南非、韩国和捷克共和国需要满足哪些条件才能从A组晋级世界杯淘汰赛？

The World Cup 2026 continues in full flow and is nearing the end of the group stage with teams now seeking to finalise their spots in the knockout rounds.

32 of the 48 nations will progress to the next stage of the competition as the top two sides in each group automatically qualify followed by the eight highest point scorers who finish in third. That means there is lots to play for in the final round of fixtures with progression to the last-32 a plausible possibility for plenty of teams.

In Group A, Mexico have already secured their place in the next round having beaten both South Africa and South Korea and have also clinched top spot due to a superior head-to-head record against Korea - the only team in the group who can finish level with them on points.

Korea won their opening match to leave them second in the group on three points while South Africa and Czech Republic both have one point meaning all three teams have a chance of making it into the next stage.

Here’s everything you need to know about Group A’s knockout round permutations:

How can South Korea qualify for the knockout rounds?

South Korea will qualify for the knockout rounds if they avoid defeat to South Africa in their final group game (Thursday 25 June, 2am BST).

A win would put them on six points and secure second place in the group while a draw gives them four points, which is the maximum that Czech Republic can reach. In that scenario, South Korea would progress in second place due to their head-to-head record against the Czechs.

If South Korea lose, South Africa would jump ahead of them in the group and they would be dependent on Czech Republic’s result against Mexico to see if they can finish third on three points.

What do South Africa need to reach the round of 32?

South Africa are currently sat bottom of Group A having collected just one point in a draw against Czech Republic. To qualify for the knockout rounds they must defeat South Korea, or better Czech Republic’s result in order to finish third.

Should they defeat South Korea, they will jump ahead of them in the table and four points would be enough for them to finish at least third depending on the result between Czech Republic and Mexico.

Defeat would almost certainly knock them out of the competition while a draw would leave them on two points which will probably not be enough to qualify as one of the best third placed teams (details on how teams who finish third go through are outlined below).

How can Czech Republic progress to the next stage of the World Cup?

Czech Republic have the trickiest route to reach the knockout rounds as they must defeat Mexico in their final group game. The European nation are dependent on other results in the group but a victory over Mexico will leave them on four points which will be enough to finish at least third, and probably as one of the best eight finishers.

They enter the final game sat in third place and could finish in that position if South Africa lose to South Korea. A draw against Mexico would leave them on two points which seems unlikely to be enough to send them through.

Head-to-head prominence over goal difference

If teams finish on the same number of points their standing in the group will be determined by the head-to-head record against the nation they are level with. If one team tied on points with another has beaten them in the group stage, the winners will finish higher up the table.

Where multiple teams are level on points, a mini-league is created, removing the results against the remaining teams. Those tied teams are ranked by points won in the games involving each other, then by goal difference, followed by goals scored. If that does not split them, the next criteria is goal difference followed by goals scored for the group overall.

Any other tiebreakers?

If teams are still level on points following head-to-head results, goal difference and goals scored then the Team Conduct Score (TCS) comes into play. It is basically a fair play score and is rated based on the amount of cards a team has collected. Each team, including managers and backroom staff, started on zero and were deducted points throughout the group stage as follows:

• Yellow card -1
• Red card for two yellows -3
• Straight red card -4
• Yellow then straight red -5

The closer to zero, the better the score. If the teams are still level, whoever had the higher Fifa ranking in June's published update will go through.

How are the top eight third place finishers determined?

The top eight third place finishers will be decided on which teams have accummulated the most points.

Should eight or more nations finish third with the same number of points, the nations who progress will then be determined by goal difference.

In all likelihood, teams that finish third with four points or higher will go through, the teams on three points will need the best possible goal difference to progress.