WC26 Daily Hub · Group Stage · June 11–27

The 26 Standings

Vol. I — No. 8 Thursday, June 18, 2026 One edition per ET date

26 of 72 group-stage matches played

The Morning After

Overnight — Wednesday, June 17

Full record — every call and pick, graded →

Today

Thursday, June 18 · 4 matches

Eight days in, a third of the group stage complete, and Thursday offers a concentrated dose of consequential football across two groups that could not look more different from each other. Group A already has a shape: Mexico and South Korea sit level on three points apiece while Czechia and South Africa have yet to score a point between them, so the noon kickoff in that group carries real urgency for both sides. The model favors Czechia at 64 percent, a margin substantial enough to feel meaningful, and the evening closer — Mexico against South Korea — is closer to a coin flip with genuine tactical stakes, though the recorded interest there is in the match producing goals rather than any particular winner.

Group B, by contrast, is a four-way tie at one point with identical goal differences, which makes both afternoon fixtures genuinely hard to call at the standings level even if the win-probability numbers lean heavily toward Switzerland and Canada. On the third-place cutline, eighth place currently belongs to Ecuador on zero points and minus-one goal difference, with Panama directly behind on the same figures — a reminder that even a draw today can carry a side meaningfully toward safety.

— the morning line, generated from the day's data

The Tables

Twelve Groups

Top two in each group advance. Shaded zones read the table as it stands — nothing is decided until the math says so.

Group A3/6 played

Group A standings after 3 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Mexico† won, not yet played, not yet played 2 +2 3
2 South Korea† won, not yet played, not yet played 2 +1 3
3 Czechia‡ lost, drew, not yet played 2 -1 1
4 South Africa‡ lost, drew, not yet played 1 -2 1
  • † overall goal difference/goals separate Mexico / South Korea (level on points and head-to-head).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Czechia / South Africa (level on points and head-to-head).

Group B3/6 played

Group B standings after 3 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Switzerland drew, won, not yet played 5 +3 4
2 Canada†‡ drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
3 Bosnia and Herzegovina†‡ drew, lost, not yet played 2 -3 1
4 Qatar† drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
  • † head-to-head (its points, then goal difference, then goals) separates Bosnia and Herzegovina / Canada / Qatar (level on points).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Bosnia and Herzegovina / Canada (level on points and head-to-head).

Group C2/6 played

Group C standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Scotland won, not yet played, not yet played 1 +1 3
2 Brazil† drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
3 Morocco† drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
4 Haiti lost, not yet played, not yet played 0 -1 0
  • † Brazil / Morocco level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.

Group D2/6 played

Group D standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 United States† won, not yet played, not yet played 4 +3 3
2 Australia† won, not yet played, not yet played 2 +2 3
3 Türkiye‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 0 -2 0
4 Paraguay‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -3 0
  • † overall goal difference/goals separate Australia / United States (level on points and head-to-head).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Paraguay / Türkiye (level on points and head-to-head).

Group E2/6 played

Group E standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Germany† won, not yet played, not yet played 7 +6 3
2 Côte d'Ivoire† won, not yet played, not yet played 1 +1 3
3 Ecuador‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 0 -1 0
4 Curaçao‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -6 0
  • † overall goal difference/goals separate Côte d'Ivoire / Germany (level on points and head-to-head).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Curaçao / Ecuador (level on points and head-to-head).

Group F2/6 played

Group F standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Sweden won, not yet played, not yet played 5 +4 3
2 Japan† drew, not yet played, not yet played 2 0 1
3 Netherlands† drew, not yet played, not yet played 2 0 1
4 Tunisia lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -4 0
  • † Japan / Netherlands level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.

Group G2/6 played

Group G standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Iran†‡ drew, not yet played, not yet played 2 0 1
2 New Zealand†‡ drew, not yet played, not yet played 2 0 1
3 Belgium†§ drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
4 Egypt†§ drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
  • † head-to-head (its points, then goal difference, then goals) separates Belgium / Egypt / Iran / New Zealand (level on points).
  • ‡ Iran / New Zealand level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.
  • § Belgium / Egypt level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.

Group H2/6 played

Group H standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Saudi Arabia†‡ drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
2 Uruguay†‡ drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
3 Cape Verde†§ drew, not yet played, not yet played 0 0 1
4 Spain†§ drew, not yet played, not yet played 0 0 1
  • † head-to-head (its points, then goal difference, then goals) separates Cape Verde / Saudi Arabia / Spain / Uruguay (level on points).
  • ‡ Saudi Arabia / Uruguay level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.
  • § Cape Verde / Spain level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.

Group I2/6 played

Group I standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Norway† won, not yet played, not yet played 4 +3 3
2 France† won, not yet played, not yet played 3 +2 3
3 Senegal‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -2 0
4 Iraq‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -3 0
  • † overall goal difference/goals separate France / Norway (level on points and head-to-head).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Iraq / Senegal (level on points and head-to-head).

Group J2/6 played

Group J standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Argentina† won, not yet played, not yet played 3 +3 3
2 Austria† won, not yet played, not yet played 3 +2 3
3 Jordan‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -2 0
4 Algeria‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 0 -3 0
  • † overall goal difference/goals separate Argentina / Austria (level on points and head-to-head).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Algeria / Jordan (level on points and head-to-head).

Group K2/6 played

Group K standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 Colombia won, not yet played, not yet played 3 +2 3
2 DR Congo† drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
3 Portugal† drew, not yet played, not yet played 1 0 1
4 Uzbekistan lost, not yet played, not yet played 1 -2 0
  • † DR Congo / Portugal level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.

Group L2/6 played

Group L standings after 2 of 6 matches
PositionTeamFormGFGDPts
1 England† won, not yet played, not yet played 4 +2 3
2 Ghana† won, not yet played, not yet played 1 +1 3
3 Panama‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 0 -1 0
4 Croatia‡ lost, not yet played, not yet played 2 -2 0
  • † overall goal difference/goals separate England / Ghana (level on points and head-to-head).
  • ‡ overall goal difference/goals separate Croatia / Panama (level on points and head-to-head).
The Cutline

Third-Place Race

The best eight third-placed teams also advance to the Round of 32. The dashed line is the cut.

Third-place ranking across all groups; the best 8 advance
RankTeamGrpW-D-LGFGDPtsQualifying
1 Netherlands F 0-1-0 2 0 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
2 Belgium† G 0-1-0 1 0 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
3 Morocco† C 0-1-0 1 0 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
4 Portugal† K 0-1-0 1 0 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
5 Cape Verde H 0-1-0 0 0 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
6 Czechia A 0-1-1 2 -1 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
7 Bosnia and Herzegovina B 0-1-1 2 -3 1 ✓ qualifying as it stands
8 Ecuador‡ E 0-0-1 0 -1 0 ✓ qualifying as it stands
  the cutline — top 8 advance
9 Panama‡ L 0-0-1 0 -1 0 out as it stands
10 Jordan§ J 0-0-1 1 -2 0 out as it stands
11 Senegal§ I 0-0-1 1 -2 0 out as it stands
12 Türkiye D 0-0-1 0 -2 0 out as it stands
  • † Belgium / Morocco / Portugal level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.
  • ‡ Ecuador / Panama level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.
  • § Jordan / Senegal level on all modelled criteria — FIFA World Ranking decides (not modelled here); order provisional, shown alphabetically.