Before the 2026 FIFA World Cup began, there were concerns about everything from people not being able to attend matches to the suitability of stadiums to play soccer.
On June 11, Mexico opened the event with a 2-0 victory over South Africa in the group stage. This will be the third time Mexico City will host the opening match. Seventeen days and 72 games later, it was Austria and Algeria who finished the group stage in Dallas on June 28th, ending in a 3-3 draw just after midnight on Sunday.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
By the end of last week, FIFA announced that attendance for the 2026 tournament had surpassed the previous World Cup record of 3.6 million, and with three weeks remaining, it had slightly surpassed the 3.4 million attendance for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Here are the top 5 biggest points from World Cup group play:
The World Cup still revolves around the euro and South America
The UEFA team largely lived up to its reputation, with France finishing in first place with a perfect record in group match play.
Even Norway, who are no better than the Round of 16 participants, are gearing up for another breakthrough. In a tactical move, Stahle Solbakken conceded Group I to Les Bleus in Friday’s final group game, giving them a rest ahead of the next round.
CONMEBOL’s Argentina, Brazil and Colombia won their group, while Cafeteros defeated Portugal in the final. Ecuador then defeated Germany and moved into third place.
But Europe and South America are not the only countries with ambitions for the 2026 World Cup.
Nine of the 10 African teams have advanced, with Morocco being talked about making the finals. That seems like a reasonable goal after the Atlas Lions reached the semifinals in 2022.
The Moroccans’ defense and Yassin Bounou’s goalkeeping helped them beat Qatar. The current plan is to aim for goals, which is one of the reasons why Mohamed Ouabi was chosen to replace Walid Reglagui. They got off to a slow start, drawing 1-1 with Brazil and beating Scotland 1-0. Achraf Hakimi, Ismael Saibari and substitute Soufian Rahimi then contributed to the 4-2 victory over Haiti.
And ever since Mauricio Pochettino took over as manager in 2024, America has been talking about winning it all. Now, American players and new-found supporters are aligning themselves with Pochettino. Let’s not forget Mexico, our co-host country. They won all three of their group matches, making them one of only three teams to do so, along with powerhouses Argentina and France.
Which team is the real America?
Team USA started with big wins, 4-1 against Paraguay and 2-0 against Australia. They then lost to Tolkier 2-3. So was the team as good as it looked in the first two games, or as vulnerable as the already eliminated Turks showed? The answer is probably somewhere in between.
Firing on all cylinders and with a partisan crowd behind them, America’s players look better than everyone else. However, there were doubts about the depth of the U.S. team, and injuries to key starters prompted Pochettino to make nine changes for the match against Turkiye, exposing some of the co-hosts’ shortcomings in the lead-up to the finals.
Lionel Messi bets on winning the Golden Boot
Heading into the World Cup, the favorites to win the Golden Boot race included Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé.
Then came Messi, who broke Miroslav Klose’s all-time goalscoring record in the tournament. The diminutive Argentine superstar has scored six goals in this World Cup as well as his current three games for the Golden Boot, and looks like he could add a few more.
Messi celebrated his 39th birthday last week, and most agree that this will be his last appearance at the sport’s premier global show. But Messi seems to have somehow found an extra gear or two, if not gotten better with age.
Unlike Portugal’s fellow soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, Messi has demonstrated subtle ways to prolong his effectiveness. His physique has a low center of gravity, which helps him avoid injuries. And his overall efficient style conserves energy. Messi the Goat? If he hasn’t proven it yet, wait until 2030.
everyone loves the underdog
The bloated field of 48 teams certainly diluted the competition. But Cape Verde showed what they are capable of, with Tubarose Azuis finishing second in a group that included former World Cup winners Spain and Uruguay, as well as Saudi Arabia. They were consistent on the field and united off the field.
There are no controversies or disputes that can spoil the campaign of an inexperienced team, or an experienced team like Uruguay. Curacao may have deserved some sympathy, but the Blue Wave should have been happy that they actually scored against Germany and drew against Ecuador.
Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, returning to the tournament 52 years after becoming the first Caribbean nation and first sub-Saharan African nation to qualify, respectively, also earned respect for the quality of their play, in contrast to their self-defeating debut in West Germany in 1974.
Iraq’s Aymen Hussein scored his country’s opening goal, but the Mesopotamian Lions, playing in their first World Cup since 1986, were left behind in one of the tournament’s toughest groups.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Iran at the 2026 World Cup. It was bad enough that Iran were treated as persona non grata by the US authorities, but despite having an undefeated record (three draws) in group matches, they were not as lucky on the field as they were eliminated on the final day.
The spirit of the World Cup is still alive today
Confirmed: Win, Lose or Draw – The World Cup Group Stage is the biggest party on Earth. Maybe not everyone was invited, but those who got in the door enjoyed it.
Fans from all over the world transformed host cities and stadiums with their chants and cheers. The Scots toasted the city without causing any trouble. The Dutch turned a bleak boulevard into a sea of orange.
There were certainly obstacles to having a good time, including exorbitant ticket prices and travel difficulties.
The hydration break disrupted the flow of the match and upset the fans, who were greeted with boos. However, the audience conveyed a pleasant atmosphere and added liveliness to the event.
Group play was completed with 72 of the 104 games played over two and a half weeks, with the main objective being to send 12 teams home. There may be some doubt as to whether some of them were in attendance at the tournament, but there is no doubt that their supporters were.
