The 2026 World Cup is now officially in its second week, and some teams are starting to play their second matches of group play.
Which means some teams are already clinching spots in the knockout round.
With the World Cup expanding to 48 teams for the 2026 edition, the knockout round begins with the Round of 32, instead of the familiar Round of 16. That means that, beyond the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout portion of the tournament, the eight best third-place teams are also advancing. We are tracking the third-place standings here if you are looking to see what teams are still in the running despite sitting in third place.
As far as teams that have clinched, read on.
Mexico became the first team to book a spot in the Round of 32, thanks to Thursday night’s 1-0 win over South Korea. Mexico opened the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win over South Africa, and when South Africa and Czechia played to a 1-1 draw earlier in the day, it opened the door for the winner of Thursday night’s match to win Group A.
After a scoreless first half, Luis Romo took advantage of a miscue from South Korea keeper Kim Seung-gyu, who collided with a teammate in the box and lost the ball, giving Romo a chance to give Mexico the lead.
Then the hero was Raúl Rangel, as Mexico’s keeper made a pair of brilliant saves in the closing stages to deny South Korea the equalizer:
El Tri are not only the winners of Group A and set to play a third-place team from Group C/E/F/H/I, but they will also stay in Mexico for the Round of 32, as that match will be held in Mexico City.
One host team became the first nation to book a spot in the Round of 32 on Thursday night, when Mexico’s win over South Korea secured Group A.
Friday, the United States joined them as the second team through to the Round of 32.
The 2-0 win over Australia guarantees that the United States will finish as one of the top two teams in Group D. And by the end of the night, the United States may be the winners of Group D, depending on how the late match between Paraguay and Türkiye finishes. If Türkiye lose or draw against Paraguay, then the United States will win Group D, and be locked into a match against a third-place team in the Round of 32.
The 2-0 win was also the USMNT’s first shutout since a 2-0 win in a friendly against Japan last September.
Update: With Paraguay winning on Friday night, the United States clinched Group D.
Germany’s 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast on Saturday clinched a spot in the knockout round as one of the top two teams out of Group E. Germany will win Group E if Ecuador lose or tie against the Ivory Coast later on Saturday.
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