The knockouts for the World Cup start early with two teams advancing and two being relegated

Race for 2026 FIFA World Cup the knockout stages began to take shape after the first set of group matches confirmed early qualification and eliminations in the expanded format of the tournament.

The United States and Mexico became the first teams to confirm their places in the round of 16, while Haiti and Turkey have already been eliminated after failing to collect enough points in their first two games.

The tournament, which has been expanded to 48 teams, is played under a new structure that introduces 32 rounds for the first time in the history of the World Cup.

The development has sped up the qualification process, with several teams already securing progress before the end of the final group games.

Early movements in the group stage

Mexico sealed their qualification with a narrow 1-0 win over South Korea, adding to their opening 2-0 win against South Africa.

The results secured six points from two games, confirming their place in the knockout rounds with one more game to play in the group.

The United States also made a strong start to its campaign. After a convincing 4-1 win over Paraguay in the first leg, they followed it up with a 2-0 win against Australia, which guaranteed them passage from Group D.

Under FIFA’s revised format, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups advance automatically, along with the eight best third-placed sides.

The round of 16 will be played from 28 June to 3 July, followed by the round of 16 and further knockout rounds leading up to the final on 19 July.

Failures for eliminated sides

While some teams have already booked their places in the next round, others’ campaigns ended earlier.

Haiti became the first nation to be eliminated after losing to Brazil 3-0, following their previous defeat to Scotland 1-0. Turkey were the next team to exit the competition after losing 1-0 to Paraguay, having previously lost 2-0 to Australia.

After two games, both teams remained without a point, which made it impossible for them to reach the qualification threshold under the new system.

With group matches still ongoing, more teams are expected to confirm progress or drop out in the coming days.