Netherlands, Japan and Sweden have confirmed their places in the World Cup 2026 round of 32, the tournament's expanded group stage crystallising sharply on matchday three. Japan and Sweden drew 1-1 at Dallas Stadium (Daichi Maeda answered by Anthony Elanga, both sides advancing from Group F), while in Los Angeles, Kaan Ayhan's injury-time goal completed a 3-2 Turkey victory over the United States that produced maximum drama and zero salvation. The USA progress as Group D winners on six points; Turkey, on three, are eliminated.
Netherlands, Japan and Sweden have all confirmed their round-of-32 places from Group F
The 1-1 draw at Dallas Stadium (70,137 in attendance) settled Group F's business without any permutation-checking required. Maeda opened the scoring in the 56th minute; Elanga replied for Sweden six minutes later. The scoreline suited both nations perfectly and neither side needed to push further. Netherlands, playing Tunisia in the group's concurrent matchday-three fixture, also confirmed their advancement per Sky Sports live data, making Group F one of the cleaner resolved pools of the tournament so far.
In the expanded 48-team format, the group stage feeds into a round of 32 rather than a round of 16, a structural change that opens an extra pathway for third-placed sides. Our group standings and third-place rules explainer from 25 June covers that mechanism in full, including which tiebreakers apply when sides finish level on points across different groups. All three of Group F's confirmed qualifiers appear to have secured top-two finishes, sparing them from the third-place table anxiety entirely.
Kaan Ayhan's last-kick goal gave Turkey the match but not the campaign in Group D
The script in Los Angeles had everything except a happy ending for Turkey. Auston Trusty put the USA in front after just three minutes; Arda Güler equalised in the 10th; Hakan Kökçü gave Turkey the lead by the 31st. Christian Berhalter levelled in the 49th minute, and the match appeared to be heading for a share of the spoils. Ayhan had other ideas, bundling home the winner in the 90th-plus-eighth minute to complete a feverish result that sent the Turkish support in Los Angeles into celebrations the wider tournament context could not justify.
Turkey entered the final matchday fourth in Group D, needing a win and a significant swing in results from Australia's concurrent fixture. Neither arrived in the required combination. They finish the group stage on three points, all earned in this final fixture, and exit a Group D campaign that looked genuinely competitive on paper before the tournament began, a reminder that pre-tournament credentials count for nothing without the points to back them up in the opening fixtures.
"I think the momentum will be there for sure. Everybody wants to go into the game winning the previous game. Obviously we didn't do that tonight, but I think that's going to motivate us even more." — Weston McKennie, USA midfielder, post-match (via The Guardian)
The USA advance as Group D winners on six points despite fielding nine changes in Los Angeles
Context softens the 2-3 defeat considerably. Gregg Berhalter made nine changes for this fixture, having already secured top spot before kick-off, with Christian Pulisic introduced later rather than leading the line from the start. When Trusty rolled his ankle and was visibly hampered, a makeshift defence faced a Turkey side operating with genuine urgency and nothing to lose. The Guardian's live coverage noted the USA were effectively playing as "10.5 men" during extended passages of the second half.
Six points and a first-place finish is the bottom line. Yellow-card accumulations remain clean for the knockout rounds. How the United States are drawn in the round of 32 will depend on the full resolution of all twelve groups, several of which are still live. England, sweating on the fitness of Reece James and Declan Rice ahead of Saturday's 22:00 BST assignment against Panama, are among the sides still wrapping up their group-stage business as the matchday continues across three time zones.
- Netherlands (Group F, through). Confirmed via Sky Sports live data during the concurrent Tunisia fixture; their advancement is not in doubt, with the exact group record pending official confirmation.
- Japan (Group F, through). Drew 1-1 with Sweden at a 70,137-strong Dallas Stadium; Maeda's 56th-minute opener sufficient to clinch their knockout-stage place regardless of the final shape of the result.
- Sweden (Group F, through). Elanga's 62nd-minute equaliser secured the draw and Sweden's progression, a composed finish to a Group F campaign that never needed to be dramatic.
- USA (Group D, 1st place, 6 pts, through). Won the group despite a 2-3 loss played with a heavily rotated XI; Trusty's ankle is the one physical concern heading into the bracket.
Paraguay's minus-two goal difference is the number that will define Group D's third-place fate
| Team | Pts | GD | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 6 | TBC | Through — group winners |
| Australia | 4 | 0 | Through — runners-up |
| Paraguay | 4 | -2 | 3rd — awaiting third-place rankings |
| Turkey | 3 | TBC | Eliminated — 4th |
Australia are confirmed runners-up on four points with a goal difference of zero; they join the USA in the round of 32. Paraguay, level on points with Australia but at minus two, hold third place in Group D — a position that is not automatically an elimination slot in this format. The eight best third-placed sides across the twelve groups advance, and four points is generally considered a viable total, but Paraguay's goal difference places them towards the vulnerable end of the cross-group standings. The Guardian's post-match third-place projection indicated several other sides are tracking comparable or better numbers, making their passage far from certain. Our Brazil vs Scotland analysis from 25 June illustrates how quickly the third-place picture can shift as multiple groups conclude simultaneously.
The next thing to watch is the full third-place standings table once all twelve groups have completed matchday three. Paraguay's minus-two goal difference is the metric on which their tournament survival will hinge — and how it stacks up against the third-placed sides still playing in live groups will determine whether Group D contributes two qualifiers or three to the round of 32. Turkey's exit is settled. Very little else on this matchday is.
