World Cup 2026 Format Unveiled: The Surprising Twists That Could Change Football Forever

FIFA will essentially put all the third-placed sides into a single 12-team league table and rank them on the following criteria, in descending order of precendence

1. Most points
2. Best goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Best disciplinary record (yellow and red cards)
5. Most recent FIFA world ranking
6. If two or more sides still can’t be separated, then they’ll go back to the previous FIFA world ranking, repeating if necessary until they can be distinguished

For the avoidance of doubt, that does mean it’s possible for a side to finish fourth in their group and go out of the tournament, despite having more points than one or more of the third-placed sides who have progress to the next round (as happened to Ukraine at Euro 2024). And that’s just tough.

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