Day Two of the third round of group stage fixtures kicks off with important games all across the board. Though many teams have already secured advancement, fewer teams have actually locked in where they fall in their group.
With shock results like South Africa securing advancement and Curaçao earning a surprise draw on the back of an Eloy Room superstar performance, you never know what can happen. Fear now assuaged that the addition of 16 more teams would dilute the competitive nature of the World Cup, almost every game matters – no matter the competition.
Today's games
Curaçao vs. Ivory Coast
Time: 1:00 pm (Pacific)
Where: Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
Ecuador vs. Germany
Time: 1:00 pm (Pacific)
Where: East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
Japan vs. Sweden
Time: 4:00 pm (Pacific)
Where: Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
Tunisia vs. Netherlands
Time: 4:00 pm (Pacific)
Where: Kansas City, MO @ Arrowhead Stadium
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
Türkiye vs. USA
Time: 7:00 pm (Pacific)
Where: Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
Paraguay vs. Australia
Time: 7:00 pm (Pacific)
Where: Santa Clara, CA @ Levi's Stadium
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
What’s interesting today?
With final games in play, here's where each team could lie after the final set of fixtures is complete.
Group D
With the top and bottom slots locked in, the game to highlight will be Australia vs Paraguay, who will be battling to secure direct advancement to play against the Group G runner-up (who, as of now, can still be any team in that group).
USA have locked in 1st.
Australia earn 2nd with: A win or draw vs Paraguay,
Fall 3rd with a loss.
Paraguay earn 2nd with: A win over Australia,
Fall 3rd with any other result.
Türkiye have locked in 4th place (lost against both Australia and Paraguay and therefore will be behind on head-to-head).
Group E
Germany, much like USA, have managed to lock in first in their group with a previous win over Ivory Coast keeping them in the lead regardless of results today thanks to the head-to-head tirbreaker. The rest of the group is still in flux.
Germany have locked in 1st.
Ivory Coast earn 2nd with: A win or draw vs Curaçao,
Fall 3rd with a loss AND Ecuador beat Germany.
Ecuador earn 2nd with: A win over Germany AND Ivory Coast lose vs Curaçao,
Remain third with a win over Germany OR a draw vs Germany AND Curacao lose or draw OR a loss vs Germany AND Curaçao lose vs Ivory Coast (as long as Ecuador doesn't lose by 6 or more goals than Curaçao does tonight).
Curaçao earn 2nd with: A win over Ivory Coast AND Ecuador draw or lose by any margin vs Germany or win by a margin that pushes their goal differential over Ecuador's (currently -1 to -6... unlikely!),
Earn 3rd with a win over Ivory Coast AND Ecuador win vs Germany OR draw vs Ivory Coast and Ecuador lose vs Germany,
Remain 4th with a loss vs Ivory Coast OR draw with Ivory Coast AND Ecuador draw vs Germany.
Group F
With Tunisia already out, it feels incredibly unlikely that any team in this group will be eliminated. That being said, the remaining three spots are still up for grabs by any of the remaining teams. Even the least likely scenario – Netherlands falling to third – isn't impossible: If Tunisia were to win tonight, it would likely be an extremely low scoring 1:0, and Japan are certainly capable of scoring 1 or more goals even in a loss vs Sweden. These games should be incredibly exciting – keep an eye out specifically for Japan vs Sweden, since both these teams need goals if they're to secure guaranteed advancement.
Netherlands earn 1st with a win over Tunisia AND Japan win while not bettering Netherlands' goal tally OR draw vs Tunisia AND Japan draw vs Sweden while not bettering Netherlands' goal tally,
Earn 2nd with a win over Tunisia AND Japan win while bettering Netherlands' goal tally OR draw vs Tunisia AND Japan draw vs Sweden while bettering Netherlands' goal tally OR draw vs Tunisia AND Sweden beat Japan,
Fall 3rd with a loss to Tunisia AND Sweden beat Japan in a goalscoring loss with Japan bettering Netherlands' goal tally.
Japan earn 1st with a win over Sweden AND Netherlands win with 2+ fewer goals than Japan score or 1 fewer goal than Japan score depending on remaining tiebreakers OR a draw scoring 1 or more goal than Netherlands score depending on remaining tiebreakers,
Earn 2nd with a win over Netherlands AND Netherlands also win AND tiebreakers go their way OR draw vs Sweden AND Netherlands win or draw OR lose vs Sweden AND Tunisia beat Netherlands with Japan scoring 1 or more goal than Netherlands depending on tiebreakers,
Fall 3rd with a loss to Sweden.
Sweden earn 1st with a win over Japan AND Netherlands draw or lose vs Tunisia,
Earn 2nd with a win over Japan AND Netherlands beat Tunisia,
Remain 3rd with a draw or loss vs Japan.
Tunisia has locked in 4th (head-to-head loss to Sweden keeps them down).
