The 2026 World Cup presents competing nations with a far greater chance of progressing to the knockout phase than most of the previous tournaments ever have.
The decision to expand the field to 48 teams from 32 means there is an additional knockout round. That means all but 16 nations will get to continue their campaigns beyond the group stage.
Of course, the expansion will not be good news for everyone. There will still be bitter disappointment for those who are eliminated early on, just as there will be for those who falter in the knockouts — especially those teams that are expected to go deep in the tournament.
Below is an updated list of those teams whose World Cup 2026 campaign has already come to an end.
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Teams out of World Cup 2026
These are the teams that have seen their World Cup journeys end, either at the culmination of the group stage or in the knockout phase.
Teams eliminated from World Cup 2026
| Nation | FIFA Ranking |
Date Eliminated |
Stage Eliminated |
How Eliminated |
| Haiti | 83 | June 20 | Group stage | 1-0 loss vs. Scotland, 3-0 loss vs. Brazil |
| Turkey | 22 | June 20 | Group stage | 2-0 loss vs. Australia, 1-0 loss vs. Paraguay |
| Tunisia | 45 | June 21 | Group stage | 5-1 loss vs. Sweden, 4-0 loss vs. Japan |
| Iraq | 63 | June 23 | Group stage | 4-1 loss vs. Norway, 3-0 loss vs. France, 5-0 loss vs. Senegal |
| Panama | 42 | June 23 | Group stage | 1-0 loss vs. Ghana, 1-0 loss vs. Croatia |
| Qatar | 61 | June 24 | Group stage | 6-0 loss vs. Canada, 3-1 loss vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Czechia | 48 | June 24 | Group stage | 2-1 loss vs. South Korea, 3-0 loss vs. Mexico |
| Curacao | 90 | June 25 | Group stage | 7-1 loss vs. Germany, 1-0 loss vs. Cape Verde |
| Uruguay | 16 | June 26 | Group stage | 1-0 loss vs. Spain, 2-2 tie vs. Cape Verde, 1-1 tie vs. Saudi Arabia |
| Saudi Arabia | 58 | June 26 | Group stage | 4-0 loss vs. Spain, 1-1 draw vs. Uruguay, 0-0 draw vs. Cape Verde |
| New Zealand | 86 | June 26 | Group stage | 2-2 tie vs. Iran, 3-1 loss vs. Egypt, 5-1 loss vs. Belgium |
| Scotland | 42 | June 27 | Group stage | 1-0 loss vs. Morocco, 3-0 loss vs. Brazil |
| Uzbekistan | 60 | June 27 | Group stage | 3-1 loss vs. Colombia, 5-0 loss vs. Portugal, 3-1 loss vs. DR Congo |
| South Korea | 31 | June 27 | Group stage | 1-0 loss vs. Mexico, 1-0 loss vs. South Africa |
| Iran | 21 | June 27 | Group stage | 1-1 draw vs. Egypt, 0-0 draw vs. Belgium, 2-2 draw vs. New Zealand |
| Jordan | 73 | June 27 | Group stage | 3-1 loss vs. Austria, 2-1 loss to Algeria, 3-1 loss to Argentina |
| South Africa | 54 | June 28 | Round of 32 | 1-0 loss vs. Canada |
| Japan | 17 | June 29 | Round of 32 | 2-1 loss vs. Brazil |
| Germany | 10 | June 29 | Round of 32 | 1-1 (pens 4-3) loss vs. Paraguay |
| Netherlands | 8 | June 29 | Round of 32 | 1-1 (pens 3-2) loss vs. Morocco |
| Ivory Coast | 33 | June 30 | Round of 32 | 2-1 loss vs. Norway |
| Sweden | 38 | June 30 | Round of 32 | 3-0 loss to France |
| Ecuador | 13 | June 30 | Round of 32 | 2-0 loss to Mexico |
| DR Congo | 41 | July 1 | Round of 32 | 2-1 loss to England |
| Senegal | 18 | July 1 | Round of 32 | 3-2 (F/ET) loss to Belgium |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 61 | July 1 | Round of 32 | 2-0 loss to United States |
| Austria | 23 | July 2 | Round of 32 | 3-0 loss to Spain |
| Croatia | 23 | July 2 | Round of 32 | 2-1 loss to Portugal |
| Algeria | 29 | July 2 | Round of 32 | 2-0 loss to Switzerland |
| Australia | 28 | July 3 | Round of 32 | 1-1 (4-2 on pens) loss to Egypt |
| Cape Verde | 64 | July 3 | Round of 32 | 3-2 (ET) loss to Argentina |
| Ghana | 65 | July 3 | Round of 32 | 1-0 loss to Colombia |
| Canada | 30 | July 4 | Round of 16 | 3-0 loss to Morocco |
| Paraguay | 34 | July 4 | Round of 16 | 1-0 loss to France |
| Brazil | 5 | July 5 | Round of 16 | 2-1 loss to Norway |
| Mexico | 10 | July 5 | Round of 16 | 3-2 loss to England |
| Portugal | 7 | July 6 | Round of 16 | 1-0 loss to Spain |
| United States | 16 | July 6 | Round of 16 | 4-1 loss to Belgium |
| Egypt | 24 | July 7 | Round of 16 | 3-2 loss to Argentina |
| Colombia | 11 | July 7 | Round of 16 | 0-0 (4-3 on pens) loss to Switzerland |
| Morocco | 6 | July 9 | Quarterfinals | 2-0 loss to France |
| Belgium | 9 | July 10 | Quarterfinals | 2-1 loss to Spain |
| Norway | 19 | July 11 | Quarterfinals | 2-1 (ET) loss to England |
| Switzerland | 19 | July 11 | Quarterfinals | 3-1 (ET) loss to Argentina |
| France | 2 | July 14 | Semifianls | 2-0 loss to Spain |
South Africa became the first team to be eliminated in the knockout round with its 1-0 loss to Canada in the Round of 32. Japan followed them, losing yet another eliminator in heartbreaking fashion, this time to Brazil. Germany and the Netherlands each followed with losses in penalty shootouts.
Ivory Coast, Sweden and Ecuador all followed suit, losing in their respective Round of 32 matchups to end their World Cup hopes. DR Congo and Senegal also was knocked out on the first day of July before Austria lost to a seriously impressive Spain. Croatia, Australia, Algeria, Ghana and Cape Verde were the final teams to be knocked out in the Round of 32.
In the Round of 16, co-hosts Canada fell 3-0 to Morocco, before Paraguay were eliminated by France in a bad-tempered encounter. Then came the big shock: five-time winners Brazil were beaten 2-1 by Norway thanks to two goals from Erling Haaland. In a thriller the same night, Mexico fell 3-2 to England, leaving the United States as the last host nation standing. The United States then went out at the hands of Belgium. Egypt and Colombia left the tournament on the final day of the round of 16.
The first quarterfinal game saw France eliminate Morocco with a 2-0 cakewalk. Belgium then followed Morocco out of the World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Spain. On The final day of the quarterfinals England topped Norway in extra time before Argentina did the same thing to Switzerland.
France bowed out of the tournament with a 2-0 loss to Spain in the first semifinal and now await the winner of England-Argentina in the final.
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What are World Cup group tiebreaker rules?
FIFA confirmed its group-stage tie-breaking criteria for this World Cup back in April.
If two or more teams are level on points after the group games have been completed, the below is applied to determine the final standings:
- Head-to-head result in the group game(s) between the teams concerned
- Goal difference from those games
- Goals scored in those games
If these are not enough to split the teams, we move to the following criteria:
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Number of goals scored in all group matches
- The highest “team conduct score” (calculated based on yellow and red cards for players and staff)
If the teams are still deadlocked, the nation that places highest in the most recent FIFA rankings will finish higher in the standings.
WORLD CUP GROUP STANDINGS:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F
Group G | Group H | Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L
Do third-place teams advance at World Cup 2026?
In this expanded tournament, the eight best teams that finish third in their group will also progress to the Round of 32.
The third-place teams will be ranked by the following criteria:
- Most points in the group stage
- Highest goal difference in the group stage
- Most goals scored in the group stage
- Highest “team conduct score”
- Highest FIFA ranking
MORE: Updated World Cup third place standings
How many teams play in the World Cup?
Previously, since 1998, there were 32 nations that qualified for the World Cup.
However, starting in 2026, the field was expanded to 48 teams.
This means an additional four groups in the opening phase of the competition, plus an extra stage in the knockouts (the Round of 32). All told, that means the winning team at the tournament will play eight games in total.
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