2026 World Cup Third-Place Standings: Who’s In, Who’s On The Bubble
For the first time at a FIFA World Cup, finishing third in your group does not necessarily mean going home.
With 48 teams competing in 2026, FIFA expanded the field to include the eight best third-place finishers across all 12 groups. The top two teams in each group advance automatically, and the remaining eight spots in the 32-team knockout bracket go to the highest-ranked third-place teams, determined by points, goal difference, goals scored and other tiebreakers.
That means 12 teams will be competing for eight spots, and the race to stay in the top eight is one of the most compelling subplots of the final days of the group stage.
Here’s where the third-place standings sit heading into the final round of group stage matches on June 23.
Third-Place World Cup Standings
| Rank | Team | MP | W-D-L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Sweden | 2 | 1-0-1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Scotland | 2 | 1-0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Algeria | 2 | 1-0-1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Paraguay | 2 | 1-0-1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| 5 | Cape Verde | 2 | 0-2-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Belgium | 2 | 0-2-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | DR Congo | 1 | 0-1-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Czechia | 2 | 0-1-1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 |
| Cutline | |||||||
| 9 | Ecuador | 2 | 0-1-1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 10 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 0-1-1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 |
| 11 | Panama | 1 | 0-0-1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 12 | Senegal | 2 | 0-0-2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 0 |
The third-place standings will shift significantly over the following two days as the ultimate spherical of group stage matches is performed. Follow the stay standings at FOXSports.com and watch each match on FOX and FS1, streaming stay on FOX One.
Standing as of the tip of Portugal match on June 23.
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