The first round of fixtures at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has already provided plenty of memorable moments. From shock results to statement victories from some of football’s biggest nations, the group stage has wasted no time delivering entertainment.
In Part 1, we looked at the key talking points from Groups A to F. Now, our attention turns to the remaining six groups, where tournament favourites have begun their campaigns, underdogs have made their presence felt, and several teams have already shown why they could be genuine contenders for a place in the knockout rounds.
From Messi’s record breaking hattrick to Haaland and Mbappe making early statements, here are the biggest takeaways from Groups G through L.
Group G: Belgium Show Signs of Decline.
In a battle of the two favourites in Group G, Belgium took on Egypt in Seattle, Washington. Going into this game, Belgium were seen as favourites to take top spot in their group, due to their team being filled with top talents from the top European leagues. The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Youri Tielemans and Thibaut Courtois all started but it was Egypt who took a shock lead when Eman Ashour’s beautiful strike flew past the Belgian keeper.
Apart from Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah and Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush, eight of the other nine players all play in the Egyptian Premier League, a massive drop off in quality from the English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Belgium managed to rescue a point through an own goal from Mohamed Hany but it looks like their ‘Golden Generation’ might be over.
The other game in Group G saw Iran take on New Zealand in a very entertaining 2-2 draw. Motherwell’s Elijah Just put New Zealand into the lead just seven minutes in before Ramin Rezaeian levelled the game. Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood got himself two assists in this match, setting up Just for his second of the game after the restart. But Mohammed Mohebi’s 64th minute header meant points were shared and it is all to play for going into matchday two.
Group H: Spain Lack Composure
The 2024 European Champions, Spain, kicked off their World Cup campaign against Cape Verde. Spain are many people’s pick to win the tournament with their star cast of players including Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Pedri, Marc Cucurella and many more. But, in an incredible World Cup debut, the second-smallest country in the tournament, Cape Verde, pulled off a miracle and held Spain to a scoreless draw in Atlanta.
The stats show Spain had 74% possession and a 2.10 xG, compared to Cape Verde’s 26% and 0.20 xG. Spanish Coach, Luis de le Fuente, tried every trick in the book, subbing on Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Nico Williams to try and break down this stubborn defence. The biggest story coming out of the match was Cape Verde’s 40-year-old veteran Goalkeeper Vozinha, who won man of the match and saved all seven of Spain’s shots on target. Can the favourites bounce back or will this stump their momentum?
Saudi Arabia and Uruguay met in Miami with another surprise result on the cards. After beating future Champions Argentina in their opening game of the 2022 World Cup, Saudi Arabia looked to pull off another upset when centre back Abdulelah Al Amri scored just before halftime. Marcelo Bielsa’s team put on the pressure in the second half with 27 total shots at Mohammed Al Owais in the Saudi Arabia goal. However, Uruguay saved themselves in the 80th minute when Maxi Aruajo fired in the equaliser for the points to be shared.
Group I: The Stars have Arrived!
Group I is seen for many as ‘the Group of Death’ with three very good teams battling it out for top spot. France met Senegal in the opening match which had a very dull first 60 minutes. But, after a penalty was called off, France sprang into action. Michael Olise looked unplayable in the number 10 role, playing a lovely weighted through ball to Kylian Mbappe who slotted it past Edouard Mendy.
France kept on the pressure with a second coming from substitute Bradley Barcola. Senegal’s Nicolas Jackson had a goal ruled out for offside, before Ibrahim Mbaye scored to make the score 2-1 with three minutes left on the clock. But before Senegal could even think about a comeback, Kylian Mbappe’s 30-yard screamer ended the game with a bang. Mbappe has now overtook Olivier Giroud as the all-time French top goal scorer, and what a way to do so.
Erling Haaland and Norway got their World Cup campaign off and running with a 4-1 win over Iraq at the Boston Stadium. The Manchester City number nine scored his first 29 minutes in, getting on the end of a David Moller Wolfe cross. Iraq answered back with Ayman Hussein’s header, but a poor pass back led to Haaland’s second and then from there they didn’t look back. Leo Ostigard and an own goal from Hussein put Norway joint top of the group with mouth-watering fixtures against Senegal and France still to come.
Group J: Messi Makes History
The defending Champions Argentina faced Algeria in Kansas City, Missouri, and one man completely stole the show. As has often been the case, Lionel Messi has moments of magic which drag his country to victory, as Argentina made it look easy in a 3-0 win. The current Inter Miami player stole the show with his first hattrick in the tournament, even having a fourth ruled out just six minutes into the game.
Messi has now tied Miroslav Klose at the top of the All time World Cup scoring chart with 16 goals. He’ll have the chance to break the record against Austria in Dallas as Argentina look to win back-to-back World Cups.
Austria and Jordan met in the second Group J match, on paper it looked like Austria coasted to a 3-1 win, but that was far from the truth. Austria led 1-0 at half time thanks to a Romano Schmid strike, but Jordan made it difficult throughout the game and equalised through Ali Iyad Olwan. Austria took control and restored their lead thanks to a Yazan Abu Al-Arab own goal, before veteran striker Marko Arnautovic’s penalty secured all three points.
Group K: Portugal Fails to Impress
After Mbappe, Haaland and Messi all showed up in their games, it was time for Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to take on DR Congo in Group K. Going into the tournament, Portugal were seen as big contenders with a team consisting of star players such as Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Bernardo Silva, just to name a few. But just like Spain before them, another shocking result was on the cards.
An early Joao Neves header put Portugal up 1-0 after six minutes and they looked to be cruising, but on the stroke of half time, Newcastle United’s Yoanne Wissa levelled the score and it was all square going into the second half. Portugal looked like a shell of themselves as the game progressed as Lionel Mapsi-Nzau wasn’t tested in the Congo goal, except for a Joao Cancelo overhead kick which as ruled out for offside. Far from holding on, Congo looked like they could go on and win the game but they will be more than happy with a 1-1 draw.
Colombia faced Uzbekistan in the other fixture in Group K and won 3-1 in pretty convincing fashion. They struck first just before the break with Crystal Palace full back Daniel Munoz getting on the end of a Luis Diaz clipped ball to make it 1-0. Uzbekistan would level the game with Abbosbek Fayzullayev heading the ball into an empty net after Eldor Shomurodov’s initial volley was blocked. But goals from Luis Diaz and Jaminton Campaz secured the win putting Colombia top of the Group.
Group L: It’s Coming Home?
The final Group saw Thomas Tuchel’s England face Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia in Dallas, Texas. A difference in playstyle from England compared to their more defensive approach under Gareth Southgate, saw them play through Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, as he dropped very deep at points even being further back than the centre back partnership of John Stones and Ezri Konza.
England opened the scoring when Luka Modric gave away a penalty leading to Harry Kane scoring after a retake, Martin Baturina made it all square before Harry Kane grabbed his second heading in from a Declan Rice corner. It looked to be in England’s favour heading into halftime but Croatia would again equalise when Petar Musa would poke the ball past Jordan Pickford to make it 2-2. The second half saw a dominant display from England with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford getting on the scoresheet to secure a 4-2 win in a thriller.
Ghana and Panama had a very tightly contested game which could have gone either way. Panama were in control for the first half before Antoine Semenyo took to the game by the scruff of the neck and created some very close chances. In the 95th minute, Toronto Stadium erupted as Brandon Thomas-Asante burst through and squared it to Caleb Yirenkyi to win the game for Ghana.
Six more groups down and the story of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has begun to take shape. Stars such as Messi, Mbappe and Haaland delivered on the biggest stage, but several tournament favourites were left frustrated by underdogs and unexpected results. With the opening round now complete, every team have shown their hand to a degree. Some have already announced themselves as genuine contenders, while others have plenty of work to do before the knockout stages. If the opening round of matches are anything to go by, this World Cup is only just getting started.
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