6/28/2026
With the group stage of the World Cup done and the round of 32 about to start. We will go over whos in and whos out and some of the stories that stood out during the group rounds.
Although we have watched most of the matches, we have not seen them all so no doubt we may have missed a play or two that deserves recognition.
Host Countries Advance to Knockouts
While all 3 host countries advance to the round of 32 only Mexico went undefeated in group play. El Tri swept group A and take on Ecuador in the round of 32.
The US also won their group despite dropping the match against Turkiye in the group D finale. Read our Coverage HERE. The Stars and Stripes play Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockouts.
Canada finished 2nd in group B behind Switzerland. Les Rouges play South Africa in the opening match of the round of 32. Canada did set a record for biggest win by a host country in World Cup history with their 6-0 win over Qatar.
Records Set or Tied
Teams have scored on themselves 12 times in the World Cup matching the record set in 2018 and the group stage just ended.
Harry Kane passed Gary Lineker to become England’s all time leading goal scorer at the World Cup with 11 and counting.
African Countries Amazing Group Performance
9 out of the 10 African Countries in the World Cup advanced to the round of 32. Tunisia was the only team eliminated and they played in a very tough group F. South Africa, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Egypt, and Cape Verde all finished 2nd in their groups. The expanded field allowed Senegal, Algeria, Congo DR and Ghana to advance after finishing in the top 8 of 3rd place teams.
The team that has put everyone on notice is Cape Verde the smallest nation to advance in the tournament. The Blue Sharks got draws in every group match and have been the Cinderella story of the World Cup. They came into the tournament as the 67th ranked team in the world and making their World Cup debut. They take on defending champions Argentina in the round of 32.
Surprise Teams Knocked Out
Uruguay(16) and Iran(20) were both ranked in the top 20 world rankings before the tournament and failed to make it out of the group round.
Turkiye (22) and South Korea (25) were supposed to push a couple of host countries for the top spots in their groups but exited early after disappointing group play performances
All Eliminated Teams
Group A
South Korea and Czechia
Group B
Qatar
Group C
Scotland and Haiti
Group D
Turkiye
Group E
Curacao
Group F
Tunisia
Group G
Iran and New Zealand
Group H
Uruguay and Saudi Arabia
Group I
Iraq
Group J
Jordan
Group K
Uzbekistan
Group L
Panama
Team Goal Leaders
10 Goals
Germany, France and Netherlands
8 Goals
Senegal, Norway, Canada, Argentina and USA
7 Goals
Sweden, Brazil, Japan and Switzerland
6 Goals
Morocco, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Mexico and England
Golden Boot Leaders
Argentina’s Lionel Messi with 6 goals
4 Goals
Kylian Mbappe, France
Ousmane Dembele, France
Vinicius Junior, Brazil
Erling Haaland, Norway
3 Goals
Yoane Wissa, Congo DR
Harry Kane, England
Ismaïla Sarr, Senegal
Brian Brobbey, Netherlands
Ismael Saibari, Morocco
Matheus Cunha, Brazil
Deniz Undav, Germany
Jonathan David, Canada
Johan Manzambi, Switzerland
Elijah Just, New Zealand
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