The first phase of the 2026 World Cup is now over as 32 teams qualified for the knockout phase. The field consists of the 12 group winners, the 12 runners-up, and the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups. It's a fixed bracket, no redraws or swaps so every team in the field knows what their path to the final is and who they'll have to beat to stay alive down through the rounds.
Lionel Messi and Argentina, as well as Kylian Mbappe and France, look like the best teams out there, while the U.S. men's national team continue to dream big.
The top teams are still delivering and there are not many changes at the top of our power rankings, but things became much more interesting in the middle of the 32 teams, as there were some huge disappointments in the first phase, like Uruguay or Turkiye, that completely changed our rankings compared to the ones before the tournament. Here is how all the teams stack up ahead of the knockout stages:
Biggest Movers 14 South Africa 20 Uruguay RkTeams ChgRcrd 1
France Another week, another incredible performance. Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele look just incredible with the tournament officially entering its key phase. A potential round of 16 against Germany makes things way more interesting. -- 2 
Argentina There are no words anymore to describe Lionel Messi as he officially became the first ever player to score a goal in seven World Cup games in a row. They also have a quite easy path to the quarterfinals. -- 3 
Spain The feeling is that this team can only improve in the coming days, something that they actually need to hope for in order to win it all. Other teams look in better shape. Next up: Austria and a potential meeting with Portugal in the round of 16. -- 4 
England Harry Kane is on another level this season. He surpassed Gary Lineker to become England's all-time leading World Cup scorer, reaching 11 tournament goals, and this season he has scored 70 goals for club and national team, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's previous single-season European scoring record. Not too bad. 1 5 
Portugal I still firmly believe this is one of the most talented rosters in the World Cup, but so far they haven't shown their full potential. There is not much time left. 1 6 
Brazil They are still not at their best but improving game after game. The round of 32 against Japan will be the first real test under pressure for Carlo Ancelotti. -- 7 
Norway Many questioned my decision to rank this team in the top 10. Based on what they have shown at the World Cup so far, I could easily justify placing them even higher than seventh. The only disappointment has been not getting to see Erling Haaland on the pitch against France. -- 8 
Morocco They had a strong start but this is what we were expecting. Now, they face the Netherlands in the round of 32 and would be a pity not to see them advancing in the tournament. -- 9 
Netherlands On one hand, it's great to have such a high-profile match this week against Morocco. On the other hand, it's a shame that one of these teams will have to bow out of the tournament. -- 10 
Germany I'm still not convinced about the potential of this team that is expected to meet France in the round of 16 after facing Paraguay in the round of 32. -- 11 
Colombia The draw against Portugal confirmed the good feelings about this team. They also won the group, something that wasn't easy at all. -- 12 
Japan This is an exciting team to watch at the World Cup, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they manage to knock Brazil out. 1 13 
United States Losing to Turkiye is hardly a concern, considering they had already booked their place in the knockout stage. More importantly, the rotated lineup showed plenty of promise, highlighting the squad's depth ahead of the business end of the tournament. 1 14 
Mexico The World Cup co-hosts had a perfect start to the tournament, and they definitely don't want to stop here, even if they could potentially meet England in the round of 16 if they get past Ecuador. -- 15 
Switzerland This team is incredible. Every time we don't consider them enough, they always deliver some good performances. They also have a quite doable path ahead of the quarterfinals. 2 16 
Sweden They achieved something truly remarkable: becoming the first team ever to qualify for the World Cup without winning a single match in the qualifying campaign. They booked their place through their UEFA Nations League ranking and the playoffs, and have now gone one step further by reaching the round of 32. 1 17 
Ivory Coast They managed to end up in second place in the group with Germany and Ecuador but now they will face Norway in theround of 32 and one between Japan and Brazil in the round of 16. 1 18 
Egypt History has been made! Before this World Cup, they didn't win a single World Cup game. The last dance of Mo Salah deserved it. 1 19 
Croatia We really don't want to see Luka Modric playing his last World Cup game but this team is much more as well. They have some interesting young talents, such as Martin Baturina, who are shining. 1 20 
Senegal Managed to qualify as one of the eight third-best teams in a group with France and Norway. Up next: Belgium and potentially the USMNT in the round of 16. 1 21 
Ecuador This is an exciting team to watch and they are delivering so far. What a result against Germany. 2 22 
Belgium The first two games were disappointing but they managed to qualify thanks to a convincing win against New Zealand. They need to do more in the knockouts. 3 23 
Canada A first historical qualification at the knockouts made things much better for Jesse Marsch and his team. 3 24 
Austria I was expecting more from a team coached by Ralf Rangnick but they probably did what they could. 4 25 
Ghana They deserved to be in round of 32 but things might become difficult as they face Colombia. 4 26 
Paraguay After losing 4-1 in the opening game against the United States, they did enough to earn a spot in the big dance. 4 27 
South Africa Talking about making history, they have reached the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time ever. It's a landmark achievement. 14 28 
Algeria A crazy end to the game against Austria allowed them to face Switzerland in the next round. 4 29 
Australia They once again proved why they are one of the toughest teams to face at major tournaments and that win against Turkiye shocked the world. Good for them. 9 30 
Bosnia-Herz. Knocked out Italy in the playoffs. Qualified for the round of 32 where they will meet the United States. A great story. 4 31 
DR Congo First time at the World Cup since 1974 when they were named Zaire. Managed not only to win their first-ever game but also qualified for the knockouts. 4 32 
Cabo Verde Who could imagine? First World Cup, three draws, including the ones against Spain and Uruguay, and will now meet Lionel Messi's Argentina. Amazing. 1 33 
Korea Republic ELIMINATED -- It wasn't the ending Son Heung-min deserved in what is expected to be his final World Cup and the closing chapter of an outstanding international career. 6 34 
Scotland ELIMINATED -- I was expecting them to be a bit more challenging for the teams they faced but ended up only winning the opening game against Haiti. Not good enough. 12 35 
Iran ELIMINATED -- A bit unlucky for their late elimination but they failed to win a single game in this World Cup. For sure, they probably had too much pressure due to the geopolitical situation surrounding their country. 11 36 
Uruguay ELIMINATED -- Another huge disappointment of this World Cup. There were so many expectations around this team and especially on their coach, Marcelo Bielsa. Out in the group phase. 20 37 
Qatar ELIMINATED -- They had a good start with the draw against Switzerland but then the two defeats against Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina ended their dreams. At least, they made a step forward compared to the 2022 World Cup. -- 38 
Saudi Arabia ELIMINATED -- They had to face a challenging group with Uruguay and Spain but they drew in the last key game against Cabo Verde, meaning they are once again out of the tournament at the first phase. 2 39 
Turkiye ELIMINATED -- They have been the biggest disappointment of the group stage. Tipped as potential dark horses capable of challenging the tournament's traditional powerhouses, they ultimately failed to live up to expectations. Their victory over the USMNT in the final group match was only a consolation for the fans. 9 40 
New Zealand ELIMINATED -- To be fair, they did better than what we all expected. Their debut draw against Iran was one of the most surprising results of the tournament but they did not keep the same level against Egypt and Belgium. -- 41 
Czechia ELIMINATED -- Another big setback. The European side were kicked out of the World Cup in a group with South Africa, Korea Republic and Mexico. We expected more from a talented roster. 10 42 
Iraq ELIMINATED -- They did what they could against Norway, France and Senegal which was considered the group of death. Conceding 12 goals in just three matches was simply too much. -- 43 
Uzbekistan ELIMINATED -- Unlucky to play their first World Cup against a challenging group with Portugal and Colombia. Still a historical first time for them. -- 44 
Panama ELIMINATED -- The first half against England in the last matchday showed how much they improved since their last appearance in 2018. -- 45 
Tunisia ELIMINATED - -Imagine sacking your manager in the middle of the tournament and replacing him with another one with no real expectations of doing better. This is the only reason why they made history at this World Cup. -- 46 
Haiti ELIMINATED -- What could we expect from them against Scotland, Brazil and Morocco? They did what they were able to do and we couldn't ask for more. A great story that will remain in our memory forever. -- 47 
Jordan ELIMINATED -- Scoring against Lionel Messi's Argentina will forever remain one of the greatest moments in this team's history and a proud milestone for the country. -- 48 
Curacao ELIMINATED -- A great story with no fairytale ending. They scored their first-ever World Cup goal and even drew against Ecuador. Still a historical month for them. 9 Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments 
