Roundup of all the action across the second matchday of the group stage at 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This matchweek saw four teams secure their passage to the knockout stages as group winners, whilst several teams were left with their fates in the balance going into the final round of group matches.
Group A
Luis Romo’s 50th-minute tap-in winner saw Mexico scrape a 1-0 victory over South Korea to win Group A with a game to spare.
Teboho Mokoena’s penalty salvaged South Africa a 1-1 draw against Czech Republic to keep both teams’ hopes of finishing second alive, after Michal Sadilek had put the Czechs into a sixth-minute lead.
Group B
Jonathan David’s hat-trick plus goals from Cyle Larin, Nathan Saliba plus Mohammad Al Mannai’s own goal saw Canada thrash Qatar 6-0 to top Group B, whilst the Middle-East opponents finished with nine men following red cards for Homam El Amin and Assim Madibo.
Johan Manzambi’s brace plus goals from Ruben Vargas and Granit Xhaka saw Switzerland sit second with a 4-1 victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina, who were reduced to ten men following Tarik Muharemovic’s red card but netted a late consolatory goal through Ermin Mahmic.
Group C
Matheus Cunha’s brace and Vinicius Junior’s effort saw Brazil move top of Group B with a 3-0 win over Haiti who consequently were eliminated.
Ismael Saibari’s second-minute finish saw Morocco edge past Scotland in a competitive 1-0 encounter to sit second in the group.
Group D
Cameron Burgess’ own goal plus Alex Freeman’s header saw USA beat Australia 2-0 to top Group D with a game to spare.
Matias Galarza’s second-minute winner saw Paraguay eliminate Turkey with a 1-0 win, although the South-American team finished a man down after Miguel Almiron was sent off for covering his mouth during a conversation.
Group E
Deniz Undav’s second-half brace saw Germany seal a 2-1 comeback victory over Ivory Coast to top Group E, after Franck Kessie initially gave the African team a half-time lead through his 30th-minute finish.
Curacao earned their first-ever World Cup point with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador which kept their qualification dreams alive.
Group F
Braces from Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo plus Crysencio Summerville’s late finish fired Netherlands to a 5-1 victory over Sweden and top of Group F, despite Anthony Elanga’s consolatory effort for Graham Potter’s Swedes.
Ayase Ueda’s brace plus goals from Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito saw Japan cruise up to second with a 4-0 triumph over Tunisia, which consequently eliminated the African team in their first match under Herve Renard.
Group G
Mostafa Zico, Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet found the net as Egypt produced a 3-1 second-half comeback victory over New Zealand to top Group G, having fallen behind to Finn Surman’s 15th-minute header.
Iran sat second in the table ahead of Belgium after the pair played out a goalless draw, although the latter finished with ten men as Nathan Ngoy was red carded for a foul on Mehdi Taremi when the Iran international was through on goal.
Group H
Mikel Oyarzabal’s brace plus Lamine Yamal’s opener fired Spain top of Group H with a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, which was sealed through an own goal from Hassan Al Tambakti.
Cape Verde achieved their first-ever point at a World Cup with a battling 2-2 draw against Uruguay, in which Kevin Pina put them in front before Maxi Araujo and Agustin Canobbio turned Uruguay’s fortunes around before Helio Varela got the equaliser for the minnows.
Group I
Kylian Mbappe’s brace and Ousmane Dembele’s effort saw France cruise into the knockout stages with a 3-0 victory over Iraq, who consequently were eliminated with their second defeat in the group.
Senegal also suffered elimination after Ismaila Sarr’s brace couldn’t prevent a 3-2 defeat against Norway, as Marcus Pederson’s opener and Erling Haaland’s brace set up a top-of-group decider for the Norwegians against France in their final group match.
Group J
Lionel Messi’s brace saw Argentina cruise through to the Round of 32 as Group J winners following a 2-0 victory over Austria.
Second-half goals from Nadhir Benbouali and Amine Gouiri saw Algeria stage a 2-1 comeback win to eliminate Jordan, after Nizar Al Rashdan initially put the Middle-East team ahead.
Group K
Colombia booked their knockout spot through a 76th-minute deflected winner from Daniel Munoz against DR Congo.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace plus goals from Nuno Mendes and Rafael Leao on top of Abduvohid Nematov’s own-goal saw Portugal thrash Uzbekistan 5-0 to climb to second in the group.
Group L
England stayed top of Group L with a goalless draw against second-placed Ghana.
Both teams however were guaranteed third place in the group at minimum after Ante Budimir turned in a 54th-minute cross from Josip Stanisic to edge past Panama, which in-turn eliminated the South-American country.
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