Predictions
Round of 32 Watch: 18 Teams Already Through With One Group Day Left
With nine of the 12 groups complete, 18 of the 32 knockout places are already filled. Here are the confirmed Round of 32 qualifiers — every group winner and runner-up — heading into the final group day on June 27.
The 2026 World Cup is about to flip into knockout mode. The brand-new Round of 32 — a round no men’s World Cup has ever staged — kicks off on Sunday, June 28, and with nine of the 12 groups now complete, 18 of the 32 places are already locked in. The last three groups, J, K and L, finish on Saturday, June 27 and will fill the remaining group slots and settle the race for the best third-placed teams.
Below is the confirmed picture — only teams that have mathematically secured a top-two finish in a completed group. No projections, no assumed results.
Who’s already through
| Group | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| A | Mexico | South Africa |
| B | Switzerland | Canada |
| C | Brazil | Morocco |
| D | United States | Australia |
| E | Germany | Ivory Coast |
| F | Netherlands | Japan |
| G | Belgium | Egypt |
| H | Spain | Cape Verde |
| I | France | Norway |
A few storylines jump off that list. France are the only side so far with a perfect nine points, sealed by an Ousmane Dembélé hat-trick against Norway. Mexico, roared on by home crowds, also took maximum points in Group A. And the round of debutants and outsiders is real: Cape Verde, one of the smallest nations ever to reach a World Cup, are into the knockouts as Group H runners-up behind Spain.
The new maths: how 48 becomes 32
The expanded 48-team format means the group stage no longer sorts itself into a tidy 16. Instead, 32 teams advance to the first knockout round:
- the 12 group winners,
- the 12 runners-up, and
- the eight best third-placed teams across all 12 groups.
That third route is where the final-day drama lives. Twelve sides finish third in their group; only the top eight of those 12, ranked by points and then goal difference, survive. Teams like Senegal, who closed Group I with a 3-0–style rout — a 5-0 win over Iraq for three points and a +2 goal difference — are sweating on whether their haul is enough once the last groups report. The cut-off can’t be finalised until Groups J, K and L are done.
What June 27 still has to settle
Saturday’s six matches complete the field:
- Group L — Panama vs England and Croatia vs Ghana kick off at 5:00 PM ET. England and Ghana lead the group; Croatia need a result to stay alive.
- Group K — Colombia vs Portugal and DR Congo vs Uzbekistan at 7:30 PM ET, with Colombia and Portugal meeting for top spot.
- Group J — Jordan vs Argentina and Algeria vs Austria at 10:00 PM ET, where Argentina have already qualified and the chase is for the runners-up and best-third places.
Once those finish, all 32 knockout names — and the full Round of 32 bracket — will be set. For the day-by-day stakes, see our June 27 preview, and for how the bracket plays out from here, read the knockout rounds explained. You can also track every favourite in our live winner tracker.
Qualifiers above are confirmed top-two finishes from completed groups, cross-checked against official FIFA data and major outlets (FIFA.com, ESPN, Wikipedia). Groups J, K and L were still to be played at publication; no projected results or standings are included.