The 2026 World Cup is the first with 48 teams, and its group stage works differently from every tournament before it. Here's how the standings on this page are decided and what each team needs to reach the knockouts.
The 48 nations are drawn into 12 groups of four, labelled A to L. Each team plays the other three in its group once, so every side plays three group games. A win is worth three points, a draw one, a defeat none — the same scoring used at every modern World Cup.
What's new for 2026 is qualification. The top two from each group go through automatically — that's 24 teams. They're joined by the eight best third-placed teams from across the 12 groups, filling out a 32-team bracket for the brand-new round of 32. So finishing third is no longer automatic elimination: a strong third place can still take you through, which keeps far more teams alive into the final round of fixtures.
When teams finish level on points, they're separated by, in order:
The tables here sort by points, then goal difference, then goals scored — the criteria that settle the overwhelming majority of groups. The green band marks the top two; the yellow band marks third, where the race for those eight best-third places is won and lost.
Use the toggle to switch between Tables and the full Schedule. Results are added once each match reaches full time and every table recalculates automatically, so the standings always reflect the latest finished games. Played fixtures also list the goalscorers and the minute each goal was scored.
Group stage: 11–27 June 2026. Unofficial fan page — not affiliated with FIFA.