FIFA World Cup Standings

About the FIFA World Cup

This page sets out the standings for the FIFA World Cup, with the full group tables for the most recent tournament shown below. The 2026 finals — co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and the first edition with 48 teams — finished on 19 July 2026, when Spain beat Argentina 1–0 after extra time to take its second world title. The table below lists all 12 groups and where each of the 48 nations finished; the rest of the page explains how the format worked, how teams advanced from the groups, how New Zealand’s All Whites got on, and what is confirmed for 2030.

The 2026 World Cup at a glance

The 2026 finals were the biggest in the tournament’s history: 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities across three countries. Spain were crowned champions, with Argentina runners-up, England third and France fourth. The quick facts below summarise the headline results.

How the 48-team group stage worked

The 48 teams were drawn into 12 groups of four, labelled A to L. Every team played the other three in its group once, earning three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. Teams were then ranked within each group on points, with goal difference and goals scored used to separate any that finished level. If you are new to these columns, our guide on how to read a sports standings table walks through each one, and the standings table abbreviations glossary explains what P, W, D, L, GD and Pts mean.

Thirty-two teams reached the knockout stage: the top two from every group (24 teams) plus the eight best third-placed teams. That is a change from the old 32-team format, which sent only the top two from eight groups through. The 32 qualifiers then played a straight knockout — a Round of 32, Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, a third-place play-off and the final.

How the best third-placed teams were ranked

With 12 groups there were 12 third-placed teams but only eight knockout places left for them, so FIFA ranked all 12 against each other. They were ordered first on points, then goal difference, then goals scored, then a disciplinary (fair-play) score, and finally the drawing of lots if teams were still level. The eight highest-ranked went through and the bottom four went home. New Zealand’s Group G showed how tight this can be: Iran finished third on three points but still missed the cut. Our explainer on how points and tiebreakers decide the order covers these rules in more detail.

The knockout stage and the 2026 champions

Once the Round of 32 began, a single defeat ended a team’s tournament. The four semi-finalists were Spain, Argentina, France and England. Spain beat Belgium in the quarter-finals and France in the semi-finals, while Argentina came through the other half of the draw to set up the final between the two. Spain won it 1–0 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, substitute Ferran Torres scoring the only goal in the 106th minute of extra time. The results from the quarter-finals onwards are below.

New Zealand’s 2026 World Cup campaign

New Zealand’s All Whites reached the finals through Oceania, which was given a guaranteed direct place at a World Cup for the first time in 2026. They were drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and Iran. The All Whites opened with a 2–2 draw against Iran — Elijah Just scoring both goals — before losing 3–1 to Egypt and 5–1 to Belgium. They finished fourth on one point and were eliminated in the group stage; the Belgium defeat was New Zealand’s first at a World Cup since 2010. For how the country’s other codes rank their teams, see our overview of New Zealand’s main competitions.

How New Zealanders followed the tournament

TVNZ held the free-to-air and streaming rights to the 2026 World Cup in New Zealand, having taken over from Sky. Twenty-two matches — including the opening game and the final — were shown free on TVNZ 1 and the TVNZ+ streaming service, and every All Whites match was free as well; the All Whites’ opener against Iran kicked off at 1pm NZST (New Zealand Standard Time, the country’s winter time). Viewers who wanted all 104 games could buy a one-off TVNZ+ Event Pass for NZ$44.95. Because the finals were played in North America, most kick-offs fell in the early morning or around midday New Zealand time. Broadcast rights can move between tournaments, so for any future World Cup it is worth checking TVNZ or FIFA for the current New Zealand broadcaster.

“FIFA standings” and the FIFA World Ranking are not the same

“FIFA standings” can mean two different things. During a World Cup it usually means the tournament standings — the group tables on this page, which rank teams by the points they win in their matches. The FIFA World Ranking is something else: it is the official points-based ranking of national teams (formally the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking), calculated with an Elo-style formula from every international result and updated roughly once a month. The world ranking helps set the seeding pots for the World Cup draw, but it is not a league table and does not change based on who tops a group.

Looking ahead to the 2030 World Cup

The next World Cup, in 2030, will mark 100 years since the first tournament in Uruguay in 1930. FIFA has confirmed Morocco, Portugal and Spain as the main hosts, with three one-off centenary opening matches staged in South America — one each in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay on 8–9 June 2030 — before the tournament moves to the three main host nations from 13–14 June. Those six host countries have already qualified automatically: Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The remaining 42 places will be decided through each confederation’s qualifying competition over the next few years. The 2030 finals are currently set to keep the 48-team format used in 2026, although FIFA has said a proposal to expand to 64 teams will be discussed.

Frequently asked questions

Who won the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Spain won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, beating Argentina 1–0 after extra time in the final on 19 July 2026. It was Spain’s second world title, after its first in 2010.

How did the 48-team World Cup format work?

The 48 teams were split into 12 groups of four. The top two from each group, plus the eight best third-placed teams, advanced — 32 in all — to a knockout stage that ran from the Round of 32 through to the final, for 104 matches in total.

How did New Zealand do at the 2026 World Cup?

New Zealand finished fourth in Group G with one point, from a 2–2 draw with Iran and defeats to Egypt (1–3) and Belgium (1–5). The All Whites were eliminated in the group stage.

Is “FIFA standings” the same as the FIFA World Ranking?

No. World Cup standings are the group tables that rank teams by match points during the tournament. The FIFA World Ranking is a separate points-based ranking of all national teams, updated about once a month and used mainly for seeding draws.

Where will the 2030 World Cup be held?

The 2030 World Cup will be hosted mainly by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with three centenary opening matches played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark 100 years since the 1930 tournament.