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 | DR Congo | k | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | Advances |
| 2 | Sweden | f | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | +0 | 4 | Advances |
| 3 | Ecuador | e | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 4 | Advances |
| 4 | Ghana | l | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 4 | Advances |
| 5 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 | Advances |
| 6 | Algeria | j | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 4 | Advances |
| 7 | Paraguay | d | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 | Advances |
| 8 | Senegal | i | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 3 | Advances |
| 9 | Iran | g | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 3 | Out |
| 10 | South Korea | a | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 | Out |
| 11 | Scotland | c | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 | Out |
| 12 | Uruguay | h | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 2 | 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.