Group stage (11–27 June)
48 teams are drawn into 12 groups of four: Groups A through L. Each team plays the other three in its group exactly once — 72 group-stage matches in total. Wins are worth three points, draws one, losses zero. The top two teams in each group advance automatically (24 teams). The eight best third-placed teams across all twelve groups also advance, producing the 32 teams who play the Round of 32.
FIFA settled on this format in March 2023 after testing a three-team-group simulation against the four-team status quo. The four-team group survived because it preserves the simultaneous-final-match-day rule that makes the group stage genuinely competitive — with three-team groups, the team that played first would always know exactly what result it needed to advance, opening the door to collusion.
Tiebreakers, in order
When two or more teams finish a group on the same number of points, the order is decided by:
- Goal difference across all group matches
- Total goals scored across all group matches
- Head-to-head points between the tied teams
- Head-to-head goal difference between the tied teams
- Head-to-head goals scored between the tied teams
- Fair-play points (a deduction system for yellow and red cards)
- Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee
The live group standings on this site apply rules 1, 2 and 6 automatically in real time. Head-to-head results are applied after the final round of group matches, which is when they can be evaluated correctly.
Best third-placed teams
All twelve third-placed finishers are ranked against each other using the same hierarchy — points, goal difference, goals scored, fair play. The top eight advance to the Round of 32 and are slotted into the bracket positions FIFA designated when the draw was made. The four eliminated third-placed teams go home with the consolation that their fate was decided by a transparent table, not by a coin toss.
Knockout rounds (28 June – 19 July)
- Round of 32 — 16 matches across six days, the entirely new round
- Round of 16 — 8 matches, the traditional first knockout round
- Quarter-finals — 4 matches across three days
- Semi-finals — 2 matches on consecutive days
- Third-place play-off — 1 match in Miami
- Final — 1 match at MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey
Every knockout match that is level after 90 minutes goes to two 15-minute periods of extra time, then to a penalty shoot-out if still level. There is no "golden goal" or silver-goal rule.
Squad sizes and subs
Each squad consists of 26 outfield players including at least three goalkeepers — the same expanded size first introduced for the pandemic-affected Euro 2020 and retained ever since. Teams are allowed five substitutions in regulation, plus a sixth if a match goes to extra time. The concussion-substitute protocol allows one additional permanent substitution per team per match, outside the normal five-sub allowance.