2026 World Cup Third Party Group: Ranking and News

The 2026 World Cup, which will be held with a new format, brings good news for the teams that finish third in their respective brackets. In total, eight places for the knockout phase will be distributed among the twelve third-placed teams. This means that two thirds of the 48 participants will be able to advance to the knockout stage, totaling 32 teams for the knockout stage.

Of the twelve brackets, which will have four teams each, only the two best classified in each group are guaranteed in the next phase, which already guarantees 24 places. The other eight will be filled by the best third-placed teams.

So far, the third-placed ranking includes: DR Congo, Sweden, Ghana, Ecuador, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paraguay, Senegal and Algeria, which secured their positions among the top eight. Teams like Uruguay, Scotland, South Korea and Iran were eliminated. Check the ranking:

1 | DR Congo (K) | 3 | 4 | 4:3 2 | Sweden (F) | 3 | 4 | 7:7 3 | Ghana (L) | 3 | 4 | 2:2 4 | Ecuador (E) | 3 | 4 | 2:2 5 | Bosnia-H. (B) | 3 | 4 | 5:6 6 | Algeria (J) | 3 | 4 | 5:7 7 | Paraguay (D) | 3 | 4 | 2:4 8 | Senegal (I) | 3 | 3 | 8:6 9 | Iran (G) | 3 | 3 | 3:3 10 | South Korea (A) | 3 | 3 | 2:3 11 | Scotland (C) | 3 | 3 | 1:4 12 | Uruguay (H) | 3 | 2 | 3:4.


This new format of allowing third-placed teams to advance to the knockout stage is an innovation compared to previous editions, but it is already a known practice in other tournaments. For example, in the 2016 Euro Cup, UEFA expanded the number of participants from 16 to 24 and since then four of the six best third-placed teams have advanced to the knockout stage.

FIFA, like UEFA, will create a table for third-placed teams after the group stage, which will be based on well-defined criteria. Initially, the classification will take into account the points scored, but in the event of a tie, other factors such as goal difference and number of goals scored will also be considered.

The World Cup schedule predicts that the round of 16 will feature clashes between the winners of each group and the third-placed teams. For example, Germany, who won Group E, will face Paraguay, who came third. Before the tournament began, there were 495 possible combinations for the round of 32 games.

The knockout phase will begin on June 28th, with the first game scheduled for 9pm (local time). The last round of the group stage will take place on June 24th, starting the counting for the classifications. Check out all the dates for the knockout stage: - Round of 16: June 28th to July 4th, 2026 - Quarterfinals: July 9th to 12th, 2026 - Semifinals: July 14 (Dallas) and July 15 (Atlanta) - Fight for third place: July 18 (Miami) - End: July 19, 2026 (New York/New Jersey).

---

Related Articles

1. [FIFA WM 2026: Gianni Infantino reist umfangreich durch Nordamerika](https://mannschaftgoal.com/de/news/fifa-wm-2026-gianni-infantino-reist-umfangreich-durch-nordamerika) 2. [Highlights - Kroatien 2-1 Ghana WM 2026 - 28. Juni 2026](https://mannschaftgoal.com/de/news/highlights-kroatien-2-1-ghana-wm-2026-28-juni-2026)