For the first time at a FIFA World Cup, finishing third in your group does not necessarily mean going home.

With 48 teams competing in 2026, FIFA expanded the field to include the eight best third-place finishers across all 12 groups. The top two teams in each group advance automatically, and the remaining eight spots in the 32-team knockout bracket go to the highest-ranked third-place teams, determined by points, goal difference, goals scored and other tiebreakers.

That means 12 teams will be competing for eight spots, and the race to stay in the top eight is one of the most compelling subplots of the final days of the group stage.

Here’s where the third-place standings sit heading into the final round of group stage matches on June 24.

Third-Place World Cup Standings

The third-place standings will shift considerably over the next two days as the final round of group stage matches is played. Follow the live standings at FOXSports.com and watch every match on FOX and FS1, streaming live on FOX One.

Standings as of the end of Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar and Canada vs. Switzerland on Wednesday.

2026 FIFA World Cup Standings Rules

How Do Points Work? How Do Tiebreakers Work? 

In a group, a team will earn three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. That could mean some teams are equal on points at the end of the three-game group stage. That leads us to tiebreakers. 

If two or more teams finish equal on group-stage points, here is the order of who finishes on top:

1. Most points obtained in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
2. Superior goal difference in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;
3. Most goals scored in the head-to-head matches played between the tied teams;

There are even more tiebreakers if any teams remained locked after all that. From there, ties are broken by these rules:

4. Superior goal difference in all group matches
5. Most goals scored in all group matches
6. Highest team conduct score in all group matches (taking into account yellow cards and red cards)
7. FIFA World Ranking

Which Third-Place Teams Will Advance?

To fill out the World Cup knockout bracket, the best eight third-place teams out of the possible 12 in the tournament will advance. The criteria for those teams are based on: 

1. Points
2. Goal difference
3. Goals scored
4. Highest team conduct score in all group matches (taking into account yellow cards and red cards)
5. FIFA World Ranking

Until Tuesday night, only one Mexican-born player had been an NBA draft pick. Eduardo Nájera was selected 38th overall in the second round by the Houston Rockets in 2000 and enjoyed a 12-year career as a backup forward with five teams.

Karim López joined him when the Detroit Pistons snapped him up at No. 21, making him the first Mexican-born first-round draft selection.

Lopez donned the Pistons’ cap handed to him by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, then was immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

López, a 19-year-old 6-foot-9 forward, became emotional when Silver announced the pick. He sobbed beneath the cap.

“It’s just super special,” he said. “I’m blessed. I mean, I have no words.”

Born in Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora, López joined the prestigious Joventut Badalona youth academy in Badalona, Spain, at age 14 to accelerate his development. The academy counts former NBA players Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernández and Raül López among its alumni.

During his post-draft television interview, he displayed a custom design inside his suit jacket: Mexico’s tricolor flag.

“I just wanted to represent my culture, represent where I’m from, represent my faith, and just represent myself, basically,” López said. “Show who I am.”

Memphis clearly targeted López while adroitly obtaining five second-round picks in the process. They received three picks from the Pistons and two from the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for moving back from the No. 16 draft position.

Whether López fulfills his potential and becomes the fifth Mexican-born player to take the court with an NBA team remains to be seen. Reviews are mixed.

Draft experts John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie of the Athletic differed in their evaluation, with Hollinger giving the pick a thumbs-up while Vecenie expressed reservations.

“I had Karim López rated quite a bit higher than [the No. 21 pick] and was surprised to see him slide this far,” Hollinger wrote, giving the pick an “A” grade partially because the Grizzlies also collected the five second-round picks.

Vecenie pointed out that López doesn’t shoot well and has defensive deficiencies, saying that his game might be better suited for European leagues than the NBA.

“I’m not sure how he gets on an NBA court early in his career,” he wrote. “I love his frame and physicality. I love that he rebounds and attacks with aggression. But I’m not sure he’s good enough without the ball to make an early impact in the NBA.”

Should López make the Grizzlies’ roster, he would join Horacio Llamas, Gustavo Ayón, Jorge Gutiérrez and Nájera as the only NBA players born in Mexico.

“It means a lot to me,” Lopez said. “It’s just a great opportunity for me and my country to have this platform and have this opportunity. So super blessed and definitely take it with a lot of pride.”

Noteworthy NBA players of Mexican descent born in the United States include former UCLA standout Jaime Jaquez Jr. and former Lakers reserve Juan Toscano-Anderson.

Jaquez averaged 15.4 points a game in 2025-2026, his third season with the Miami Heat. Toscano-Anderson played five seasons in the NBA — including winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022 — and now is with Pallacanestro Trieste of the top Italian league.
López is already a veteran of international basketball, having spent the last two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s top pro league. He averaged 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds last season.

He will join No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer with the Grizzlies, who are rebuilding after finishing 25-57 and 13th in the Western Conference last season.

“A goal of mine is to hopefully reach young people in Mexico,” Lopez told ESPN in March when he declared for the draft. “Trying to grow the sport and inspire athletes and people in general to follow their dreams. Show people that it doesn’t matter where you’re from.”

The 2026 NBA Draft finally saw the top college prospects get chosen along with some friendly fire among ESPN and basketball analysts on Tuesday night.

Jay Williams, Richard Jefferson and Kenny Smith were among those covering the draft and offering their analysis during the event. One exchange among the three former NBA players went awry and led to an awkward moment.

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ESPN recalled the moments each former player was drafted. Smith went No. 6 overall in 1987 to the Sacramento Kings, Richard Jefferson was selected at No. 13 by the Houston Rockets before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2001 and Williams was chosen No. 2 overall by the Chicago Bulls in 2001. Williams’ career was cut short due to a motorcycle crash.

ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi asked why Williams received a big ovation. Williams explained that most people who had gone to Duke were from the New York or New Jersey area.

“They also didn’t see the future coming, so they were cheering,” Jefferson said.

Williams responded, “Wow.”

Smith admitted that Williams was an “unbelievable talent” but “his career trajectory would’ve been a lot different if he didn’t like motorcycles.”

Williams tried to brush it off, saying all of what Smith was saying was “on record” and that he “wrote a book about it.”

“I guess everybody that goes to Duke isn’t that smart,” Jefferson quipped. “What? He wrote a book about it. I’m agreeing with him.”

The awkwardness filled the air after that as the Toronto Raptors were getting ready to make a selection.

Williams’ incident occurred in June 2003. He suffered a fractured pelvis, three torn ligaments in his knee and he severed a nerve in his leg. Williams violated the terms of his contract by riding the motorcycle in the first place.

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He tried to make his way back into the NBA through the G League but never got there. He played 75 games for the Bulls in his rookie season and averaged 9.5 points per game.