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The Paraguay team is the last from the third place
All eight of the third-placed teams in the 2026 World Cup were quickly eliminated from the tournament before the start of the quarterfinals.
With Paraguay, the last third-placed team out, there is no longer a team that has advanced from third place in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sweden, Ghana, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Algeria, Senegal and Paraguay were eliminated after finishing third in the group stage.
Paraguay is the only team to advance from the round of 32, defeating Germany on penalty kicks.Before being eliminated from the tournament by the French national team (1-0).
According to network calculationsMiss MercatoThe observation is likely to reignite the debate over the new 48-team World Cup format.
Since the tournament’s inception, the best third-place team rule has been widely criticized, from the group stage being described as difficult to understand, to the limited number of eliminations, to the constant need to settle on the final day of the group stage.
Some matches were even played with a chance to qualify without finishing in the top two, and ultimately the facts support the system’s critics; none of the wildcards will have any real impact in the knockout stages.
