The 2026 World Cup group stage concludes tonight, confirming the knockout stage lineup and sending several nations home early. The tournament expanded from 32 to 48 teams, adding 24 more group-stage games. The top two from each of the 12 four-team groups advance to the new round of 32, along with the best eight third-place finishers.
A less-publicized but significant change by FIFA uses head-to-head records as the primary tiebreaker, overriding goal difference. This means teams who might have had a chance in previous tournaments now know mathematically they are eliminated before the final group matches.
Confirmed Eliminations
The first team officially out was Haiti from Group C, making only their second World Cup appearance (first since 1974). They lost 1-0 to Scotland and then 3-1 to Brazil in Philadelphia.
Turkey surprisingly followed, losing 2-0 to Australia and then 1-0 to Paraguay in San Francisco after Matias Galarza's second-minute goal.
Tunisia also exited after a 5-1 thrashing by Sweden in their Group F opener led to the sacking of coach Sabri Lamouchi and replacement by Herve Renard.
Jordan's World Cup debut ended with a 3-1 loss to Austria and a 2-1 defeat by Algeria in San Francisco.
Panama, facing England tonight in New York, were eliminated after successive 1-0 losses to Ghana and Croatia. Czechia followed, finishing bottom of Group A after a 3-0 loss to co-hosts Mexico, leaving with one point.
Qatar's fate was sealed with a 3-1 loss to Bosnia & Herzegovina, despite a late equalizer against Switzerland earlier.
Curacao's World Cup debut ended with a 2-0 loss to Ivory Coast, and Iraq exited after a 5-0 defeat to Senegal.
Notable Early Exit
Uruguay, arguably the biggest team eliminated, lost 1-0 to Spain and finished behind Cape Verde. Saudi Arabia also finished bottom of Group H.
