The expansion of the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 teams didn’t just add a ton of matches to the schedule; it also resulted in a revamp of the tournament’s format. The group stage — the first phase of the competition — is more complicated than ever, and the changes made will have a big impact on the entire competition.
Here’s everything you need to know about what teams need to do to reach the knockout rounds in 2026.
How did the group stage work before 2026?
From 1998 to 2022, the World Cup group stage was fairly simple. The 32 teams were divided into groups of four, and the top two teams in each group (16 total) advanced to the knockout rounds. The group winners had the benefit of playing a runner-up in the round of 16.
What about this year, with 48 teams competing?
Instead of 16 teams advancing to the first knockout round, 32 will make it out of the group stage in 2026. In other words, a whole additional knockout round has been created. And since there are 12 groups, not only will all 12 group winners and 12 second-place teams advance, but also the eight best third-place teams.
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It’s likely that several teams will end up tied on points at the end of the group stage — which brings us to tiebreakers.
How do tiebreakers work for the group stage?
If three or more teams finish equal on group stage points, the following tiebreakers are applied in order.
If any teams are still tied, the same tiebreakers are applied again, exclusively to the matches between the remaining teams.
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From there, ties are broken by the following criteria. These tiebreakers are also the first ones applied when settling ties between just two teams.
How will the best third-place teams be determined?
Similar to the aforementioned tiebreakers, the third-place teams in the group stage will be ranked by these criteria, in order:
How is team conduct score calculated?
Yellow cards and red cards accumulated are the two element used to calculate this, with cards issued to both players and team officials contributing to this score.
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What consequences might these changes have?
It’s reasonable to expect that there will be more drama entering the final round of group-stage games. Not only will teams be fighting for a top-two place or to avoid finishing last (and being automatically eliminated), the battle between potential third-place teams will probably go down to the wire.
However, it’s also less likely that any top nations will be eliminated before the knockouts, reducing the overall stakes of the group stage. It would take a truly disastrous performance for a team like Germany or Brazil to be knocked out early.
In addition, more teams in the knockouts could more uncompetitive matches in the round of 32. Some of the group winners will get to play third-place teams, who will likely be of a lower standard than an average first-round opponent in previous World Cups.
