US, Germany, the Netherlands advance to Round of 32 as group winners

KATHMANDU: The Netherlands, Germany and co-hosts the US have advanced to the Round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as group winners.

In the Matchday 15 fixtures, the US topped Group D despite losing 2-3 to Türkiye in Los Angeles. Germany also topped Group E despite suffering a 1-2 defeat to Ecuador in New Jersey. The Netherlands, meanwhile, defeated Tunisia 2-1 to advance to the next round as winners of Group F.

Kaan Ayhan scored the winner for Türkiye in the 98th minute with the last kick of the game as the match was heading for a 2-2 draw. Arda Güler and Barış Yılmaz scored for Türkiye, while Auston Trusty and Sebastian Berhalter were on the scoresheet for the US.

Gonzalo Plata scored the winner for Ecuador in the 77th minute to stun Germany. Leroy Sané had given Germany the lead in the 2nd minute of the match. Nilson Angulo equalised for Ecuador seven minutes later.

In Group F, the Netherlands took the lead through an own goal by Tunisia captain Ellyes Skhiri. Brian Brobbey doubled the lead for the Dutch in the seventh minute. Although Tunisia tried to claw their way back into the game when H. Mastouri found the back of the net in the 54th minute, Jan Paul van Hecke scored the Netherlands’ third goal in the 62nd minute.

Australia, Ivory Coast, and Japan progressed to the Round of 32 as runners-up from Group D, Group E, and Group F, respectively.

Australia and Paraguay played out a goalless draw in their Group D fixture in San Francisco, while Japan played a 1-1 draw against Sweden in their Group F fixture in Dallas.

Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead in the 56th minute. However, Anthony Elanga equalised for Sweden six minutes later.

Similarly, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Sweden have also progressed to the Round of 32 as the best third-placed teams.

As per the tournament format, group winners and runners-up from all 12 groups, along with the eight best third-placed teams, qualify for the Round of 32.

After Matchday 15, Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paraguay, Croatia, South Korea, Algeria, and Scotland are ranked as the top eight third-placed teams.

Of the four third-placed teams outside the top eight, Cape Verde, Belgium, and DR Congo still have a chance to progress to the Round of 32.