World Cup Field Narrows to Two
Spain and Argentina are the only nations still alive at the 2026 World Cup. France and England became the latest sides to exit after semi-final defeats, and they will now face each other in the third place play-off on Saturday night.
The two finalists booked their places by winning their semi-finals and will meet in the final on Sunday evening. Of the 48 nations that began the tournament, 46 have now been eliminated.
Semi-Final Results
Anthony Gordon’s goal was not enough for England as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday. France also lost its semi-final, leaving only the two finalists remaining.
Teams Out Before the Semi-Finals
Before France and England fell, 44 nations had already been eliminated. From the first 16 to exit, 12 finished bottom of their groups as fourth-placed sides.
Those 12 were the Czech Republic, Qatar, Haiti, Turkey, Curacao, Tunisia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Uzbekistan and Panama. Iran, South Korea, Scotland and Uruguay were the four third-placed sides with the worst group-stage records to go out.
Sixteen teams departed after losing in the last 32: South Africa, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Ivory Coast, Sweden, Ecuador, DR Congo, Senegal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Austria, Cape Verde, Australia, Algeria and Ghana. Eight nations exited in the last 16, with Canada, Paraguay, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, the United States, Egypt and Colombia departing then.
Morocco, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland lost their quarter-final matches to round out the 44 sides eliminated before the semi-finals.