According to Al Jazeera, the teams that have already qualified include hosts Mexico and the United States, along with Germany, Argentina, France, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Paraguay, Belgium, Egypt, Spain, Cape Verde, Senegal, Portugal, England, and Ghana.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi inspired his side to the knockout stage by scoring twice against Austria. With those goals, Messi took his overall World Cup tally to 18, becoming the tournament s all-time leading scorer. Earlier in the competition, he also recorded the first World Cup hat-trick of his career against Algeria.

France booked their place in the next round with a 3-0 victory over Iraq, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice. He had also netted two goals in France s earlier win over Senegal.

Brazil finished top of their group with seven points after defeating Scotland 3-0 in their final group match, with Vinícius Júnior scoring twice. South Africa made history by reaching the World Cup knockout stage for the first time after edging South Korea 1-0.

Cape Verde also achieved a historic milestone by qualifying for the knockout stage in their debut World Cup appearance, while Egypt reached the knockout rounds for the first time in the nation s history.

Meanwhile, several teams have already been eliminated during the group stage. Haiti became the first team to exit the tournament, followed by Türkiye, Tunisia, Jordan, Panama, Qatar, Czechia, Curaçao, New Zealand, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

Hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar, suffered a 3-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their final group match and finished bottom of their group with just one point. Saudi Arabia and Uruguay also failed to progress beyond the group stage.

The 2026 tournament is the first FIFA World Cup to feature 48 teams, resulting in an expanded knockout format. Under the new system, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups automatically qualify for the Round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed teams.

The tournament will then continue with the Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, the third-place playoff, and the final, which is scheduled for July 19.

FIFA has also introduced a revised tiebreaking system for this World Cup. If teams finish level on points, the first criterion will be the head-to-head record between the tied teams, followed by goal difference. If the teams are still level, overall goal difference, goals scored, disciplinary record, and finally the FIFA World Ranking will be used to determine the standings.