The path to the World Cup final on 19 July is starting to take shape as the last round of group fixtures begins, and it could set up a historic last-16 meeting between England and Scotland in Mexico City on 6 July.
England, sitting top of Group L, and Scotland, who finished third in Group C, are on the same side of the knockout bracket. But both must first win their last-32 ties — and Scotland’s hopes of even reaching that stage hang by a thread after a 3-0 defeat by Brazil left them relying on a place among the eight best third-placed teams.
“England and Scotland could meet in last 16 if Scotland qualifies as best third-placed team after Brazil defeat.”
With 32 of the record 48 teams advancing to the knockout rounds, the competition for those third‑placed spots is fierce. The top two from each of the 12 groups go through automatically, while the remaining eight slots go to the third‑placed sides with the best records. If teams are level on points, head‑to‑head results come first, followed by goal difference, goals scored, Fifa’s Team Conduct Score (a disciplinary metric for red and yellow cards), and finally whoever had the higher Fifa ranking in June’s published update.
Co‑hosts Mexico became the first nation to qualify, winning Group A with a 100% record. El Tri will host a third‑placed team from Group C, E, F, H or I in the last 32 on Tuesday. South Africa, meanwhile, beat South Korea 1‑0 in their final group game to climb into second place and reach the knockout stage for the first time. They will play Canada in Los Angeles on Monday. That result left South Korea third with three points, and they must wait to see if that is enough to send them through. Czech Republic finished bottom of the group with one point.
Switzerland won Group B on seven points after a 2‑1 victory over Canada, clinching a last‑32 tie against a third‑placed team. The Swiss will now wait to discover their opponent as the final group fixtures play out across three host countries and four time zones.
For Scotland, the equation is simple but painful: they need results elsewhere to fall their way if they are to extend their tournament and keep alive the prospect of a first‑ever World Cup meeting with England in the knockout rounds.