The last group round of the World Championship is coming soon. Then it will all be clear which teams will advance from the first and second places, and which third places will have to wait for further developments. A particularly interesting scenario may unfold in the case of Bosnia and Scotland, if, of course, these teams advance to the knockout phase. As you know, the 2026 World Championships will have 48 participants for the first time in history. After the group stage, there will be 32 teams: 12 group winners, 12 runners-up and 8 best 3rd-placed teams. The table below shows the current ranking of the best 3rd-placed teams in the 2026 World Cup groups:
| Team as No. 3 | Points | Goal balance |
|------------------|---------|---------------|
| Sweden | 3 | 0 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 |
| Croatia | 3 | -1 |
| Algeria | 3 | -2 |
| Paraguay | 3 | -2 |
| Faroe Islands | 2 | 0 |
| Belgium | 2 | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 1 | -1 |
| DR Congo | 1 | -1 |
| Ecuador | 1 | -1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | -3 |
| Senegal | 0 | -3 |
On the night from Wednesday to Thursday (Polish time), Bosna will play against Qatar, and on the night from Thursday to Friday (also Polish time), Scotland will play against Brazil. If they win against Qatar, Bosnia will almost certainly advance to the knockout stage, but in the event of a draw, the situation will be much more complicated. Bosnia would then have 2 points and would have to wait for the results of other teams. However, in the event of a defeat against Brazil, Scotland will be blocked on 3 points and would also have to wait for the results of other teams. And waiting for the results of other teams may be quite long, because for the 3rd place teams in the groups there are scenarios that may only become clear on the night from Saturday to Sunday (Polish time). In the table below I present the matches that will determine whether Scotland and Bosnia will advance to the knockout phase as one of the best 3rd-placed teams:
| Team | Match with | When |
|------------------|-----------------------|---------------------------|
| DR Congo | + Uzbekistan | 24/06/2026 |
| Algeria | + Austria | 24/06/2026 |
If it is clear after these matches that Bosnia or Scotland (or both) are the best 3rd place teams, then they will have to quickly prepare for the knockout round as they may have knockout round matches scheduled as early as Monday.
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