There’s more on the line than ever in this last round of World Cup group games. This is why

June 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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There have been some major changes at this year’s FIFA World Cup, and we are about to experience one of the biggest for the first time.

No longer will only the top two teams from each group go through to the next stage. Now that the tournament features 48 teams, there is an additional round of knockout matches. There will be 32 teams in that round – which means the last eight qualifiers will be the best performers from third place.

This will leave a bunch of nervous nations as every goal or card could prove decisive when teams play their final group games, starting on Thursday (AEST).

Just to add another layer of uncertainty, those teams in the early groups who finish third may not know if they have qualified until other teams have played their last games.

Only Turkey, Tunisia, Haiti, Panama and Jordan are statistically out of the running while 16 teams have done enough to be 100 per cent certain of making the knockouts according to data analysts Opta.

This is how the best........

© The Age