World Cup 2026 Group Tables — All 12 Groups Explained

Group Standings

Final tables from all 12 groups, and how teams progressed out of them.

Group A
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Mexico	3	3	0	0	+6	9
2	South Africa	3	1	1	1	-1	4
3	South Korea	3	1	0	2	-1	3
4	Czech Republic	3	0	1	2	-4	1

Group B
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Switzerland	3	2	1	0	+4	7
2	Canada	3	1	1	1	+5	4
3	Bosnia & Herzegovina	3	1	1	1	-1	4
4	Qatar	3	0	1	2	-8	1

Group C
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Brazil	3	2	1	0	+6	7
2	Morocco	3	2	1	0	+3	7
3	Scotland	3	1	0	2	-3	3
4	Haiti	3	0	0	3	-6	0

Group D
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	USA	3	2	0	1	+4	6
2	Australia	3	1	1	1	0	4
3	Paraguay	3	1	1	1	-2	4
4	Turkey	3	1	0	2	-2	3

Group E
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Germany	3	2	0	1	+6	6
2	Ivory Coast	3	2	0	1	+2	6
3	Ecuador	3	1	1	1	0	4
4	Curaçao	3	0	1	2	-8	1

Group F
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Netherlands	3	2	1	0	+6	7
2	Japan	3	1	2	0	+4	5
3	Sweden	3	1	1	1	0	4
4	Tunisia	3	0	0	3	-10	0

Group G
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Belgium	3	1	2	0	+4	5
2	Egypt	3	1	2	0	+2	5
3	Iran	3	0	3	0	0	3
4	New Zealand	3	0	1	2	-6	1

Group H
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Spain	3	2	1	0	+5	7
2	Cape Verde	3	0	3	0	0	3
3	Uruguay	3	0	2	1	-1	2
4	Saudi Arabia	3	0	2	1	-4	2

Group I
#	Team	P	W	L	GD	Pts
1	France	3	3	0	+8	9
2	Norway	3	2	1	+1	6
3	Senegal	3	1	2	+2	3
4	Iraq	3	0	3	-11	0

Group J
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Argentina	3	3	0	0	+7	9
2	Austria	3	1	1	1	0	4
3	Algeria	3	1	1	1	-2	4
4	Jordan	3	0	0	3	-5	0

Group K
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Colombia	3	2	1	0	+3	7
2	Portugal	3	1	2	0	+5	5
3	DR Congo	3	1	1	1	+1	4
4	Uzbekistan	3	0	0	3	-9	0

Group L
#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	England	3	2	1	0	+4	7
2	Croatia	3	2	0	1	0	6
3	Ghana	3	1	1	1	0	4
4	Panama	3	0	0	3	-4	0

How Qualification Out of the Groups Worked

The expansion to 48 teams forced a structural problem on FIFA. Twelve groups of four produce 24 group winners and runners-up — an awkward number, because a knockout bracket needs a power of two. The solution was a round of 32, filled by the 12 group winners, the 12 runners-up, and the eight best third-placed teams across all twelve groups.

That last mechanism is what made the final round of group matches so tense. A third-placed team was not eliminated, but nor was it safe: it was entered into a separate ranking against the eleven other third-placed sides, and only the top eight survived. Teams were therefore playing not just their own group rivals but an invisible table being decided in games elsewhere, sometimes days later.

Reading the Table

The columns follow standard FIFA convention. P is matches played, W, D and L are wins, draws and losses, GD is goal difference and PTS is points — three for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat.

Where teams finish level on points, the order is decided first on goal difference across the group, then on goals scored. If sides are still inseparable, the tie-break moves to the results between those specific teams — their head-to-head points, goal difference and goals scored — before fair-play conduct and, ultimately, a drawing of lots. This is why goal difference is worth watching even in an apparently settled group: it is the first thing that separates two teams on the same points, and a heavy defeat can undo three earlier results.

Why Third Place Was Worth Playing For

One consequence of the 48-team format is that finishing third became a genuine competitive target rather than a consolation. In a 32-team tournament, third in the group meant going home. Here, a third-placed team with a positive goal difference had a realistic route into the knockout stage, which changed how sides approached a final group game they could not win. It also reduced the incentive for the dead-rubber caution that used to characterise the last round of fixtures.

For the full knockout picture, see the World Cup 2026 bracket, or the complete match results.

World Cup Central

Group Standings

How Qualification Out of the Groups Worked

Reading the Table

Why Third Place Was Worth Playing For