The final matchday of the FIFA World Cup group stage is set for Thursday, bringing with it a series of high-stakes encounters, tricky selection dilemmas for top coaches, and the potential for historic firsts for multiple nations across the tournament’s four remaining groups.
For the United States Men’s National Team, the narrative heading into their final Group D clash against Turkey is defined by difficult roster decisions, rather than qualification pressure. Gregg Berhalter’s side has already locked in the top spot in Group D and a place in the knockout round, wrapping up their spot with consecutive wins over their first two opponents – a milestone the U.S. program has not achieved at a World Cup since 1930. The team’s six goals across those opening two matches also sits just one strike short of equaling the program’s all-time record for a single World Cup group stage.
Star attacker Christian Pulisic has returned to full team training after missing the Americans’ 2-0 victory over Australia, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino faces a tricky call on how much minutes to give his star, with the knockout round just days away and a guaranteed first-place finish already secured. The selection headache does not end with Pulisic: five key first-team players including Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson all carry a single yellow card, and a second booking against Turkey would force them to miss the USMNT’s opening knockout round fixture. Their opponents, Turkey, are already eliminated from the tournament in their first World Cup appearance in 24 years, having failed to score a single goal across their opening two group matches.
Thursday’s slate features six total matches across the United States, with a host of other storylines unfolding across every group. In Group D’s other final fixture, Paraguay and Australia will face off in Santa Clara, California, with the second knockout spot from the group still up for grabs. Australia only needs a draw to lock in second place and advance, while Paraguay can claim the spot with a win, and would still be in strong position for a best third-place finish with a draw. A loss for either side would leave their fate hanging on goal differential, adding extra tension to the encounter.
The match carries extra personal meaning for Australia head coach Tony Popovic: exactly 20 years ago, Popovic scored his eighth and final international goal as a player in a friendly against Paraguay, the last cap of his international career. “I didn’t score many so I have to remind you of that,” Popovic said. “It was a special way to end my international career. To think that all these years later I’ll be the head coach and we’re up against Paraguay is special. That was a great day and hopefully tomorrow will be a special day for Australia against Paraguay once more.” Both sides will be missing key players: Australia will sit out injured defender Jacob Italiano and forward Mat Leckie, while Paraguay will be without suspended midfielder Miguel Almiron, who received a red card after a confrontation against Turkey. Coach Gustavo Alfaro confirmed that Miguel will start in Almiron’s place.
In Group E, two contrasting narratives collide when Ecuador and three-time World Cup champion Germany face off in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Germany has already locked in first place in the group, but will be without starting defender Nico Schlotterbeck for the rest of the tournament after he suffered an ankle injury. For Ecuador, the match is a must-win: the side arrived at the tournament on a stunning 19-game unbeaten streak, but opened with a 1-0 90th-minute loss to Ivory Coast and followed that with a scoreless draw against Curacao, leaving them with just one point. Even a win would not guarantee advancement, but a loss would send the side home early.
Also in Group E, Ivory Coast will face Curacao in Philadelphia with a historic milestone within reach. The African side is making its fourth World Cup appearance, and has never advanced to the knockout round. A win over Curacao would lock in that historic advancement, after the side opened with a 1-0 win over Ecuador and threw away a halftime lead to fall 2-1 to Germany. Ivory Coast’s previous best shot at knockout stage qualification came at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they opened with a win over Japan before dropping their final two group matches. Curacao, the smallest nation at this year’s tournament, still holds an outside shot at advancement: the side needs a win over Ivory Coast and a win from Ecuador against Germany to overhaul the group’s top two, though their path is made far steeper by a 7-1 opening-match defeat to Germany that left them with a -6 goal differential.
In Group F, the race for first place remains wide open heading into the final matchday, with the Netherlands and Japan both level on four points and a +4 goal differential. The Dutch face Tunisia, while Japan takes on Sweden, and both sides have pledged to focus entirely on their own matches rather than chasing updates on the other side’s result. “You have to focus on making sure you win the match,” said Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman, whose side carries an ongoing 14-match unbeaten streak across World Cup play, excluding penalty shootouts. “We would love to be first in the group and of course the result will have an impact on that, but that’s not the most important thing. Playing this game is the most important thing.”
Sweden, which sits on three points after a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands, can still claim top spot in the group if they defeat Japan and the Netherlands drop points against Tunisia. “It’s literally my first rodeo in terms of a World Cup so it’s going to be new to me,” said Sweden head coach Graham Potter. “But yeah, it’s best for us to try to get the positive results and focus on that.”
The day also brings a slate of off-field and other on-field updates, including Lionel Messi celebrating his 39th birthday with Argentina’s squad during the tournament. In other results from earlier matchdays, Switzerland sealed first place in Group B with a 2-1 win over Canada, marking their seventh consecutive qualification to the knockout phase of a major international tournament (World Cup and European Championship). Bosnia-Herzegovina boosted their own qualification chances with a 3-1 win over Qatar, while Qatar’s Assim Madibo received a five-match ban after fracturing the leg of Canada’s Ismaël Koné during a group stage fixture. Brazilian superstar Neymar has arrived with the Brazil squad ahead of their upcoming match against Scotland, while Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who rose to stardom during the team’s World Cup run, is currently searching for a new club and has not ruled out a move to a Brazilian side.
All six of Thursday’s matches will be broadcast across Fox, FS1, Telemundo and Peacock, kicking off at 4 p.m. EDT and running through the final 10 p.m. EDT kickoff between the U.S. and Turkey in Inglewood, California.