Turkey and Haiti have become the first two nations eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite both still having one group game remaining. The expanded tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico allows the top two teams from each group to progress automatically, while the eight best third-placed sides across the 12 groups also advance to the knockout stages. However, a FIFA rule change has resulted in both Turkey and Haiti being knocked out earlier than many fans expected.
Turkey's Exit
Turkey's exit was confirmed after a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay, following an opening 2-0 loss against Australia. Despite dominating large portions of both matches and registering an astonishing 62 shots without scoring a goal, Vincenzo Montella's side remain pointless after two games. Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!
Haiti's Fate
Haiti's fate was sealed after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil, having already lost 1-0 to Scotland in their opening Group C fixture. The Caribbean nation therefore have zero points and a goal difference of minus four heading into their final group match against Morocco.
FIFA Rule Change
Under previous World Cup formats, goal difference was the first tiebreaker used to separate teams level on points. For the 2026 tournament, FIFA has switched to head-to-head results being considered before goal difference in the group stage. That seemingly small adjustment has had major consequences for both Turkey and Haiti.
In Group D, Turkey have already lost to Australia and Paraguay. Even if they beat the United States in their final match, they can finish with only three points. Because they have already lost to both Australia and Paraguay (already on three points), they would lose any head-to-head tiebreaker against those teams if they finish level on points. As a result, Turkey cannot climb above fourth place in the group and therefore cannot qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.
A similar situation applies to Haiti. The Haitians have suffered defeats against Scotland and Brazil. Even if they beat Morocco in their final game, they can only reach three points and would remain behind Scotland and Brazil because of their head-to-head defeats. That means they cannot finish third and have no mathematical path to the knockout rounds.
First Eliminated
It means both nations have become the first teams officially eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, despite the tournament's expanded format being designed to give more countries a chance of progressing. For Turkey, the exit is particularly painful. The nation arrived at the tournament with high expectations after reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, but leaves without scoring a single goal from 62 attempts across two matches.
