The group phase of the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup is now complete, meaning 16 teams have been eliminated and 32 nations have earned their spots in the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n
Although widening the tournament from 32 to 48 participants has opened the door for more countries to chase football\u2019s biggest prize, the early schedule has already ended the campaigns of a number of sides.<\/p>\n
In terms of early departures, Europe (UEFA) recorded the lowest number of exits among the major confederations. Asia (AFC), however, suffered the most severe blow, with seven of its nine teams eliminated before the knockout stage.<\/p>\n
Below is the complete list of teams knocked out at the group stage, sorted by confederation.<\/p>\n
The AFC brought nine representatives to the tournament, but only Australia and Japan managed to advance to the Round of 32.<\/p>\n
Africa produced one of its strongest World Cup showings, with eight of its nine teams moving on to the knockout phase.<\/p>\n
UEFA arrived at the tournament with a record 16 teams and continues to be the most represented confederation in the Round of 32 after just three nations failed to progress.<\/p>\n
Three CONCACAF countries were eliminated during the group stage, leaving the United States, Canada and Mexico as the confederation\u2019s remaining representatives.<\/p>\n
South America again impressed, with five of its six teams advancing past the group stage.<\/p>\n
New Zealand, the only team from Oceania at the tournament, did not make it through to the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n
With 32 teams still competing, UEFA is leading the remaining field with 13 nations, ahead of CAF (eight), CONMEBOL (five), CONCACAF (three) and AFC (two), as the race to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The group phase of the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup is now complete, meaning 16 teams have been eliminated and 32 nations have earned their spots in the knockout rounds. Although widening the tournament from 32 to 48 participants has opened the door for more countries to chase football\u2019s biggest prize, the early schedule has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"World Cup 2026: Group Stage Results, 16 Teams Out","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"World Cup 2026 group stage is over as 16 nations are eliminated, while 32 teams advance\u2014see the key results and knockout-round qua","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n