World Cup 2026 leaderboard update: Mexico perfect, South Africa through

Group A is closed: Mexico perfect, South Africa second

As of 12:00 UTC on June 25, the newest completed World Cup window is clear: Group A joined Groups B and C as a fully settled table. Mexico finished 3-0-0 after beating Czechia 3-0, while South Africa beat South Korea 1-0 to take second place and, according to ESPN's daily World Cup report, reach the knockout stage for the first time. 1 ESPN's June 24 scoreboard lists the two late Group A finals alongside the earlier Group B and C results, confirming this article's cutoff window. 2

South Africa players celebrate after reaching the knockouts — South Africa's win over South Korea completed Group A's late turn: Bafana Bafana moved into second, while South Korea dropped into the live third-place comparison. Source image: ESPN's daily World Cup report. 1

Match	Final	Decisive notes	Leaderboard effect
Czechia vs. Mexico	Mexico 3-0	Mateo Chávez scored in the 55th minute, Julián Quiñones made it 2-0 in the 61st, and Álvaro Fidalgo finished the match at 90+3. 3	Mexico closed Group A on 9 points, 6 goals for and 0 against. 4
South Africa vs. South Korea	South Africa 1-0	Thapelo Maseko scored in the 63rd minute from Tshepang Moremi's assist; Ronwen Williams kept the clean sheet with 2 saves listed by FOX. 5	South Africa finished second on 4 points; South Korea moved to the current third-place table on 3 points. 4

Álvaro Fidalgo seals Mexico's third goal — *Álvaro Fidalgo's stoppage-time finish made Mexico's final Group A line look emphatic: 9 points, 6 goals scored, 0 conceded. Source image: FOX Sports match page. 3*

South Africa's goal against South Korea — *South Africa's 63rd-minute goal turned Group A: it lifted Bafana Bafana into second place and left South Korea waiting on the third-place comparison. Source: FOX Sports match page. 5*

All 12 groups: compact board

The first three groups are now complete. The other nine groups still have one matchday to play, so third-place positions below should be treated as a live comparison, not a final bracket.

Group	Current order by points	Reading
A	Mexico 9; South Africa 4; South Korea 3; Czechia 1 4	Mexico and South Africa are through by position; South Korea sit on the third-place board.
B	Switzerland 7; Canada 4; Bosnia-Herzegovina 4; Qatar 1 4	Switzerland won the group; Canada hold second on the table, with Bosnia-Herzegovina the strongest third-place team for now.
C	Brazil 7; Morocco 7; Scotland 3; Haiti 0 4	Brazil top Morocco on the table ordering; Scotland remain in the third-place comparison.
D	United States 6; Australia 3; Paraguay 3; Türkiye 0 4	The U.S. have a three-point lead; Australia and Paraguay are level before the final matches.
E	Germany 6; Ivory Coast 3; Ecuador 1; Curaçao 1 4	Germany are in control; second through fourth can still move sharply.
F	Netherlands 4; Japan 4; Sweden 3; Tunisia 0 4	Netherlands and Japan lead, but Sweden already have a viable third-place profile.
G	Egypt 4; Iran 2; Belgium 2; New Zealand 1 4	One point separates second from fourth; this is the tightest live group on the board.
H	Spain 4; Uruguay 2; Cape Verde 2; Saudi Arabia 1 4	Spain lead with a clean defensive record; the rest of the group remains compressed.
I	France 6; Norway 6; Senegal 0; Iraq 0 4	France and Norway are level on points, both with strong goal difference.
J	Argentina 6; Austria 3; Algeria 3; Jordan 0 4	Argentina lead; Austria and Algeria are tied for the second-place race.
K	Colombia 6; Portugal 4; Congo DR 1; Uzbekistan 0 4	Colombia occupy an automatic qualifying position; Portugal have a four-point cushion over Congo DR.
L	England 4; Ghana 4; Croatia 3; Panama 0 4	England and Ghana lead, but Croatia are only one point back.

Third-place cut line

FOX's live third-place table currently has Bosnia-Herzegovina first on 4 points, followed by Sweden, Croatia, South Korea, Algeria, Paraguay and Scotland on 3 points, with Cape Verde holding the eighth qualifying slot on 2 points. Belgium, Congo DR, Ecuador and Senegal are outside the current top eight. 6

That makes South Korea's status uncomfortable rather than hopeless. Their 3 points and -1 goal difference put them above several live third-place teams today, but Groups D through L still have unplayed final fixtures. Cape Verde's 2-point line is the number to watch: any third-place side already on 3 points has a buffer, but not a guarantee.

Golden Boot board

FOX's public tournament stat table lists each player's national team and tournament totals; this issue keeps the board to those published fields rather than adding club information from outside the fetched leaderboard.

Rank	Player	Team	Goals	Why it matters
1	Lionel Messi	Argentina	5	Still one goal clear of the field through two matches. 7
2	Erling Haaland	Norway	4	Norway's goal difference keeps their Group I duel with France high leverage. 7
3	Kylian Mbappé	France	4	Level with Haaland on goals as France sit first in Group I. 7
4	Vinícius Júnior	Brazil	4	His two-goal final group match pushed Brazil to the top of Group C. 7
5	Matheus Cunha	Brazil	3	Brazil now have two players in the top five scoring tier. 7
6	Johan Manzambi	Switzerland	3	One of the main statistical reasons Switzerland finished Group B first. 7
7	Jonathan David	Canada	3	Canada are second in Group B despite losing the group finale. 7
8	Ismael Saibari	Morocco	3	Morocco's scoring depth carried them level with Brazil on 7 points. 7

Assist board

Rank	Player	Team	Assists	Note
1	Alexander Isak	Sweden	3	Sweden are third in Group F but already second on the live third-place table. 8
2	Bruno Guimarães	Brazil	3	Brazil's attack also appears on the assist board, not just the scorer list. 8
3	Michael Olise	France	3	France's top-of-group run has come with both scoring and chance creation. 8
4	Chris Wood	New Zealand	2	New Zealand still sit fourth in Group G, but Wood remains high on the creator table. 8
5	Julio Enciso	Paraguay	2	Paraguay are tied on points with Australia in Group D and sit sixth on the third-place board. 8

A small Mexico note: Roberto Alvarado's stoppage-time assist to Fidalgo gives Mexico another creator on the live board and underlines why the host's Group A campaign finished with six goals and none conceded. 3

Goalkeeper watch

Clean sheets are now the cleanest goalkeeper signal in the public leaderboard. Rangel leads because Mexico have played all three group matches and conceded zero.

Rank	Goalkeeper	Team	Clean sheets	Goals allowed	Watch note
1	Raul Rangel	Mexico	3	0	The only keeper with three clean sheets on the FOX board. 9
2	Emiliano Martínez	Argentina	2	0	Argentina have not conceded through two matches. 9
3	Alisson	Brazil	2	1	Brazil won Group C with the best goal difference in the group. 9
4	Unai Simón	Spain	2	0	Spain lead Group H with zero goals conceded. 9
5	Ronwen Williams	South Africa	1	3	His clean sheet against South Korea came in the match that put South Africa second in Group A. 5

Player power ranking after the Group A finish

Lionel Messi, Argentina — still the tournament scoring leader with 5 goals and the highest rating shown among the top scorer rows. 7
Raul Rangel, Mexico — three starts, three clean sheets and no goals allowed is the strongest goalkeeper line on the board. 9
Vinícius Júnior, Brazil — his move to 4 goals matches the scale of Brazil's Group C finish. 7
Thapelo Maseko, South Africa — the 63rd-minute winner against South Korea was the single most valuable new goal in this cutoff window. 5
Álvaro Fidalgo, Mexico — came off the bench, scored at 90+3 and put Mexico's perfect Group A record beyond doubt. 3

What to watch next

The next leaderboard swing comes from the nine groups that still have one matchday left. The key thresholds are simple: 4 points should be strong for a third-place team, 3 points with negative goal difference is fragile, and 2 points is only safe if the remaining groups stay chaotic. For now, Mexico and South Africa are the headline movers; South Korea are the team waiting for the rest of the tournament to decide whether 3 points are enough.