How Teams Can Advance to the Next Round of the World Cup
The World Cup's group's stage comes to a conclusion Thursday -- and 16 of the tournament's 32 teams will advance to the round of 16. So far, Brazil, Mexico, the Netherlands, Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Colombia and Greece have all advanced to the next round. Over the next two days, four more groups will be decided. The top two teams with the most points go through. Goal differential, used as a tie-breaker when teams are even with points, accounts for the number of goals a team has scored minus the ones it has allowed. Here are the way the scenarios play out in the remaining group: Group E: France is favored to finish first, while either Ecuador and Switzerland are also in the best position to finish second. France (6 points, goal differential +6) -- Advances and wins the group with a win or draw against Ecuador. Ecuador (3 points, goal differential 0) -- Advances with a win against France. Switzerland (3 points, goal differential -2)