All FIFA World Cup groups and knockout stages explained

England and Scotland will fly the flag for the UK, having both qualified for the 2026 tournament. The two teams will be in different groups, so it's unknown if they'll face each other in a match yet. With 104 matches to watch, you might wonder which teams are in each group and how the knockout stages work – here's what we know. All the World Cup groups for 2026 Here are all the teams playing in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and which groups they are in. Scotland are in Group C while England are in Group L. Therefore, Scotland will play group games against Brazil, Morocco and Haiti while England will face Croatia, Ghana and Panama. Group A: Mexico South Africa Korea Republic Czechia Group B: Canada Bosnia and Herzegovina Qatar Switzerland Group C: Brazil Morocco Haiti Scotland Group D: USA Paraguay Australia Türkiye Our #ThreeLions skipper is feeling good! 🔋 — England (@England) June 7, 2026 Group E: Germany Curaçao Côte d'Ivoire Ecuador Group F: Netherlands Japan Sweden Tunisia Group G: Belgium Egypt IR Iran New Zealand Group H: Spain Cabo Verde Saudi Arabia Uruguay Group I: France Senegal Iraq Norway Group J: Argentina Algeria Austria Jordan Group K: Portugal Congo DR Uzbekistan Colombia Group L: England Croatia Ghana Panama How do the knockout stages work for the World Cup 2026? After the group stages, successful teams go on to play against teams from other groups in the knockouts. The final group games will be played on Saturday, June 27, with the first knockout fixture taking place on Sunday, June 28. Here are the World Cup knockout fixtures – round of 32: June 28 Group A runners-up v Group B runners-up (match 73) June 29 Group E winners v Group A/B/C/D/F third place (match 74) Group F winners v Group C runners-up (match 75) Group C winners v Group F runners-up (match 76) June 30 Group I winners v Group C/D/F/G/H third place (match 77) Group E runners-up v Group I runners-up (match 78) Group A winners v Group C/E/F/H/I third place (match 79) July 1 Group L winners v Group E/H/I/J/K third place (match 80) Group D winners v Group B/E/F/I/J third place (match 81) Group G winners v Group A/E/H/I/J third place (match 82) July 2 Group K runners-up v Group L runners-up (match 83) Group H winners v Group J runners-up (match 84) Group B winners v Group E/F/G/I/J third place (match 85) Bringing good energy to training 🤩 pic.twitter.com/9pPkzg3Pbc — England (@England) June 5, 2026 July 3 Group J winners v Group H runners-up (match 86) Group K winners v Group D/E/I/J/L third place (match 87) Group D runners-up v Group G runners-up (match 88) Here are the World Cup knockout fixtures – round of 16: July 4 Winner match 74 v winner match 77 (match 89) Winner match 73 v winner match 75 (match 90) July 5 Winner match 76 v winner match 78 (match 91) Winner match 79 v winner match 80 (match 92) July 6 Winner match 83 v winner match 84 (match 93) Winner match 81 v winner match 82 (match 94) July 7 Winner match 86 v winner match 88 (match 95) Winner match 85 v winner match 87 (match 96) Here are the World Cup knockout fixtures – quarter-final: July 9 Winner match 89 v winner match 90 (match 97) July 10 Winner match 93 v winner match 94 (match 98) July 11 Winner match 91 v winner match 92 (match 99) Winner match 95 v winner match 96 (match 100) Here are the World Cup knockout fixtures – semi-final: July 14 Winner match 97 v winner match 98 (match 101) July 15 Winner match 99 v winner match 100 (match 102) Here is the World Cup knockout fixture – bronze final: July 18 Runner-up match 101 v runner-up match 102 (match 103) Here is the World Cup knockout fixture – final: July 19 Winner match 101 v winner match 102 (match 104) How many World Cup fixtures do you plan to watch this year? Tell us in the comments.