they had lost 2-1 to Germany and defeated Ecuador 1-0.

Netherlands (Group F)

By defeating Tunisia 3-1 in their final group match, the Netherlands finished at the top of Group F and advanced to the knockout stage. They accumulated seven points with two wins and one draw.

Japan (Group F)

After a 1-1 draw with Sweden in their final group match, Japan advanced to the knockout stage in second place in Group F. They accumulated five points from one win and two draws.

Sweden (Group F)

With one win, one draw, and one loss, accumulating four points, Sweden advanced to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.

Australia (Group D)

After a 0-0 draw with Paraguay, Australia secured second place in Group D and advanced to the knockout stage. They accumulated four points from three matches.

Paraguay (Group D)

Paraguay also advanced to the knockout stage as one of the eight best third-placed teams, accumulating four points from three matches.

Belgium (Group G)

In their final group match, Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 to secure the top spot in the group. Belgium finished as group winners with five points.

Egypt (Group G)

Egypt also accumulated five points but finished second in Group G, behind Belgium on goal difference. With this, Egypt secured a place in the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in its history.

Spain (Group H)

By defeating Uruguay in their final group match, Spain finished at the top of Group H with seven points and comfortably advanced to the Round of 32.

Cape Verde (Group H)

Finishing second in Group H with three points, Cape Verde made history in their first participation in the tournament by reaching the knockout stage. As a debutant team in the World Cup, they continued their dream-like journey.

Senegal (Group I)

In their final group match, Senegal defeated Iraq 5-0. That victory propelled them to the next round as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

Portugal (Group K)

With one match remaining, Portugal also secured a place in the knockout stage. Their place was confirmed after one win and one draw in their first two matches.

England (Group L)

After one win and one draw in their first two matches, England also secured a place in the Round of 32.

Ghana (Group L)

Ghana also secured their place in the Round of 32 by accumulating four points from their first two matches.

Teams Eliminated from the Group Stage of the 2026 World Cup

Haiti (Group C)

After being defeated 3-0 by Brazil on June 19, Haiti became the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup. Haiti, playing in the World Cup for the first time since 1974, had also lost their first match 1-0 to Scotland.

Turkey (Group D)

Turkey was eliminated from the competition shortly after. Their journey ended after a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay, who were reduced to 10 men, on June 19. Turkey, returning to the World Cup after 24 years, had also unexpectedly lost their first match 2-0 to Australia.

Tunisia (Group F)

Tunisia became the third team to be eliminated from the competition after losing 4-0 to Japan on June 20. Prior to that, they had suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat against Sweden in their first match.

Tunisia, which became the first African team to win a World Cup match by defeating Mexico in 1978, has never managed to advance from the group stage.

Jordan (Group J)

Jordan, one of the four debutant teams in the competition, was eliminated from the tournament after losing 2-1 to Algeria in their second group match on June 22. They had also lost their first match 3-1 to Austria.

Panama (Group L)

Panama was eliminated from the World Cup after suffering their second group stage defeat on June 23. Panama, who lost 1-0 to Croatia, had also lost their first match 1-0 to Ghana.

Qatar (Group B)

Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup, was eliminated from the competition after their final group match on June 24.

In the match held at Lumen Field in Seattle, Qatar lost 3-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. With one point, Qatar finished at the bottom of Group B.

Czechia (Group A)

Co-host Mexico's 3-1 victory over Czechia on June 24 ended their last hope of reaching the Round of 32.

Czechia, ranked 40th in the world rankings, was considered one of the contenders to reach the Round of 16. However, they finished last in Group A with only one point from three matches.

Curaçao (Group E)

After losing to Ivory Coast, Curaçao became the eighth team to be eliminated from the competition. Although this small nation from the Caribbean region made history by becoming the smallest nation to qualify for the final stage of the World Cup, they could not extend their journey in the tournament.

New Zealand (Group G)

After losing to Belgium in their final group match, New Zealand was eliminated from the competition, finishing at the bottom of the group with one point.

Uruguay (Group H)

After losing to Spain in their final group match, Uruguay finished third with two points and was eliminated from the competition.

Saudi Arabia (Group H)

Saudi Arabia also could not advance from Group H. Their World Cup journey ended with them finishing last in the group with two points.

Iraq (Group I)

Having lost all three matches and not scoring any points, Iraq finished at the bottom of Group I and was eliminated from the World Cup.