Turkey and Haiti bow out of the Cup: who could follow on Saturday

Turkey and Haiti bow out of the Cup: who could follow on Saturday

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

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

Neither side was able to recover from back-to-back setbacks and are 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 by winning in the final round.

The tournament rules make it clear that, even if they win their last match and reach 3 points, their goal difference and goals scored are already lower than what other third-placed teams from other groups have already achieved or will achieve in the parallel groups.

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

Below, check out the overview of who is on the brink and what is at stake in each group this Saturday:

🌍 Group E: Tonight’s early “knockout” clash

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

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

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

🌍 Group F: Tunisia fighting for survival in the early hours

1:00 AM (overnight) - Tunisia: After suffering a heavy blow in their opener with 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 in desperate need of 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, what about you? 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.