Here are the nations, including South Africa and Morocco, that have advanced to the round of 32 of the men's FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the USA.
Once the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage concludes, focus will shift to the round of 32 and the first matches in the men's global football tournament's knockout stage.
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, as well as the eight best third-place finishers, advance to the round of 32.
The round of 32 runs from June 28 to July 4, with the winners of each match advancing to the round of 16.
Teams that have qualified for the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Who has already qualified for the knockout rounds?
- Mexico - Group A winners
- South Africa - Group A runners-up
- Switzerland - Group B winners
- Canada - Group B runners-up
- Brazil - Group C winners
- Morocco - Group C runners-up
- USA - Group D winners
- Germany - Group E winners
- Ivory Coast - Group E runners-up
- Netherlands - Group F winners
- Japan - Group F runners-up
- Argentina - Group J winners
- Sweden - Group F third place
- France - Group I winners
- Norway - Group I runners-up
- Colombia - Group K top-two
- Ecuador - Group E third place
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - Group B third place
- Australia - Group D runners-up
Which teams have been knocked out of the World Cup? - Haiti
- Turkey
- Tunisia
- Jordan
- Panama
- Qatar
- Czech Republic
- Curacao
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 rule changes for the tie-breaker criteria at the 2026 World Cup?
FIFA is using head-to-head records instead of goal difference as the primary tie-breaker for teams level on points for the first time at a World Cup.
Haiti, Turkiye, Tunisia, Jordan and Panama have been eliminated because they are unable to catch the third-placed teams in their respective groups, as 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 apply:
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 apply:
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.
Last 32 line-up as it stands
Sunday June 28
Match 73: South Africa vs Canada, kick-off 8pm - Los Angeles, USA
Monday June 29
Match 76: Brazil vs Japan, kick-off 6pm - Houston, USA
Match 74: Germany vs Group A/B/C/D/F third place, kick-off 9.30pm - Foxborough, USA
Tuesday June 30
Match 75: Netherlands vs Morocco, kick-off 2am - Guadalupe, Mexico
Match 78: Ivory Coast vs Group I runners-up, kick-off 6pm - Arlington, USA
Match 77: Group I winners vs Group C/D/F/G/H third place, kick-off 10pm - New Jersey, USA
Wednesday July 1
Match 79: Mexico vs Group C/E/F/H/I third place, kick-off 2am - Mexico City, Mexico
Match 80: Group L winners vs Group E/H/I/J/K third place, kick-off 5pm - Atlanta, USA
Match 82: Group G winners vs Group A/E/H/I/J third place, kick-off 9pm - Seattle, USA
Thursday July 2
Match 81: USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, kick-off 1am - Santa Clara, USA
Match 84: Group H winners vs Group J runners-up, kick-off 8pm - Los Angeles, USA
Friday July 3
Match 83: Group K runners-up vs Group L runners-up, kick-off 12am - Toronto, Canada
Round of 32 - Match 85: Switzerland vs Group E/F/G/I/J third place, kick-off 4am - Vancouver, Canada
Round of 32 - Match 88: Australia vs Group G runners-up, kick-off 7pm - Arlington, USA
Round of 32 - Match 86: Argentina vs Group H runners-up, kick-off 11pm - Miami, USA
Saturday July 4
Round of 32 - Match 87: Group K winners vs Group D/E/I/J/L third place, kick-off 2.30am - Kansas City, USA
And what about the last 16?
There's a long way to go but as things stand, France and Germany are on course to meet in the last 16, as are Portugal and Spain.
