Group standings and tiebreakers, explained

Each group game awards three points for a win and one for a draw. After all three rounds, teams in each group are ranked by total points. The top two qualify directly for the Round of 32, and the third-placed team enters a separate pool competing for the final eight knockout berths.

How ties within a group are broken

When two or more teams finish on the same points, FIFA separates them in this order:

• ›Goal difference across all group matches
• ›Goals scored across all group matches
• ›The result of the match (or mini-table) between the tied teams — head-to-head points, then head-to-head goal difference, then head-to-head goals
• ›Fair-play record (fewer disciplinary points), then a drawing of lots as the last resort

Because goal difference is applied before head-to-head, running up the scoreline in a game you are already winning genuinely matters. That is why our simulator re-sorts the table the instant you enter a score — a 3–0 and a 1–0 send very different teams through.

Ranking the best third-placed teams

With 12 groups, there are 12 third-placed teams and only eight knockout places for them. They are ranked against each other using the same hierarchy — points first, then goal difference, then goals scored, then fair play. The eight best advance; the bottom four go home.

This is the subtle skill in predicting a 48-team World Cup. A third-placed team with four points and a positive goal difference is far safer than one scraping through on three points, so when you fill in group scores, keep half an eye on how your third-placed sides stack up across the whole tournament.

Knockout ties

Once the bracket begins, draws are no longer allowed. A knockout match level after 90 minutes goes to two 15-minute periods of extra time, and if it is still level, a penalty shootout decides it. Our bracket lets you pick the winner of a shootout exactly like the real thing.