Ranking the 1st-12th Place Finishers Quiz

Spain started out with a surprising draw against debutantes Cape Verde. Despite Spain dominating play the Cape Verde keeper made seven saves and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. This turned out to be a harbinger of the end of the tournament. Spain was able to easily beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 in their second outing and then scored late in the first half to beat Uruguay 1-0 and win the group. Despite not winning the opener they did not allow a goal in the group stage.

Spain played Austria in the first round of the knockouts and easily handled the Austrians 3-0. Austria had come out of the same group as Argentina who had won their meeting by a 2-0 score. In the first round of the knockout Argentina played the same Cape Verde that Spain hadn't been able to beat. Although Argentina scored against Cape Verde, they too were tied at the end of regulation, this time 1-1. Argentina ultimately won 3-2 but only after 30 minutes of extra time. Austria and Cape Verde were the only common opponents for the two teams that eventually made the finals.

In the round of 16 Spain played rivals and neighbors Portugal. The game appeared to be another scoreless draw until the first minute of stoppage time when Spain final broke through to win 1-0. This was Spain's fifth straight shutout.

In the quarterfinals Spain went up against Belgium. This time Spain was able to score midway through the first half but their defense finally failed shortly before halftime and gave up their first and only goal of the tournament to go into the locker room tied at one apiece. This time Spain broke the deadlock just before stoppage time to win 2-1 and move on to the semifinals.

Spain's semifinal opponent was another neighbor, France, a team that had won in the semifinals in the previous two World Cups and was ranked third in the world just behind Spain. France proved no match for Spain who converted a penalty kick shortly before the first half hydration break and then added a second in the early part of the second half to win comfortably 2-0.

In the final Spain played defending Champions Argentina who had survived several scares in the knockout rounds. Once again, Spain dominated the game with over twice as many completed passes and 65% possession against one of the top teams in the world. They ended the game with twenty shots including twelve on target but were unable to score in regulation and the game went to 30 minutes of added extra time. During stoppage time of regulation one of the Argentina players picked up a second yellow card so Spain played the rest of the game with a man advantage. Just after the start of the second half of extra time Spain took the last of their twenty shots and this one finally went in. Although Argentina was able to have a bit more possession once they trailed they still weren't able to put a shot on target and when the final whistle blew Spain had won 1-0 and were world champions.

This was Spain's seventeenth World Cup having qualified every time since 1978. This was their second championship with their first coming in 2010. Those are the only two times that Spain advanced out of the quarterfinals although they did finish in fourth place in 1950. That year the final round was a group stage where Spain finished last of the four teams in the final group.

Defending champions Argentina dominated in the group stage. They started off with a 3-0 win over Algeria and followed it up with a 2-0 win over Austria. This clinched first place in the group with one game to go so in the final group game against Jordan they rested most of their starters. Even with their backups they were still able to cruise to a comfortable 3-1 win.

In the first round of the knockouts they played Cape Verde, the second smallest country to ever play in the World Cup and the smallest to make the knockout round. Argentina took the lead midway through the first half, but the minnows from Cape Verde tied it up in the second half. Regulation ended in 1-1, so the two teams played 30 minutes of extra time. Once again Argentina scored first just 2 minutes into extra time but Cape Verde was able to tie things up later in the first half of extra time. Finally, in the 111th minute Argentina was able to score and go ahead for good and survive with a 3-2 win.

In the round of 16 Argentina was again heavily favored but again struggled, this time against Egypt. Argentina gave up a goal after 15 minutes and then midway through the second half gave up another to trail 2-0. Finally in the 79th minute Argentina got one back and then 4 minutes later were able to tie the game up. With the momentum on their side they managed to score the winning goal early in stoppage time and hang on for another 3-2 win.

Argentina went up against Switzerland in the quarterfinals and again the game was closer than expected. While Argentina scored 10 minutes in and dominated the first half they were unable to increase their lead. In the second half Switzerland grew into the game and leveled the game in the 67th minute. But 5 minutes later the game changed again when one of the Swiss players received a second yellow card and was sent off. Even with the man advantage Argentina was unable to capitalize and the game went to extra time. Argentina was finally able to break the deadlock during the second half of extra time against the undermanned Swiss and added another goal in stoppage time to win 3-1.

In the semifinals Argentina went up against their old foes England - the team faced each other for the sixth time in World Cup play making it the third most frequent matchup in World Cup history (behind Germany v Argentina and Brazil v Sweden, each seven times). Going into the World Cup Argentina was ranked 1st and England 4th so a semifinal meeting was not unexpected. While England appeared the stronger team early no one was able to score until England broke through in the 55th minute. At that point the game changed as England dropped into a defensive shell and barely made any offensive moves, just clearing the ball downfield when they gained possession. That is not a winning strategy against Argentina who was able to score in the 85th minute and in stoppage time to pull out the 2-1 win and head to their second straight final.

For the first time at the 2026 tournament Argentina was not a strong favorite going into the final, as Spain was ranked 2nd coming in and had looked the more comfortable team (not having to go to added extra time in any of their prior knockout games). Argentina showed very little offense throughout the final, not even registering a shot, much less a shot on goal, through the 90 minutes of regulation time. Fortunately, their goalkeeper ended up setting a new finals record with eleven saves in the match and the game remained scoreless. In the 82nd minute one of the Argentina players took a yellow card for dissent. This proved costly as he then picked up another yellow during stoppage time and was sent off, forcing Argentina to play a man short for the rest of the game.

The Argentine keeper's stellar play forced the game into 30 minutes of extra time. Argentina was able to withstand the pressure for the first half of extra time but Spain finally broke through about 30 seconds into the second half of extra time. Argentina was able to get a little more possession after going down a goal and finally recorded their first two shots but they still weren't able to put any on target and the game ended as a 1-0 win for Spain leaving Argentina in 2nd place.

This was Argentina's nineteenth World Cup having qualified for every World Cup since 1958 except for 1970. They also played in the first two tournaments in 1930 and 1934. They are three time winners having won at home in 1978 and then again in both 1986 and 2022. This was their fourth runner up finish having also lost the final in 1930, 1990 and 2014. Interestingly they have never lost a semifinal with four wins and two advancements through penalty kick shootouts. In 1978 there were no semifinals as the top eight teams were divided into two groups of four with the group winners advancing to the final. So Argentina has never played for 3rd place.

England opened up against the reigning third place team Croatia. England scored with a penalty kick early in the first half but Croatia came back and tied it later in the half. England took the lead again late in the first half only to see Croatia come back and tie it late in first half stoppage time. Two minutes into the second half England took the lead for good and added a late insurance goal to win 4-2. Their second match was against Ghana and featured much less scoring. As a matter of fact there was no scoring at all and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. In their final match against Panama they faced the only team who hadn't yet scored a goal in the tournament. The first half was the third consecutive scoreless half played by England, but they finally broke through with two goals in 5 minutes midway through the second half. Panama appeared to finally score in stoppage time but the play was ruled offside and England finished up with a 2-0 win and first place in the group.

In the first round of the knockouts England took on Democratic Republic of the Congo. DR Congo surprised everyone with a goal in the 7th minute. England dominated the attack from there but was unable to put the ball into the net until the 75th minute when they drew level. They kept pouring it on and finally got the game winner in the 86th minute to win 2-1 and move on to the round of 16.

In the round of 16 they came up against hosts Mexico who had never lost a game at the Azteca where the game was taking place. The Azteca was also the site of one of the most famous games in history, England's 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Argentina in 1986 where Diego Maradona scored two of the most famous goals ever. After an hour weather delay the game got underway and England opened up with two goals 2 minutes apart late in the first half. Mexico didn't give up and got one back 4 minutes later to make the score 2-1 in England's favor at the break. The game changed drastically early in the second half when one of the England players was given a straight red card for a foul that would also result in a two game suspension rather than the usual one game. Even down a man England was able to draw a penalty kick which they converted. This turned out to be necessary as Mexico received one of their own 9 minutes later and they scored. Fortunately for England they were able to hold on despite playing a man short and won 3-2.

In the quarterfinals England took on Norway. The teams traded first half goals which led to a 1-1 score after 90 minutes of regulation play. In extra time England scored 3 minutes in and were able to hold on for a 2-1 win, their third consecutive one goal win.

England's semifinal opponent was defending champion Argentina. Although England had the better of play in the first half they couldn't score and the two sides were scoreless at halftime. England broke through with a goal 10 minutes into the second half but then appeared to stop playing offense and just sit on the 1-0 lead. This change in tactics did not work as Argentina was able to tie the game late in the second half and then score the game winner in stoppage time to put England on the losing end of another 2-1 score.

The third-place game against France turned into a game where it was clear that most of the players were there to have fun. In a game where no yellow (or red) cards were shown the teams combined for 38 shots, 20 of which were on target. At times players seemed to be congratulating their opponents when goals were scored. England dominated the first half scoring four times and taking a 4-0 lead at halftime. But then in the second half France came roaring back with three goals of their own in the first 21 minutes to make the score 4-3. Things slowed down a bit but then England was awarded a penalty kick in the 87th minute and were able to up their lead to 5-3. France came back in stoppage time to make it 5-4 but then England scored on the last kick of the game to make the final score 6-4 in their favor. It was the highest scoring 3rd place game ever and the highest scoring game in the World Cup since 1982 (Hungary v El Salvador 10-1).

This was England's seventeenth overall and eighth consecutive appearance in the World Cup. They won the World Cup as hosts in 1966 but had never made the finals other than that. In addition to the 3rd place finish in 2026 they finished in 4th place in 1990 and 2018.

Heading into the World Cup France was attempting to become the third country ever to appear in three consecutive finals having won the whole thing in 2018 and finishing as runner up in 2022 (West Germany 1982-1986-1990, and Brazil 1994-1998-2002). They started out as though they meant to make the finals again as they beat Senegal 3-1 in their opener and followed that up with a 3-0 win over Iraq. In their third game both teams were guaranteed to make the knockouts so their opponents, Norway, rested most of their starters. France did not rest many players and were able to cruise to a 4-1 win and finish group play with three wins.

In their first knockout round game they faced Sweden and the game was no contest. After opening the scoring just before halftime, France added two second half goals and cruised to a 3-0 win and a spot in the round of 16. In the round of 16 France took on surprise team Paraguay who had just knocked out Germany. The game was played on a brutally hot 4th of July with a field temperature of 43 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit) in Philadelphia as the USA was celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Although France dominated the play they were unable to score until midway through the second half, when a French player was fouled inside the penalty box and France was awarded a penalty kick. They scored on the penalty and that was the only score in the 1-0 win.

In the quarterfinals France took on Morocco in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal that France won. Once again, the score remained 0-0 into the second half. This time France was able to score twice in 6 minutes to come away with a 2-0 win over the top ranked team from Africa.

France entered the semifinals as the only team that had won their first six games without having to go to added extra time in any of them. They had won by multiple goals in all but one of them, leading by the 70th minute in every game, never trailed and never having given up a tying goal once they got the lead. This game had a different outcome, though, as Spain was awarded a penalty kick midway through the first half, from which they scored, and followed that up with a second goal early in the second half. The final result was a 2-0 Spain win leaving France to face off in the third place game against the loser of the England-Argentina semi-final game.

France's opponent in the third place game was England. Both teams switched out over half of their starting lineups from their semifinal losses and the match ended up a high scoring affair. France had the worst of it in the first half falling behind 4-0, giving up as many goals in one half as they did in the first seven games of the tournament. France came back in the second half, at one point closing the gap to 4-3 before ultimately falling 6-4 and winding up in 4th place in the tournament.

This was France's seventeenth overall and eighth consecutive appearance in the World Cup. They had won the tournament twice, in 1998 and 2018 and finished as runners up in 2006 and 2022. To complete the set, they also had two finishes in both 3rd and 4th place for a total of eight top four finishes.

Norway opened up with a 4-1 win over Iraq and followed that up with a 3-2 win over Senegal. This guaranteed them a spot in the knockouts prior to their match with France but France. Whoever won that match would win the group with France coming out on top in case of a draw as they had a better goal differential. Norway used the fact that they were moving on regardless of the outcome to rest some of their starters even though second place would likely face a tougher draw in the round of 32. Given that France played their starters it was not surprising that Norway lost this match 4-1.

In their first knockout match Norway took on Ivory Coast. Norway took the lead late in the first half but Ivory Coast was able to even things up midway through the second. Then in the 86th minute Norway was able to score and avoid going to extra time pulling out a 2-1 win. In the round of 16 Norway took on five time champions Brazil. The game remained scoreless until the 79th minute when Norway took the lead. They scored another just before stoppage time which was necessary as Brazil earned a penalty 10 minutes into stoppage time and converted to cut Norway's lead to 2-1 which was where the game ended; Norway's second consecutive win by that score. Through this game Norway has never lost to Brazil in either tournament play or friendlies with this being their third win to go along with two draws.

In the quarterfinals Norway took on England. Again, Norway struck first but England was able to equalize in first half stoppage time. No one was able to score in the second half so the game went to extra time. Here England scored 3 minutes into extra time and Norway was unable to equalize; and ended up on the losing end of their third consecutive 2-1 game. The loss left Norway ranked in 5th place with four wins and two losses.

This was Norway's fourth appearance in World Cup and the first since 1998. Making the quarterfinals was their best result as previously they had two round of 16 appearances, one in 1938 and one in 1998 both ending in losses to Italy. Their 1994 appearance was also an interesting one as they were in a group where all four teams finished with one win, one loss, and one draw with all of the non-draws being decided by one goal. Thus all four teams tied on points and goal differential. Unfortunately for Norway they had the lowest scoring games and finished last in the group based on fewest goals scored. Interestingly enough their loss in the 1994 group stage was to Italy meaning that all three losses Norway had suffered in World Cup play prior to 2026 were to Italy.

Belgium did not have a great start to the World Cup when they played Egypt and gave up the opening goal midway through the first half. They equalized in the second half but were unable to get anything more and they started their campaign with a 1-1 draw. Their second game was against Iran and once again the result wasn't as good as they hoped with the game ending in a scoreless draw. Belgium needed a win in their third match against New Zealand to ensure qualification to the knockout round. Belgium was able to score midway through the first half to take a 1-0 lead into halftime before turning on the jets in the second half. They scored twice in just over 20 minutes to extend the lead to 3-0. New Zealand got on the board in the 84th minute but Belgium answered right back two minutes later and added a goal in stoppage time for good measure to win 5-1. This meant that not only did they qualify for the knockouts but based on a superior goal differential compared to Egypt they won the group.

In their first knockout game they faced Senegal, the team that qualified in eighth among third place teams. Surprisingly Senegal was able to get a goal in the first half and then another 5 minutes into the second to take a 2-0 lead. It appeared they might be able to pull off the upset but then Belgian scored twice in a three minute span starting in the 86th minute to tie the game and send it to extra time. Then the game appeared headed to penalties when Belgium was awarded a penalty kick for a foul in the penalty box in stoppage time of extra time. They then scored the latest goal in World Cup history (125th minute) to pull off the 3-2 win and move on to the round of 16.

In the round of 16 they played against hosts US in a rematch of their round of 16 game twelve years earlier. In that game Belgium was able to win 2-1 after added extra time despite the US keeper setting the record for most saves in a game. This time it was pretty much all Belgium as they dominated from the start. They scored first 9 minutes in. Although they gave up the tying goal in the 31st minute they scored the go ahead goal 2 minutes later. A second half goal on a goalkeeper error followed by a stoppage time clincher gave Belgium a comfortable 4-1 win.

In the quarterfinals Belgium faced Spain. Spain started off with a goal midway through the first half but Belgium was able to equalize before the half. That goal was significant as it was the first goal Spain gave up after five previous shutouts in the tournament. The game looked like it might be heading for extra time until Spain scored the game winner in the 88th minute to take a 2-1 win and eliminate Belgium in 6th place with three wins, two draws, and one loss. This was the same record as Morocco and Switzerland but Belgium had a +7 goal differential compared with +4 for the other two.

This was Belgium's fifteenth overall appearance including their fourth consecutive. Their first appearance was all the way back in 1930 where they lost to the US 3-0 in their first game, quite a different result than when they played the US this time. The first time they made it past the round of 16 was in 1986 when they finished fourth. This was bettered by one in 2018 when they were able to get a third place finish.

Morocco started their campaign against five time champions Brazil. They scored midway through the first half but gave up the equalizer 11 minutes later as the game ended in a 1-1 draw. In their second game they played Scotland and scored one of the fastest goals of the tournament in the second minute. That turned out to be the matchwinner as the game ended 1-0. Morocco wrapped up group play against Haiti. A back and forth first half saw Haiti take the lead twice with Morocco equalizing both times before the half ended. The second half was scoreless for over half an hour before Morocco scored twice 11 minutes apart to win 4-2. Although Morocco and Brazil ended with the same record Morocco took second in the group as they had a poorer goal differential.

Morocco's first knockout game was against the Netherlands. Although Morocco had the better of play the game remained scoreless until the Netherlands broke through in the 72nd minute to grab the lead. Morocco was unable to score and tie the game until the first minute of stoppage time but a goal was enough to send it to added extra time. No one scored during the extra time so the game went to penalty kicks. Although Morocco's first kick was saved, the Netherlands failed to score on three of their five kicks while Morocco only missed one more giving Morocco the 3-2 shootout win.

In the round of 16 Morocco played Canada. Although Canada had more chances in the first half the two teams went into the locker room still scoreless. Then in the second half Morocco took over and scored three unanswered goals to win 3-0 and move on. The quarterfinals was a rematch of their 2022 semifinal against France. France had a chance to take the lead midway through the first half with a penalty kick but the Moroccan keeper made the save to keep the game scoreless at halftime. France finally broke through 15 minutes into the second half and took the lead. They scored again 6 minutes later and that was all the scoring. Ending in an identical score as when the two teams met four years earlier, the 2-0 loss left Morocco in 7th place with a record of three wins, two draws, and one loss.

This was Morocco's sixth overall and second consecutive appearance in the World Cup. Interestingly their first three appearances were all in North America in 1970 and 1986 in Mexico and in 1994 in the USA. Prior to 2022 their best finish was in 1986 where they won their group but then fell to eventual runners up West Germany in the round of 16. In 2022 they had the best ever finish by an African team where they made it to the semifinals before losing to France and then losing to Croatia in the third place game to finish fourth.

Switzerland had an inauspicious start to the tournament when they gave up a stoppage time equalizer to Qatar in their opener which was also the first time Qatar played a World Cup game and didn't lose. Switzerland's second game against Bosnia and Herzegovina was scoreless midway through the second half when Switzerland broke through to take the lead. 6 minutes later they received a boost when the referee appeared to give them a penalty kick but then changed the call to a foul outside the box but also gave the defender who committed the foul a red card for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. With the man advantage Switzerland scored twice in the next 10 minutes before Bosnia got a goal back in stoppage time. Switzerland answered back with a fourth goal of their own to win 4-1.

Because Canada also had a win and a draw in their first two games but had won by six goals, Switzerland knew that, going into their last group game, a draw would mean second in the group but that they needed to beat Canada to win the group. After a scoreless first half Switzerland took the lead in the 1st minute of the second half and 11 minutes later they doubled the lead. This was necessary as they gave up a goal but they were able to hold on for a 2-1 win which also meant first place in the group.

In their first knockout game they played Algeria and were able to score early in each half to win 2-0. That setup a round of 16 game against Colombia which was scoreless through regular time and added extra time meaning the teams would go to penalty kicks. After each team missed one of their first three kicks the Swiss keeper saved Colombia's fourth which was enough to see Switzerland through as they made both of their last two to win the shootout 4-3.

They played Argentina in the quarterfinals where Argentina scored early in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. Switzerland started the second half in the ascendancy and tied the game midway through the half. 5 minutes later the game's big controversy happened. One of the Argentina players appeared to commit a foul which was whistled by the referee who issued a yellow card. However, when VAR looked at the replay they saw that the Swiss player was falling before contact was made and the yellow card should not have been given to the Argentine. Under the new mistaken identity rule the ref had no choice but to give the yellow card to the Swiss player instead. Normally this would not be an issue except that this player already had a yellow so the second yellow was converted to a red card and Switzerland had to play a man down for the remainder of the game. Switzerland bravely hung on to the 1-1 draw until the 90 minutes was complete; but during the 30 minutes of extra time Argentina was able to score in the 112th minute and then again in stoppage time to eliminate Switzerland by a 3-1 score in 8th place with a record of three wins, two draws, and one loss. They had the same record, goal differential and goals scored as Morocco but the red card in the quarterfinals meant they had a worse fair play score.

This was Switzerland's thirteenth World Cup including six consecutive appearances. This was their fourth trip to the quarterfinals with the other three happening in 1934, 1938, and as hosts in 1954. They lost on all four occasions with 2026 being the only one going to extra time. Their 1954 quarterfinal loss was by a 7-5 score to Austria was the highest scoring World Cup game ever.

Mexico played the opening match of the tournament against South Africa in a rematch of the 2010 tournament opener. That one ended in a draw but this time Mexico won 2-0 in a game that saw three straight red cards handed out after only one straight red card was given in the entire 2022 World Cup. In their second game Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 with a goal early in the second half. This meant that Mexico was guaranteed to win the group regardless of the result of their final group game against Czechia. Mexico did not take their foot off the gas and won 3-0 giving them a perfect group record with three wins scoring six goals scored and conceding none.

In their first knockout game Mexico netted two goals midway through the first half to beat Ecuador 2-0. Mexico was the only team that won their first four games without conceding a goal. In the round of 16 they played a thriller against England. England scored twice only 2 minutes apart late in the first half to take a 2-0 lead but Mexico was able tot get one back just 4 minutes later to go into the locker room down 2-1. Early in the second half the game changed when one of the English players was sent off for a reckless challenge giving Mexico a man advantage for the rest of the game. Even a man down England was awarded a penalty kick on a foul by the Mexican keeper. The PK was converted and England was up 3-1. But Mexico was awarded a penalty of their own 9 minutes later and made it 3-2. Despite being up a man Mexico was unable to find the equalizer and lost 3-2 finishing in 9th place with a record of four wins and one loss.

This was Mexico's eighteenth World Cup appearance including nine consecutive appearances. They made the round of 16 seven consecutive times from 1994 to 2018 but their best finishes were when they were hosts, in 1970 and 1986, when they hosted the tournament and made the quarterfinals in both. Both times they were eliminated by the eventual runners up, including losing a penalty shootout to West Germany in 1986. The loss to England in 2026 was their first World Cup loss at the Azteca in eleven games they played there, previously having eight wins and two draws across the three World Cups they have hosted or cohosted.

Colombia started off with a 3-1 win over debutantes Uzbekistan. They followed that up with a 1-0 win over Democratic Republic of the Congo ensuring that they would qualify for the knockouts. Given that Portugal had only managed a draw against DR Congo, a draw or a win for Colombia in their final group game would mean that Colombia would win the group. Colombia and Portugal played to a 0-0 draw a result that also was good enough to ensure Portugal would finish second in the group.

In their first knockout game Colombia played Ghana. Colombia scored early in the first half and that goal stood up to give them a 1-0 win which put them through to the next round. In the round of 16 Colombia met Switzerland and played their second 0-0 draw of the tournament, this one still scoreless after 120 minutes. The two teams went to penalty kicks to determine who would advance to the quarterfinals. Colombia's second penalty went off the crossbar and out giving Switzerland the advantage, but Switzerland gave it right back by kicking their next penalty into the stands. Then the Swiss keeper saved Colombia's fourth kick and Switzerland made scored with their last two to win the shootout 4-3; eliminating Colombia in 10th place with a record of three wins and two draws.

This was Colombia's seventh World Cup dating back to 1962 and first since 2018. They had been eliminated in the round of 16 on three different occasions but their best finish was in 2014 when they made the quarterfinals before losing to hosts Brazil 2-1.

Five time winners Brazil started with one of the most anticipated matches of the group stage as they took on the team that came fourth in 2022, Morocco. It was the only group stage game between two teams ranked in the top 10. Morocco scored first but Brazil answered back 11 minutes later as the game ended 1-1, meaning goal differential in the remaining two games would likely determine which team won the group and which finished second. Brazil took care of business with back to back 3-0 wins over Haiti and Scotland while Morocco only won by a combined three goals so Brazil took first place in the group.

In their first round knockout game Brazil played Japan who took the lead midway through the first half. Brazil came back and tied the game early in the second half before scoring a dramatic game winner 5 minutes into stoppage time. In the round of 16 Brazil faced Norway. Brazil was awarded a penalty in the first half but was unable to convert. This would come back to haunt them as Norway took the lead in the 79th minute and added an insurance goal in the 90th. Brazil was given another penalty deep in stoppage time. This time they scored but it was too little too late as a 2-1 defeat eliminated them in 11th place with a record of three wins, one draw, and one loss.

Brazil is the only team to have played in every World Cup finals tournament (winning in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002). They had also finished in second, third, and fourth (each twice), most recently finishing in fourth as hosts in 2014. This was Brazil's worst finish since they (also) finished in 11th in 1966. The all-time worse finish was all the way back in 1934 when they were credited with 14th place.

The USA started off with a 4-1 win over Paraguay which tied their largest margin of victory in the World Cup and was the most goals they scored in a World Cup game. Ironically, the other two 3 goal wins both came back in 1930 over Belgium and Paraguay, two teams they faced in this World Cup. They then scored two first half goals over Australia to win their second game 2-0 which combined with other results in the group guaranteed that they would win the group with a game to play. In their third group game they rested their starters to give others the opportunity to play in the World Cup and lost to Turkiye 3-2 by giving up the winning goal 8 minutes into second half stoppage time.

In their first round knockout they played against Bosnia & Herzegovina. The USA opened the scoring in the 45th minute to take a 1-0 halftime lead. The game changed in the 64th minute when the VAR suggested the referee go to the monitor and take another look at a foul. After reviewing the video he decided to issue a red card to the leading scorer for the USA so they would have to play the remainder of the game a man down. This did not deter the USA when they drew a foul just outside the penalty box and were able to score a second goal in the 82nd minute. They were able to hold on to that 2-0 lead despite being a man down and won.

In the round of 16 they played Belgium who they had beaten all the way back in 1930 but who had knocked them out in this round in 2014 2-1 with all three goals coming in added extra time. Their was controversy before the game as, for the first time in over 60 years, FIFA rescinded a red card penalty and the US player who had received the red card in the previous game would be eligible to play. Unfortunately for the USA this did not help them as they were thoroughly outplayed and fell 4-1 leaving them in 12th place with a record of three wins and two losses.

This was the twelfth World Cup and second straight appearance for the USA. It was the seventh time they made it past the group stage with their best finish being third place in 1930. That was a little deceptive though as the group winners went straight to the semifinals and there was no third place game. The USA were eventually awarded third place over 50 years later due to having a better goal differential than the other semifinal loser, Yugoslavia. Through 2026 this was the only finish of third or better for a team outside Europe or South America. Prior to winning in the round of 32 in 2026 the only knockout game the USA had won was a 2-0 win in the 2002 round of 16 against archrivals Mexico before bowing out to eventual runners up Germany in the quarterfinals.