We’re halfway through the last set of group games, and 16 of the 32 teams qualifying for the knockout rounds are now known — with three more already qualified just not exactly certain in which order.
The US and Germany were already confirmed as group winners coming into yesterday, and they both ended up losing their ultimately meaningless final games. Of course, those games weren’t necessarily meaningless for their opponents, with Ecuador using their win over Germany to get into the knockout rounds.
For Turkey, it was all about just pride however as their fate was already sealed last week.
The scoreless draw between Australia and Paraguay confirmed the former as runners-up in Group D, with the later now sweating their fate as one of the better third-place teams. (They’re probably okay.) Meanwhile, in Group E, Côte d’Ivoire did enough finish second by getting past Curaçao, 2-0, with ex-Arsenal flop Nicolas Pépé scoring both goals.
Group F was the messiest one coming into the day, but the Netherlands scoring twice in quick succession against Tunisia inside the opening ten minutes settled things down. And the Japan vs. Sweden game somehow finished a draw, with Sweden much the better side in the closing stages. Japan did go unbeaten in the group stage to finish second, though it’s been a somewhat disappointing tournament from them thus far.
Next!
GROUP I
France and Norway are both qualified as the top two, so this game is purely for seeding (and possibly for the Golden Boot race between Mbappé and Haaland). The winner of the group would face Graham Potter’s Sweden in the knockout rounds while the runners-up would have to deal with Côte d’Ivoire. I know which one I’d rather have.
For the third spot, Senegal need a win, otherwise they’re going home. Third place for them would likely mean that they face England in the Round of 32.
FRANCE vs. NORWAY
Date / Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 3pm EDT; 8pm BST
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA, USA
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); ITV 1 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
SENEGAL vs. IRAQ
Date / Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 3pm EDT; 8pm BST
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto, ON, Canada
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
On TV: FOX Sports 1, Universo (USA); ITV 4; elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
GROUP G
Unlike Group F, Group G is wide open heading into the final games of this stage, with all four teams conceivably having a chance at the knockout rounds. Saudi Arabia are the longshots, with just one point to their name so far, but not even Spain, top of the group with 4 points, are completely safe. Cape Verde and Uruguay both have two points, two draws, coming in. A point each might be enough, but not guaranteed for third place.
CAPE VERDE vs. SAUDI ARABIA
Date / Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 8pm EDT; 1am BST (next day)
Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, USA
Referee: François Letexier (France)
On TV: FOX Sports 1, Universo (USA); ITV 4 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
URUGUAY vs. SPAIN
Date / Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 8pm EDT; 1am BST (next day)
Venue: Estadion Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); ITV 1 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
GROUP H
Similar situation to Group G, with all to play for on the final day. Egypt lead the group on four points currently, followed by Iran and Belgium on two, and then New Zealand with just one. But if they can pull off the upset over Belgium, they would progress and knock out Big Rom & Co in the process. If Egypt were to stay top, they’d remain in Seattle for the Round of 32, and then potentially set up a Round of 16 game against the US in the same stadium.
EGYPT vs. IRAN
Date / Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 11pm EDT; 4am BST (next day)
Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA, USA
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
On TV: FOX Sports 1, Universo (USA); BBC Two (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)
NEW ZEALAND vs. BELGIUM
Date / Time: Friday, June 26, 2026, 10pm EDT; 4am BST (next day)
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); BBC One (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)
