How it works
2 + 2 + 8
24
Group winners and runners-up qualify automatically — two from each of the 12 groups.
8
The eight best third-placed teams fill the remaining Round of 32 slots, ranked across all groups.
4
The four lowest-ranked third-placed teams are eliminated at the group stage.
Live ranking
All 12 third-placed teams
| # | Team | Grp | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland | c | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 3 | Advances |
| 2 | Paraguay | d | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 | Advances |
| 3 | Japan | f | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 1 | Advances |
| 4 | Belgium | g | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 1 | Advances |
| 5 | DR Congo | k | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 1 | Advances |
| 6 | Spain | h | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 1 | Advances |
| 7 | Czech Republic | a | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 | Advances |
| 8 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 | Advances |
| 9 | Ecuador | e | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | Out |
| 10 | Panama | l | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | Out |
| 11 | Senegal | i | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 | Out |
| 12 | Jordan | j | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 | Out |
Top 8 advance to R32 The gold line marks the cut between qualifying and elimination.
Tiebreakers among third-placed teams, in order: points, then goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary record, then drawing of lots. FIFA assigns the eight qualifiers to specific Round of 32 slots via a fixed lookup table once the group stage concludes.