Turkey and Haiti wave 👋 goodbye to the Cup: who could go on Saturday | OneFootball

The second round of the 2026 World Cup group stage is beginning to shape the dramatic contours that make the tournament football’s greatest spectacle.

Last Friday (19), the World Cup officially saw its first teams eliminated: the national teams of Turkey and Haiti.

Neither could recover from back-to-back slip-ups and are now mathematically out of the competition.

Since Turkey and Haiti lost their first two matches and remained on 0 points, they could only reach a maximum of 3 points if they won in the final round.

The explanation lies in one of the main changes introduced by FIFA for this edition of the tournament: head-to-head record is now the first tiebreaker criterion in the group stage.

In previous editions, goal difference usually played a decisive role in qualification calculations.

In 2026, however, football’s governing body changed the order of the tiebreakers and placed head-to-head results ahead of any comparison involving goal difference or goals scored.

Under this new format, the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage, along with the eight best third-placed teams overall.

Below, check out the outlook for the teams on the brink and what is at stake in each group this Saturday:

🌍 Group E: The night’s early “knockout match”

9:00 PM - Ecuador vs. Curaçao: The most tense match of the day takes place in prime time.

Since both the South Americans and the Caribbean side were beaten in their openers, this head-to-head clash has taken on the status of a final.

There is no room for both: whoever loses the duel will be mathematically eliminated if favorites Germany pick up a point against Ivory Coast in the 5:00 PM match (Brasília time).

🌍 Group F: Tunisia fighting for survival overnight

1:00 AM (early morning in Brasília) - Tunisia: After suffering a heavy blow in their opener, a 5-1 thrashing by Sweden, Tunisia are trying to pick up the pieces.

Now under the command of French coach Hervé Renard — known for working miracles at World Cups —, the African side face Japan desperately needing points.

Another defeat, combined with a Netherlands win over Sweden at 2:00 PM, would spell the end of the road for the Tunisians.

So, who would you like to see stay in the tournament or go out? Write in the comments! 👇⚽

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Richard Heathcote - 2026 Getty Images