African stars at the World Cup
Nine out of 10 teams representing Africa at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup have successfully advanced from the group stages of the tournament.
Only Tunisia crashed out in the group stage as Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde, South Africa, DR Congo, and Ivory Coast all made it through to the first knockout stages.
The group stage matches ended on Sunday with Argentina defeating Jordan 3-1 while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal played out another 0-0 draw against Colombia.
FirstDailySports takes a look at how the entire group stage played out, the losers and the winners of each group, as well as top Stats and key records set and broken until the end of matchday three.
Group A:
Mexico topped Group A with maximum nine points while South Africa finished second with four points, South Korea ended the first round with three points to finish third and Czechia ended in fourth with one point.
The Bafana Bafana recorded one win, one draw and one defeat to qualify for the tournament’s second round for the first time in their history. Only Mexico and South Africa went through.
Group B
Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for the round of 32.
Canada will take on South Africa on Sunday, Switzerland will face Algeria on Friday, and Bosnia and Herzegovina will play USA on Thursday.
Group C
Brazil topped the group with seven points, earning two wins and drawing one. Morocco finished second with seven points but with an inferior goal difference, they recorded two wins and one draw. Scotland and Haiti crashed out.
The Selecao will slug it out with Japan on Monday while Morocco will face the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Group D
Co-hosts USA, Australia and Paraguay all advanced to the last 32 while Turkey crashed out.
Group E
Germany finished top of the group with six points with two wins and one defeat, scoring 10 and conceding four. Ivory Coast came second with six points, scoring four and conceding two.
Ecuador finished third with four points with one win, one draw and one defeat to advance to the round of 32.
Germany will face Paraguay on Monday, Ivory Coast will take on Norway on Tuesday, Ecuador will slug it out with Mexico on Wednesday.
Read Also: World Cup winners to pocket $50m in FIFA’s record $871m payout
Group F
Netherlands top the group with seven points, winning two and drawing one. Japan finished second with five points and Sweden came third with four points and Tunisia finished fourth without a point.
Netherlands will take on Morocco on Tuesday, Sweden will face France on Tuesday and Japan will slug it out Brazil on Monday.
Group G
Belgium finished top of the ladder with five points with one win and two draws and Egypt followed suit with five points in second place. Iran came third with three points and New Zealand finished bottom of the group with one point.
Belgium will face Senegal on Tuesday while Egypt will take on Australia on Friday.
Group H
Spain topped the log with seven points while suprise package Cape Verde finished second with three points. Spain won two and drew one while Cape Verde drew all their three matches.
Uruguay endured a disappointing tournament, earning two points with two draws and one defeat. They crash out alongside Saudi Arabia who finished fourth with two points.
Spain will take on Austria on Thursday while Cape Verde, who qualified for the knockout stages in their first-ever World Cup appearance, will face Argentina on Friday.
Group I
2018 Champions France topped the group with maximum nine points, winning all their three matches against Senegal, Norway and Iraq.
Norway finished second with six points and Senegal ended the group stage in third while Iraq finished bottom of the group with zero points.
Three teams qualified for the round of 32, France will face Sweden on Tuesday, Norway will slug it out with Ivory Coast on the same day while Senegal will take on Belgium on Wednesday.
Group J
Defending champions Argentina finished top of the group with nine points thanks to a dominant performance from Lionel Messi.
The Inter Miami forward has enjoyed an impressive first round in the tournament with six goals in three matches.
Austria finished second in the group with four points and Algeria ended in third with four points, Jordan finished bottom with zero points.
Three teams booked their places in the round of 32 with Argentina taking on Cape Verde, Austria slugging it out with Spain on Thursday and Algeria will take on Switzerland on Friday.
Read Also: Two wins, four losses – how African teams fared on World Cup matchday one
Group K
Colombia finished top of the group with seven points followed by Portugal in second with five points and DR Congo finished third with four points, Uzbekistan had zero points.
In the round of 32, Colombia will face Ghana on Saturday while Portugal will take on Croatia on Friday and DR Congo will take on England on Wednesday.
Group L
Thomas Tuchel’s England finished as group winners with seven points with two wins and one draw. Croatia came second with six points, Ghana finished third with four points and Panama had zero points.
In the round of 32, England will take on DR Congo, Croatia will face Portugal and Ghana will slug it out with Colombia.
Top Stats From 2026 World Cup Group Stage
A total of 215 goals were scored across the 72 games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage.
The average of 2.99 per game is the highest since the 1950s.
Luka Modric became the oldest player (40y-291d) to provide an assist at the FIFA World Cup (since 1966).
England have finished in first place in their group in consecutive FIFA World Cups for the first time in the team’s history.
Panama lost all six of their FIFA WC games, becoming the sixth nation to lose their first six FIFA WC games (also Mexico, El Salvador, Canada, Haiti, Iraq).
There have been seven 0-0 draws at the 2026 World Cup – tied for the most in a single World Cup (2022, 2014, 2010, 2006, 1982).
Wissa became the fourth African player to score 3 goals in a single World Cup Group Stage, joining Papa Bouba Diop (2002), Ismaïla Sarr (2026), and Ismael Saibari (2026).
Lionel Messi became the first player in FIFA World Cup history to score in 7 consecutive appearances.
Messi extended his all-time top-scoring record with his 19th FIFA WC goal.
Messi became the sixth player to score two direct free-kicks at the FIFA World Cup in the last 60 years.
Messi now has six World Cup goals from outside the penalty area, breaking a tie with Rivellino for the most such goals in the last 60 years at the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina are on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the World Cup dating back to 2022; it is the team’s longest unbeaten streak in WC play since 10 games from 2002-2010.
Leandro Paredes completed 154 passes for Argentina against Jordan, the most by an Argentine player in a single FIFA World Cup match in the last 60 years and the sixth-highest total by any player in the competition in that span.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his 25th appearance for Portugal in a FIFA World Cup, tying Germany’s Lothar Matthäus for the second-most in tournament history. Lionel Messi has the most (29).
How Africa defied odds as nine of 10 teams advance to World Cup last-32
Nine out of 10 teams representing Africa at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup have successfully advanced from the group stages of the tournament.
Only Tunisia crashed out in the group stage as Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde, South Africa, DR Congo, and Ivory Coast all made it through to the first knockout stages.
The group stage matches ended on Sunday with Argentina defeating Jordan 3-1 while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal played out another 0-0 draw against Colombia.
FirstDailySports takes a look at how the entire group stage played out, the losers and the winners of each group, as well as top Stats and key records set and broken until the end of matchday three.
Group A:
Mexico topped Group A with maximum nine points while South Africa finished second with four points, South Korea ended the first round with three points to finish third and Czechia ended in fourth with one point.
The Bafana Bafana recorded one win, one draw and one defeat to qualify for the tournament’s second round for the first time in their history. Only Mexico and South Africa went through.
Group B
Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for the round of 32.
Canada will take on South Africa on Sunday, Switzerland will face Algeria on Friday, and Bosnia and Herzegovina will play USA on Thursday.
Group C
Brazil topped the group with seven points, earning two wins and drawing one. Morocco finished second with seven points but with an inferior goal difference, they recorded two wins and one draw. Scotland and Haiti crashed out.
The Selecao will slug it out with Japan on Monday while Morocco will face the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Group D
Co-hosts USA, Australia and Paraguay all advanced to the last 32 while Turkey crashed out.
Group E
Germany finished top of the group with six points with two wins and one defeat, scoring 10 and conceding four. Ivory Coast came second with six points, scoring four and conceding two.
Ecuador finished third with four points with one win, one draw and one defeat to advance to the round of 32.
Germany will face Paraguay on Monday, Ivory Coast will take on Norway on Tuesday, Ecuador will slug it out with Mexico on Wednesday.
Read Also: World Cup winners to pocket $50m in FIFA’s record $871m payout
Group F
Netherlands top the group with seven points, winning two and drawing one. Japan finished second with five points and Sweden came third with four points and Tunisia finished fourth without a point.
Netherlands will take on Morocco on Tuesday, Sweden will face France on Tuesday and Japan will slug it out Brazil on Monday.
Group G
Belgium finished top of the ladder with five points with one win and two draws and Egypt followed suit with five points in second place. Iran came third with three points and New Zealand finished bottom of the group with one point.
Belgium will face Senegal on Tuesday while Egypt will take on Australia on Friday.
Group H
Spain topped the log with seven points while suprise package Cape Verde finished second with three points. Spain won two and drew one while Cape Verde drew all their three matches.
Uruguay endured a disappointing tournament, earning two points with two draws and one defeat. They crash out alongside Saudi Arabia who finished fourth with two points.
Spain will take on Austria on Thursday while Cape Verde, who qualified for the knockout stages in their first-ever World Cup appearance, will face Argentina on Friday.
Group I
2018 Champions France topped the group with maximum nine points, winning all their three matches against Senegal, Norway and Iraq.
Norway finished second with six points and Senegal ended the group stage in third while Iraq finished bottom of the group with zero points.
Three teams qualified for the round of 32, France will face Sweden on Tuesday, Norway will slug it out with Ivory Coast on the same day while Senegal will take on Belgium on Wednesday.
Group J
Defending champions Argentina finished top of the group with nine points thanks to a dominant performance from Lionel Messi.
The Inter Miami forward has enjoyed an impressive first round in the tournament with six goals in three matches.
Austria finished second in the group with four points and Algeria ended in third with four points, Jordan finished bottom with zero points.
Three teams booked their places in the round of 32 with Argentina taking on Cape Verde, Austria slugging it out with Spain on Thursday and Algeria will take on Switzerland on Friday.
Read Also: Two wins, four losses – how African teams fared on World Cup matchday one
Group K
Colombia finished top of the group with seven points followed by Portugal in second with five points and DR Congo finished third with four points, Uzbekistan had zero points.
In the round of 32, Colombia will face Ghana on Saturday while Portugal will take on Croatia on Friday and DR Congo will take on England on Wednesday.
Group L
Thomas Tuchel’s England finished as group winners with seven points with two wins and one draw. Croatia came second with six points, Ghana finished third with four points and Panama had zero points.
In the round of 32, England will take on DR Congo, Croatia will face Portugal and Ghana will slug it out with Colombia.
Top Stats From 2026 World Cup Group Stage
A total of 215 goals were scored across the 72 games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage.
The average of 2.99 per game is the highest since the 1950s.
Luka Modric became the oldest player (40y-291d) to provide an assist at the FIFA World Cup (since 1966).
England have finished in first place in their group in consecutive FIFA World Cups for the first time in the team’s history.
Panama lost all six of their FIFA WC games, becoming the sixth nation to lose their first six FIFA WC games (also Mexico, El Salvador, Canada, Haiti, Iraq).
There have been seven 0-0 draws at the 2026 World Cup – tied for the most in a single World Cup (2022, 2014, 2010, 2006, 1982).
Wissa became the fourth African player to score 3 goals in a single World Cup Group Stage, joining Papa Bouba Diop (2002), Ismaïla Sarr (2026), and Ismael Saibari (2026).
Lionel Messi became the first player in FIFA World Cup history to score in 7 consecutive appearances.
Messi extended his all-time top-scoring record with his 19th FIFA WC goal.
Messi became the sixth player to score two direct free-kicks at the FIFA World Cup in the last 60 years.
Messi now has six World Cup goals from outside the penalty area, breaking a tie with Rivellino for the most such goals in the last 60 years at the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina are on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the World Cup dating back to 2022; it is the team’s longest unbeaten streak in WC play since 10 games from 2002-2010.
Leandro Paredes completed 154 passes for Argentina against Jordan, the most by an Argentine player in a single FIFA World Cup match in the last 60 years and the sixth-highest total by any player in the competition in that span.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his 25th appearance for Portugal in a FIFA World Cup, tying Germany’s Lothar Matthäus for the second-most in tournament history. Lionel Messi has the most (29).
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