England to face Scotland? World Cup knockout stage as it stands

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, England are set to face Cape Verde in the last 32 Published 21 minutes ago With the final round of group fixtures getting under way on 24 June, it's time to start plotting your country's path to World Cup glory on 19 July. But with 32 of the 48 teams advancing to the knockout rounds, new tiebreaker rules, and a table of third-placed teams to keep track of, staying across the various permutations is far from simple. As it stands, England, sitting top of Group L, and Scotland, third in Group C, are on course to meet in the last 16 in Mexico City (6 July, 01:00 BST). But all of that could change depending not only on England and Scotland's performances in their final group matches against Panama and Brazil, respectively, but also results elsewhere. To keep you up to date, BBC Sport has developed a predictor tool that updates in-game to illustrate the schedule all the way to the final. With dates and times listed alongside the fixtures, planning early morning alarms and potential all-nighters across three host countries and four different time zones has never been easier. Click here to view the World Cup knockout stages as it stands . How does knockout qualification work? Sixteen of the record 48 teams involved in the World Cup will be eliminated at the end of the group stage, leaving 32 nations in the mix for the trophy. The top two teams from each of the 12 groups will advance to the last 32. The remaining spots in the knockout stages are taken by the eight third-placed teams with the best records. If two or more countries are level on points, head-to-head results are used as a tie-breaker to determine positions. If the teams remain tied, they are ranked on 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. These criteria are applied in the 12 groups of four and to determine the rankings of the 12 third-placed sides. Related topics Football FIFA World Cup 2026 More on this story Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor game Published 9 June World Cup fixtures and group standings How to watch the World Cup on the BBC Published 6 June Everything you need to know about the World Cup Published 1 April Who England and Scotland face in World Cup last 32 as it stands Published 5 days ago