 The six groups (A to F) still contained four teams each, with the top two from each group still going through to the knockout phase.In the new format, however, the four best third-ranked sides also progress, leaving 16 teams going into the new round-of-16 knockout phases, ahead of the usual quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, and only 8 teams going out at the group stage.The format is exactly the one that was applied to the 1986, 1990, and 1994 FIFA World Cups, except for the absence of a third place play-off.