For the first time ever, the World Cup features 48 teams. That means more matches and more opportunities for teams to advance beyond the group stage. In the past, only the top two teams in each group could advance. This year, instead of only 16 teams making it to the knockout rounds, there will be 32. The top two teams in each of the 12 groups will move on along with the top eight third-place teams.
Every team out there would love to avoid any tiebreaker drama in the third-place table, but it'll be unavoidable for many. And advancing as a third-place team is a whole lot better than not advancing at all.
With just a few games remaining in the group stage, the third-place table is close to being locked in.
World Cup third-place standings
*As of Jun. 27, top eight advance to knockouts, teams in bold still to play
Team | Points | W-D-L | GD-GF-GA | Team conduct | FIFA ranking | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. DR Congo | 4 | 1-1-1 | 1-4-3 | -5 | 46 | Goal difference |
2. Sweden | 4 | 1-1-1 | 0-7-7 | -5 | 38 | Goals scored |
3. Ghana | 4 | 1-1-1 | 0-2-2 | -3 | 73 | Team conduct |
4. Ecuador | 4 | 1-1-1 | 0-2-2 | -5 | 23 | Goal difference |
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 1-1-1 | -1-5-6 | -10 | 64 | Goal difference |
6. Paraguay | 4 | 1-1-1 | -2-2-4 | -11 | 41 | Points |
7. Senegal | 3 | 1-0-2 | 2-8-6 | -2 | 15 | Goal difference |
8. Iran | 3 | 0-3-0 | 0-3-3 | -6 | 20 | Goal difference |
South Korea | 3 | 1-0-2 | -1-2-3 | -4 | 25 | Goal difference |
Algeria | 3 | 1-0-1 | -2-2-4 | -1 | 28 | Goal difference |
Scotland | 3 | 1-0-2 | -3-1-4 | -5 | 42 | Points |
Uruguay | 2 | 0-2-1 | -1-3-4 | -9 | 16 | Points |
As it stands, Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paraguay, Senegal, Iran, Croatia and South Korea would move on to the knockouts. Algeria, Scotland, Uruguay and DR Congo would go home.
However, Croatia, Algeria and DR Congo are still to play, with the third-place slot in Groups J, K and L still up for grabs. Teams that could still finish in third include Austria, Algeria or Jordan in Group J, Portugal, DR Congo or Uzbekistan in Group K and England, Ghana or Croatia in Group L. However, Portugal and England are each on four points, which would put them through either way.
Third-place teams who have clinched a place in the knockouts
- Sweden (vs. France)
- Ecuado (vs. TBD)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (vs. USA)
- Paraguay (vs. Germany)
- Senegal (vs. TBD)
Regardless of results on Saturday, these five teams will be among the third-place advancers.
Third-place teams who could be left out
- Iran
- Croatia
- South Korea
- Algeria/Austria
- DR Congo/Uzbekistan
- Scotland
Iran just needs one of the three group results to go their way to stay in the tournament: Algeria vs. Austria has a winner, Croatia loses to Ghana or DR Congo doesn't get a win over Uzbekistan.
Croatia controls its own destiny, a point against Ghana puts them through. If they lose, they'll need Algeria or Austria to finish with a worse goal difference or DR Congo not to win over Uzbekistan.
South Korea is in trouble if Algeria and Austria draw or if DR Congo beats Uzbekistan. However, if Croatia loses to Ghana, they can survive one of those two outcomes, but not both.
No Scotland, no party...so there will probably be no party in the knockout rounds. The Scots' 3-0 loss to Brazil was incredibly costly, as it put their goal difference too low to get in on three points. However, they are technically not eliminated yet.
Scotland can still advance, if and only if:
- Croatia lose to Ghana by three goals AND
- Algeria loses by two goals or Austria loses by four goals AND
- DR Congo fails to beat Uzbekistan but Uzbekistan doesn't win by more than three goals
So good luck with that.
Third-place teams who have been eliminated
- Uruguay
Uruguay are going home as the only third-place team guaranteed to go out on two points.
Before the tournament, we thought three points would put a team through. Clearly that's not the standard, with multiple three-point finishers likely to be left out.
Third-place tiebreakers
- Points
- Goal difference
- Goals scored
- Team conduct score
- FIFA world ranking
The first few tiebreakers for teams in the third-place table are fairly simple: points, then goal difference and then goals scored. After that it gets more complicated as team conduct score comes into play.
Team conduct score is calculated by cards accumulated. Every yellow card is minus one point. Every second yellow card resulting in a red is minus three points. A direct red card is minus four points. And if a player with a yellow card already is shown a direct red card that's minus five points.
If the tie isn't broken by team conduct score, it all comes down to the FIFA world rankings.
Knockout bracket
Group A standings
Group B standings
Group C standings
Group D standings
Group E standings
Group F standings
Group G standings
Group H standings
Group I standings
Group J standings
Group K standings
Group L standings
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