World Cup 2026: Ecuador & Sweden into last 32 to leave Scotland on the brink

Post

Another possible ray of hope for Scotland - albeit a little far fetched - was snuffed out by Sweden's draw against Japan in Group F.

Defeat for Sweden by four goals or more would have seen Graham Potter's side fall below Scotland in the third-place rankings...

Group D - the breakdown

The United States have qualified for the knockout stages as Group D winners and will face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32.

Australia joined them with a goalless draw against Paraguay in their final game. They will play the runners-up from Group G - one from Egypt, Iran, Belgium or New Zealand.

Paraguay face a nervous wait to see if they will progress as one of the best eight third-placed sides. They sit fourth in the rankings but can still be dislodged.

Semi-finalists in 2002, Turkey finish bottom and were eliminated after two games but gained a consolation win over USA in their last match.

Co-hosts USA lose to last kick of game against Turkey

Turkey 3-2 USA

Steve Sutcliffe

BBC Sport reporter

In Group D's other game, eliminated Turkey ended the United States' unbeaten start with a stoppage-time winner in Los Angeles as they recorded their first World Cup victory since 2002.

Kaan Ayhan's prodded finish with the last kick of an entertaining contest won the match for Turkey, who had fallen behind inside three minutes.

Celtic defender Auston Trusty opened the scoring for the co-hosts, driving a low shot past Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir after being left completely unmarked at a corner.

His strike, which arrived just two minutes and 13 seconds into proceedings, is the second quickest goal ever scored by the US at a World Cup, after Clint Dempsey's effort 30 seconds into a game against Ghana in 2014.

However, Vincenzo Montella's Turkey side - who had lost their two opening games - soon settled.

Arda Guler equalised with Turkey's first goal at this year's finals with a close-range finish from Baris Alper Yilmaz's reverse pass.

And Orkun Kokcu's shot then appeared to flick off Yilmaz's thigh at the end of a sweeping move down the left, which again involved the impressive Real Madrid midfielder Guler, as Turkey turned the match around.

Mauricio Pochettino's USA side returned from the half-time break with more intensity and levelled courtesy of Sebastian Berhalter's 20-yard effort into the bottom left corner.

Substitute Christian Pulisic went close on three occasions as the US searched for a winner, while at the other end of the pitch, Kenan Yildiz curled wide and Yilmaz lost his footing when he seemed well positioned to score, before Ayhan turned home Can Uzun's touch towards goal at the death.

Australia & Paraguay play out draw which suits both

Paraguay 0-0 Australia

Alex Hoad

BBC Sport reporter

Australia sealed their passage to the last 32 and Paraguay are almost certain to join them after they shared a drab draw in San Francisco which suited both sides.

The Socceroos needed a draw to qualify as runners-up - while Paraguay knew a fourth point in the group stage would likely make them one of the eight best third-placed finishers.

Paraguay would have fallen below Scotland in the third-place qualification table had they lost by two goals or more.

The stalemate could add weight to those against the idea of third-placed sides advancing to the knockout stages, as there was minimal risk taken throughout the match.

The Socceroos will now face the runners-up in the group featuring Egypt, Iran and Belgium on Friday, 3 July (19:00 BST) while Paraguay, as things stand, will face Group E winners Germany on Monday (21:30).

Group E - the breakdown

Germany, who finish on six points, had already won the group on head-to-head record before the final day and will face a third-place team from either Group A, B, C, D or F. As things stand, Julian Nagelsmann's side will face Paraguay next.

Ivory Coast beat Curacao 2-0 to secure second place on six points, which has set them up for a last-32 tie against the runners-up from Group I - currently Norway.

Ecuador produced a shock 2-1 win over Germany to finish third, and they are guaranteed to be one of the best third-placed teams on four points.

Curacao have been eliminated with one point.

Ivory Coast reach World Cup knockouts for first time

Curacao 0-2 Ivory Coast

Emma Smith

BBC Sport reporter

Elsewhere in Group E, Ivory Coast reached the knockout stages for the first time in World Cup history thanks to a Nicolas Pepe double as they eliminated minnows Curacao.

The Ivorians needed just a point to reach the round of 32, having exited at the group stage in their three previous World Cup appearances.

And they settled their nerves with a goal after just seven minutes as Curacao's defenders were caught out at the back and dispossessed by Yan Diomande, who squared for Pepe to tap in.

Then, in the 65th minute, former Arsenal forward Pepe - who was left out of the Ivory Coast squad for the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year - got his second as he slotted a left-footed strike into the top corner past Curacao keeper Eloy Room.

It means Ivory Coast finish second in Group E with six points, winning two matches at a World Cup for the first time.

Ecuador stun Germany to reach World Cup last 32

Ecuador 2-1 Germany

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer

Ecuador reached the World Cup knockout stage in dramatic fashion as they came from behind to beat Germany in New Jersey and set up a potential meeting with England.

They had not scored a goal in their first two games, a draw with Curacao and a defeat by Ivory Coast, but finally showed the talent they possess as they took advantage of a lacklustre display from Germany, who had already topped Group E.

Germany made the perfect start after only two minutes when Leroy Sane picked up Florian Wirtz's clever pass in the area to fire a clinical finish beyond Ecuador keeper Hernan Galindez.

Ecuador were furious, convinced they should have been awarded a foul for Alexandar Pavlovic's high boot on Pedro Vite, but their protests were ignored.

Fuelled by that injustice, and by their masses of yellow-clad supporters, Ecuador responded with intensity and were level seven minutes later when Sunderland's Nilson Angulo sent a low drive past Manuel Neuer.

Ecuador continued to press in the second half and were rewarded 13 minutes from time when Gonzalo Plata reacted quicker than Neuer at a corner to send their fans wild with delight.

The result is bad news for Scotland as it reduces their chances of qualifying as one of the best third-placed finishers.

From 42% to 5.26% - how Scotland's World Cup hopes are fading

They were the worst possible sequence of results for Scotland, who have been left relying on the results of others to squeeze into the last 32 as one of the eight best-placed third place finishers.

Their 3-0 loss to Brazil in Miami saw Steve Clarke's side finish third in Group C on three points, with a goal difference of -3.

In just over 24 hours since then, Scotland's chances of reaching the World Cup knockouts for the first time have dropped from 42% to just 5.26%.

They require four teams to finish third in their groups but have a worse record than them.

Scotland are currently eighth in the third-place table, with only six of the 12 groups completed.

But there is still hope, we will explain more after catching up with last night's action...

Click here to read article