FIFA Rule Change Ends Teams' World Cup as Star Banned and New Country on Brink
Back-to-back group-stage losses under FIFA’s new rule eliminated Tunisia, Haiti and Türkiye before the knockout rounds, while Curaçao became the smallest nation to earn a World Cup point.
- Three nations—Haiti, Tunisia, and the returning team—have been officially eliminated from the FIFA World Cup this week following back-to-back group stage losses that ended their tournament hopes.
- Returning to the tournament after 24 years, the squad failed to score in two games, disappointing a nation of 87 million people despite being considered a 'dark horse.'
- Tunisia suffered heavy defeats, losing 5-1 to Sweden and 4-0 to Japan, while Haiti lost to Scotland in Boston and to Brazil, confirming their exit regardless of final matches.
- Two group stage defeats now guarantee elimination under new FIFA rules, closing the historical path where teams finishing with three points previously reached the last 32.
- Defying expectations of an early exit, Cura made history by becoming the smallest nation to win a point at the tournament following a 0-0 draw against Ecuador.
13 Articles
13 Articles
A few days after the completion of the 2026 World Cup group phase, the panorama for several selections begins to be defined. Although there is still some activity in the second day of the tournament, three teams have already exhausted their mathematical options of accessing the next round and have become the first eliminated from the international fair. The 2026 edition marked a before and after in the history of the World Cups by bringing toget…
Haiti, Turkey and Tunisia were the first selections to be eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. However, farewell to the World Cup took place after the second round of the group stage and with a remaining round before starting the mata mata stage of the tournament. For this edition of the World Cup, Fifa established the goal balance resulting from the direct confrontation as the first criterion of the draw. Due to this rule, it was impossible to c…
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