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How teams can qualify for knockout rounds. Clinchi...
Key takeaways
- But even at this early stage of the tournament, plenty could be decided over the next several days.
- The creation of a knockout round of 32, and the eight best third-place teams out of 12 advancing as a result, has made it much harder to project teams' paths through the World Cup.
- According to FIFA, the tiebreakers if two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the group stage are as follows:
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
But even at this early stage of the tournament, plenty could be decided over the next several days.
The creation of a knockout round of 32, and the eight best third-place teams out of 12 advancing as a result, has made it much harder to project teams' paths through the World Cup. Nonetheless, the format of the group stage and its initial head-to-head tiebreakers mean we will see some teams seal places in the knockout rounds, while others might have their dreams of making it out of the group stage shattered.
According to FIFA, the tiebreakers if two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the group stage are as follows:
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