how many 3rd place teams in world cup group stage move on

Eight third-place teams move on to the knockout stage, out of the 12 third- place teams in the group stage. That means four third-place teams are eliminated.

How it works

• The top two teams from each of the 12 groups advance automatically.
• The best eight third-place teams also advance.
• Those eight join the 24 top-two finishers to make a 32-team Round of 32.

Simple example

If all 12 groups finish, the third-place teams are ranked across the whole tournament, not just within their own group. The top eight by points, then goal difference, then goals scored, then fair play, and then FIFA ranking are the ones that go through.

Quick note

This is the 2026 World Cup format, which is different from older tournaments where only the top two teams in each group advanced.