Egypt, England, Portugal, Ghana, and Paraguay have officially advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even before playing their third-stage matches. This development follows the outcomes of Friday's final Group H matches.
With Spain securing a 1-0 victory over Uruguay and Cape Verde settling for a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay ended up with just two points as the third-ranked team in their group.
This outcome means that third-placed teams in other groups, such as South Korea and Scotland with three points each, Group H's Uruguay (two points), and Group Nine's Senegal (three points), cannot surpass the teams already holding four points.
This marks Egypt's first qualification to the knockout stages, following their previous World Cup appearances in 1934, 1990, and 2018.
As the number of participating teams has increased from 32 to 48, the Round of 32 has been introduced for the first time in the knockout stages.
The group winners and runners-up from 12 groups, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to this round.
While these teams have secured their qualification, they must wait until the group stage concludes on Saturday to determine their opponents in the next round.
Paraguay is the only one among these teams to have completed its three group matches, while the others—Egypt, England, Portugal, and Ghana—have each played only two matches.
Qualified Teams and Eliminations
Here is a list of teams that have qualified for the World Cup's Round of 32 so far, as well as those that have been eliminated from competition by Friday:
Qualified Teams:
Group A: Mexico, South Africa.
Group B: Switzerland, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Group C: Brazil, Morocco.
Group D: United States, Australia, Paraguay.
Group E: Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador.
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden.
Group G: Egypt.
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde.
Group I: France, Norway.
Group J: Argentina.
Group K: Colombia, Portugal.
Group L: England, Ghana.
Eliminated Teams:
Czech Republic, Qatar, Haiti, Turkey, Curaçao, Tunisia, Jordan, Panama, Iraq, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.