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FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Chris Nee

Every World Cup 2026 group stage tiebreaker: What happens if teams finish with the same points?

World Cup World Cup 2026 FIFA World Rankings Fifa
World Cup.

Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams makes it a 104-match colossus. The ideal tournament bracket format has 16, 32 or 64 teams but there's no turning back now.

World Cup 2026 will be the first to have this exact format but it's reflective of past competitions with 24 teams. The eight best third-placed teams will progress to the round of 32 along with the 12 group winners and 12 runners-up.

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