cutline.live

World Cup 2026 · third-place race

The cutline

Twelve groups. The top two of each go through — plus the best 8 of the 12 third-placed teams. This is that race for the last knockout spots, and the line that decides it.

# Third-placed team Pts GD GF Qual Next
1 Netherlands Grp F 1 0 2 92% SWE, TUN
2 Morocco Grp C tie 1 0 1 93% SCO, HAI
3 Belgium Grp G tie 1 0 1 95% IRN, NZL
4 Portugal Grp K tie 1 0 1 93% UZB, COL
5 Cape Verde Islands Grp H 1 0 0 48% URU, KSA
6 Czechia Grp A 1 -1 2 31% MEX
7 Bosnia-Herzegovina Grp B 1 -3 2 67% QAT
8 Ecuador Grp E tie 0 -1 0 81% CUW, GER
Cutline · 0 pts · 8 up, 4 out
9 Panama Grp L tie 0 -1 0 12% CRO, ENG
10 Senegal Grp I tie 0 -2 1 70% NOR, IRQ
11 Jordan Grp J tie 0 -2 1 11% ALG, ARG
12 Turkey Grp D 0 -2 0 50% PAR, USA
# Third-placed team Proj pts
1 Bosnia-Herzegovina Grp B 3.5
2 Scotland Grp C 3.5
3 Sweden Grp F 3.4
4 Ghana Grp L 3.4
5 Algeria Grp J 3.2
6 Turkey Grp D 3.2
7 Ecuador Grp E 3.2
8 Congo DR Grp K 3.2
Projected cut · 8 up, 4 out
9 Senegal Grp I 3.2
10 Cape Verde Islands Grp H 3.1
11 Iran Grp G 2.5
12 Czechia Grp A 2.3

Projected cutline

3 pts most likely

6 pts 0%
5 pts <0.01%
4 pts 7.91%
3 pts 85.02%
2 pts 7.07%
1 pt <0.01%

Most likely the cut lands on 3 points: third-placed teams finishing above it qualify for the knockouts; third-placed teams below it go out. Third-placed teams level on 3 are separated by goal difference, then goals scored, then fair-play points, then the drawing of lots.

Chance the qualifying line falls on each points total, across 20,000 simulations.

Race for the line

All 48 teams · most likely first

Team GD GF Pts Proj Qualify Next
Mexico 1st in Grp A +3 3 6 7.6 100% CZE
Canada 1st in Grp B +6 7 4 5.2 >99% SUI
Switzerland 2nd in Grp B +3 5 4 5.5 >99% CAN
Germany 1st in Grp E +6 7 3 7.0 >99% CIV, ECU
Argentina 1st in Grp J +3 3 3 7.5 >99% AUT, JOR
England 1st in Grp L +2 4 3 7.9 >99% GHA, PAN
France 2nd in Grp I +2 3 3 7.6 >99% IRQ, NOR
Ivory Coast 2nd in Grp E +1 1 3 6.3 99% GER, CUW
United States 1st in Grp D +3 4 3 6.5 98% AUS, TUR
Colombia 1st in Grp K +2 3 3 6.2 98% COD, POR
Brazil 2nd in Grp C 0 1 1 5.9 97% HAI, SCO
Norway 1st in Grp I +3 4 3 5.4 97% SEN, FRA
Sweden 1st in Grp F +4 5 3 5.0 97% NED, JPN
Spain 4th in Grp H 0 0 1 5.7 96% KSA, URU
Belgium 3rd in Grp G 0 1 1 5.7 95% IRN, NZL
Austria 2nd in Grp J +2 3 3 5.2 94% ARG, ALG
Portugal 3rd in Grp K 0 1 1 5.1 93% UZB, COL
Morocco 3rd in Grp C 0 1 1 5.3 93% SCO, HAI
Netherlands 3rd in Grp F 0 2 1 5.2 92% SWE, TUN
South Korea 2nd in Grp A 0 2 3 5.0 91% RSA
Australia 2nd in Grp D +2 2 3 4.9 88% USA, PAR
Japan 2nd in Grp F 0 2 1 4.7 85% TUN, SWE
Egypt 4th in Grp G 0 1 1 4.7 84% NZL, IRN
Ecuador 3rd in Grp E -1 0 0 3.5 81% CUW, GER
Scotland 1st in Grp C +1 1 3 4.4 79% MAR, BRA
Croatia 4th in Grp L -2 2 0 4.1 77% PAN, GHA
Uruguay 1st in Grp H 0 1 1 3.9 76% CPV, ESP
Senegal 3rd in Grp I -2 1 0 3.5 70% NOR, IRQ
Ghana 2nd in Grp L +1 1 3 4.1 70% ENG, CRO
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3rd in Grp B -3 2 1 3.2 67% QAT
Congo DR 2nd in Grp K 0 1 1 3.2 58% COL, UZB
Algeria 4th in Grp J -3 0 0 3.3 57% JOR, AUT
even odds to qualify (50%)
Turkey 3rd in Grp D -2 0 0 3.0 50% PAR, USA
Cape Verde Islands 3rd in Grp H 0 0 1 2.9 48% URU, KSA
Saudi Arabia 2nd in Grp H 0 1 1 2.6 43% ESP, CPV
Iran 2nd in Grp G 0 2 1 2.6 41% BEL, EGY
Paraguay 4th in Grp D -3 1 0 2.6 37% TUR, AUS
Czechia 3rd in Grp A -1 2 1 2.1 31% MEX
New Zealand 1st in Grp G 0 2 1 2.1 26% EGY, BEL
Uzbekistan 4th in Grp K -2 1 0 1.5 18% POR, COD
South Africa 4th in Grp A -2 1 1 1.8 17% KOR
Qatar 4th in Grp B -6 1 1 1.6 13% BIH
Panama 3rd in Grp L -1 0 0 1.1 12% CRO, ENG
Jordan 3rd in Grp J -2 1 0 1.1 11% ALG, ARG
Tunisia 4th in Grp F -4 1 0 1.1 9% JPN, NED
Haiti 4th in Grp C -1 0 0 0.7 6% BRA, MAR
Iraq 4th in Grp I -3 1 0 0.7 4% FRA, SEN
Curaçao 4th in Grp E -6 1 0 0.5 2% ECU, CIV

All 48 teams, ranked by their chance of reaching the knockouts by any route — clinched at the top, eliminated at the bottom, the real race around the even-odds line in the middle. Now = current group position; Qualify = chance of qualifying.

How the line works

Each of the 12 groups sends its top two teams straight to the Round of 32. That is 24 places. The last 8 go to the best third-placed teams, ranked across all groups by points, then goal difference, goals scored, and fair play.

The four third-placed teams who miss out are eliminated. With groups still in play, the level of the line moves — so alongside the live table we simulate every remaining fixture to show the chance it settles on each points total.