The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the first rendition of the tournament that features the new 48-team format, which allows for more teams to make it to the knockout stages than ever before. Consequently, the tournament is seeing many teams make history by advancing to the knockout stages for the first time in their nation’s history. Read below to find out which nations have advanced to the knockout stages for the first-time ever and will be moving on to the round of 32.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
This is only Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second appearance at the FIFA World Cup, with their first coming in 2014. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the country finished in 20th place, failing to make it past the group stages, after recording a win and two losses. This year, the nation was able to qualify for the tournament by defeating Italy in the UEFA play-offs.
Bosnia and Herzegovina opened their first match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a draw against co-host nation Canada, a solid start. Their following match was against Switzerland, where they were defeated by a score of 4-1, which significantly hindered their chances of advancing. However, a dominant 3-1 win over Qatar in their final group stage match clinched them a spot in the round of 32 through FIFA’s new system that allowed the top-eight third place teams to advance.
South Africa
The 2026 FIFA World Cup marked South Africa’s fourth appearance in the tournament, previously qualifying in 1998, 2002 and 2010. However, each of the prior three appearances ended with the team failing to make it past the group stages.
South Africa’s first game of the tournament was against co-host nation Mexico, which saw them lose by a score of 2-0, an uninspiring start to their run. However, the team bounced back in their following match against Czechia, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. For their final match, South Africa took on South Korea, needing a win to have any hopes of advancing to the next round. A goal in the 63rd minute by Thapelo Maseko gave South Africa a 1-0 lead, which the team would hold onto for the remainder of the game, securing a win. The victory secured South Africa’s spot at second place in the Group A standings, advancing them to the round of 32.
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast participated in the FIFA World Cup three consecutive times, from 2006 to 2014, however, a slight drought fell upon the team before qualifying for the 2026 tournament. In each of their past three appearances at the FIFA World Cup, Ivory Coast failed to make it past the group stages, recording exactly one win.
This year, Ivory Coast managed to secure two wins at the group stages for the first time in the team’s history, which was good enough to earn them a spot in the round of 32. Ivory Coast kicked off their tournament with a 1-0 win over Ecuador thanks to a late goal from Amad Diallo in the 90th minute. The team’s next match was against Germany, widely considered one of the best teams in the world, which ended in a 2-1 loss for Ivory Coast after a 94th minute goal from Deniz Undav secured Germany’s victory in the dying minutes of the game. In their final group stage match, Ivory Coast defeated newcomer Curaçao by a score of 2-0, securing their spot at second place in the Group E standings.
Canada
Canada secured its spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as one of the three host nations, alongside the United States and Mexico. Prior to the tournament, Canada had only ever played at the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1986 and 2022. In both of their appearances, the team had never secured a win nor a draw in any of their group stage matches.
The home-field advantage may have benefited the team, as their first match of the tournament, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, ended in a 1-1 draw, marking Canada’s first point in FIFA World Cup history. Their next match was against Qatar, which saw Canada get its first win in dominant fashion, winning by a score of 6-0. The team’s final group stage match against Switzerland resulted in a 2-1 loss, though their performance across all three matches was good enough to earn them second place in the Group B standings and a spot in the round of 32.
