A total of five nations have already been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup after the first two rounds of group stage fixtures.
- Eliminated teams: Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Panama.
- Haiti exit confirmed after losses to Scotland and Brazil; first World Cup since 1974.
- Turkey is the first European nation eliminated after successive defeats to Australia and Paraguay.
- Tunisia are the only African nation guaranteed to exit; suffered four-goal defeats to Sweden and Japan.
- The tournament now uses head-to-head records as the primary tiebreaker instead of goal difference.
Of the 48 nations competing, 16 will be eliminated by the time the group stage is concluded in the early hours of Sunday morning (BST).
Five nations which have lost both of their opening group stage matches have been eliminated.
All teams finishing bottom of their group will depart at the end of the group stage, as well as the four third-placed nations with the worst group stage records.
From Group C, Haiti’s exit from their first World Cup since 1974 has been confirmed after losses against Scotland and Brazil.
Turkey are the first European nation whose exit has been confirmed following successive defeats to Australia and Paraguay.
Tunisia are the only African nation guaranteed to exit at the group stage at present. They have suffered four-goal defeats to both Sweden and Japan so far.
Tournament debutants Jordan are the only Asian nation already mathematically guaranteed to not advance past the group stage.
In England’s Group L, Panama have had an early exit confirmed after 1-0 defeats to Ghana and Croatia.
A format change to this World Cup means head-to-head records instead of goal difference are the primary tiebreaker for countries level on points.
Full list of teams who have been eliminated from 2026 World Cup
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Haiti
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Turkey
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Tunisia
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Jordan
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Panama
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
