The 2023 World Cup is going to see plenty of changes, and that will become clear when tiebreakers inevitably come into play.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, 32 teams will compete at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The format — eight groups of four with two teams advancing from each group — will mirror what we’ve seen in recent men’s World Cup group stages. Teams receive three points for a win, one for a draw and none for loss. The top two teams from each group move on. And with that, FIFA has carried over the same tiebreakers that we saw in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
While the knockout stage is straightforward single elimination, the group stage could get complicated as the teams battle for a place in the round of 16.
Let’s break down how the tiebreakers will work.