World Cup: What's at Stake Today? | June 24

Groups A, B and C will be decided Wednesday as Canada and Switzerland battle for first place, Scotland chases a knockout-round berth and several nations fight to stay alive.

The World Cup group stage is entering its most chaotic phase.

Three groups are in action today, and by the time the final whistle blows tonight, Groups A, B and C will be settled. Some teams are playing for first place. Others are fighting simply to stay alive. A few nations are already packing their bags (boo!). This is where the World Cup becomes truly wonderful because every goal suddenly carries even more immense weight. One moment can be the difference between cruising into the knockout rounds and boarding a plane home. And who wants to go home?

Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand how FIFA breaks ties. I know this part is tedious. Trust me, I’d much rather spend my time talking about goals and dramatic stoppage-time winners. But with so many teams entering the final day level on points, these rules matter a ton.

If two or more teams in the same group finish with the same number of points, FIFA first turns to the results between those teams. Head-to-head points are the primary tiebreaker, followed by head-to-head goal difference and then goals scored in those head-to-head matches. If teams are somehow still tied after all of that, the process expands to include overall goal difference and total goals scored throughout the group stage. Should things somehow remain deadlocked, disciplinary records (how many yellow and red cards a team has been shown) come into play before, as an absolute last resort, FIFA turns to the world rankings. Nobody wants things to reach that point.

For third-place teams hoping to advance, the process is slightly different. FIFA ranks those teams based on points, goal difference, goals scored, disciplinary record and finally world ranking. In other words, every goal matters at this stage.

Now that we’ve gotten the boring stuff out of the way, let’s get to the fun part.

Group A: Mexico Is Through, Everybody Else Is Sweating

Mexico has already punched its ticket to the knockout rounds. Six points from victories over South Africa and Korea have guaranteed advancement and placed El Tri firmly at the top of the group.

I would be shocked if Korea isn’t the team that ultimately claims second place. A matchup with South Africa awaits, and the Koreans should feel confident entering that contest. South Africa has struggled throughout this tournament and hasn’t shown much evidence that it can consistently threaten quality opposition. If Korea handles business, its place in the knockout rounds should be secure.