ATLANTA (AP) — The World Cup has reached that stage when mental gymnastics come into play to determine who's in, who's out and what's needed to advance to the next round.
This year's supersized tournament, up from 32 teams to 48, has changed the format of the competition and how teams are separated by tiebreakers in the group phase.
For instance, there's an extra knockout round of 32 teams, where as previously the group phase was immediately followed by a round of 16.
There are also lifelines for teams to advance if they miss out on the top two places in their respective groups.
Here's what to know about qualification for the round of 32.
The expanded tournament means there are more groups and more games than ever before at a World Cup. By the time the group phase is completed 72 matches will have been played to eliminate 16 teams.
The top two in each of the 12 groups advance automatically and then there are places for the eight best third-placed teams.
It is the first time since 1994, when only 24 teams competed, that there has been a lifeline for third-placed teams.
For the first time at a World Cup, FIFA will prioritize head-to-head results if two or more teams are tied on points.
The steps to determine the final placings if a tiebreaker is needed will be deployed in the following order:
— Head-to-head results between the teams concerned.
— Goal difference in the games between the teams concerned.
— Highest number of goals scored in those games.
— Overall goal difference in all group games.
— Overall highest number of goals scored in the group.
— The fewest number of red or yellow cards (including team officials) received during the group phase.
— FIFA ranking.
Coaches, players and fans will be assessing what's required to make the cut as one of the eight best third-placed teams. This is where goal difference is likely to be crucial.
For instance, Scotland’s chances of advancing from the group stage for the first time in its history may depend on it avoiding a heavy loss against Brazil. It won its first match against Haiti and was then beaten by Morocco.
The third-placed teams with the highest number of points advance, but if teams are level on points, goal difference is the primary tiebreaker, followed by goals scored, disciplinary record (red and yellow cards) and finally FIFA ranking.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
A giant world trophy is displayed during the opening ceremony before the World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A fan holds up a replica of the World Cup trophy at a fan festival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Thursday, June 11, 2026, during a live broadcast of the World Cup soccer match between Mexico and South Africa. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
PARIS (AP) — Millions of people across France woke up drenched in sweat on Tuesday after another night of scorching heat, with most of the population exposed to extreme and exceptional temperatures.
Temperatures will remain exceptionally high around the clock as the national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments under a red heat wave alert. That is about half of the country.
In a country without widespread air-conditioning, schools, trains and sporting events remain impacted, while some 20 drowning deaths have been reported since the weekend.
Human-caused climate change is tied to increasingly extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years should shatter more heat records.
“Sunshine continues to dominate across France, maintaining oppressive and exhausting heat throughout the country,” Meteo France said. Extreme conditions are expected to last at least until the end of the week, with daytime highs above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many towns.
“Further record-breaking temperatures are expected, including some that could surpass all previous records, regardless of the time of year,” Meteo France said.
The heat wave is exceptionally intense, coming very early in the summer, “but with a still uncertain duration,” the weather service said. It has already been compared to the August 2003 heat wave, when the highest temperatures in over half a century caused an estimated 15,000 deaths, many of them among older people in apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning.
France introduced a heat watch warning system after that heat wave.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, and most of those deaths were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month. The above-average temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.
Across the English Channel, the Met Office issued a red extreme heat warning for Wednesday and Thursday, with forecasts suggesting June’s all-time daily temperature record could be broken.
Temperatures of around 37°C (98.6 F) are expected in southern England, with up to 35°C (95 F) in southeast Wales. The peak of the heatwave is now forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, when highs could reach at least 39°C (102.2 F). Conditions are expected to ease by Friday, the weather agency said.
The EU monitoring agency found that in Europe and globally, 2024 was the hottest year on record and the continent experienced its second-highest number of “heat stress” days.
Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.
This version corrects the name of the body of water between France and the U.K. to the “English Channel”
People cool off in a water spray at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
A family walks through a cooling water spray at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
A man shields himself from the sun with a scarf as he walks in the garden of the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris, during a heat wave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Tourists with an umbrella take a photo in Paris, as France is enduring a grueling heat wave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena )
A drugstore sign shows the temperature 43 degrees Celsius (109,4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Rennes, western France, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)
