World Cup 2026 third-place ranking: Final table as Scotland crash out in group stage | OneFootball

Steve Clarke resigns as Tartan Army’s wait for a maiden knockout berth goes on

Scotland’s first World Cup journey for 28 years is officially over as they crashed out in the group stage.

Steve Clarke has quickly resigned as head coach in the wake of a disappointing campaign for the Tartan Army, who have still never reached the knockout phase of football’s biggest competition in nine attempts.

Scotland began a tough Group C campaign with a nervy 1-0 win over Haiti in Boston secured by John McGinn’s second-half goal, but, despite a spirited showing, fell to 2022 semi-finalists Morocco by the same scoreline having been caught cold in just 70 seconds by Ismael Saibari.

Clarke admitted that he feared they were going home, which ultimately proved to be the case as most results then went against them, leaving them 11th in the final third-place standings and falling alongside the likes of fellow high-profile casualties Uruguay and South Korea.

Here is the final third-place ranking for the 2026 World Cup group stage...

World Cup third-place ranking

How were the eight best third-place teams decided?

The eight best third-place teams were ranked based on several criteria.

First, teams were compared by the total number of points they obtained in all group matches. If teams were still level, their goal difference across all group matches was considered. If a tie remained, the total number of goals scored in all group matches was used.

If teams could not be separated using those criteria, Fair Play ranking would have been applied, taking into account the number of yellow and red cards received during all group matches. As a final tiebreaker, the FIFA World Ranking is used.