The third-placed teams in the group will face each other in the last 32, a match has been revealed in advance

With the number of participating teams in the ongoing FIFA World Cup increasing from 32 to 48, the path to the knockout stage from the group stage has become much more complicated than before. In the new format, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups will advance directly to the Round of 32. They will be joined by the eight best third-placed teams from all groups.

These eight third-placed teams will all face one of the group champions in their first knockout match. However, the full schedule for the Round of 32 cannot be determined before the end of the group stage, as the order of the matches depends on which third-placed team from each group ultimately advances to the knockout stage.

Annex ‘C’ of the official regulations for the 2026 World Cup contains a chart of all possible match arrangements for the Round of 32. It shows which groups the eight best third-placed teams will come from; Based on this combination, a total of 495 possible matchups can be created. That is, changing the group combination of the third-placed teams will change the knockout schedule.

For example, Germany, who has secured the top spot in Group ‘E’. If the third-placed teams in Groups ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’ and ‘H’ advance to the knockout stage, then Germany’s opponent in the round of 32 will be the third-placed team from Group ‘C’.

But if the third-placed team from Group ‘I’ instead of Group ‘H’ advances to the knockout stage, then Germany’s opponent will be the third-placed team from Group ‘D’, which could potentially be Paraguay or Australia.

Such a complex equation is mainly designed so that two teams from the same group do not face each other before the quarter-finals. In the current situation, more than three-quarters of the 495 possible combinations have already been eliminated.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have already secured their Round of 32 opponents as the first third-placed team. They will play the host United States. Because all other possible combinations have already determined that the third-placed team from Group B will face the winner of Group D (the United States). As a result, the match between the United States and Bosnia is already confirmed.

Source: Sportster