FIFA World Cup 2026 results roundup: Cape Verde create history, Uruguay crash out, Belgium progress
World Cup 2026 results: The drama in the final leg of the group stage continued with Norway facing France and Senegal playing Iraq in Group I. Group H saw Cape Verde take on Saudi Arabia, Spain went up against Uruguay. Egypt and Iran square off in Group H, where Belgium also plays New Zealand.
Group H: Cape Verde shock the world, Uruguay suffer exit
Cape Verde created more history at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia secured their progress to the knockout stage in their World Cup debut. Few would have predicted them to finish second when the African nation was pitted against Spain, Uruguay, and Asian heavyweights.
But after credible draws against La Roja and La Celeste, the Blue Sharks pulled off another stalemate against Saudi to advance. The game in Houston was slow to start, with the first shot coming in after 17 minutes when Salem Al Dawsari’s effort was blocked by Wagner Pina. Cape Verde then looked lively and saw Willy Semedo’s well-taken shot saved at the near post. After half time, the World Cup debutants continued to threaten, with Laros Duarte thwarted by Mohammed Al Owais at the last minute.
Saudi Arabia had chances of their own but failed to get the all-important winner. Cape Verde survived a few anxious moments in the end but held on for a monumental result. They will now face the defending champions Argentina in the round of 32 as their fairytale run continues.
In the other Group I game, Uruguay crashed out in the group stages of the World Cup for a second time in a row. Needing a result against Spain, the South American offered little threat going forward. In fact, the European champions were the ones who looked likely to score early on. The game was cagey for the most part until the deadlock was broken in the 42nd minute.
Alex Baena took Marcos Llorente’s pass, and his shot squirmed through Fernando Muslera’s grasp to give Spain the lead. Marcelo Bielsa made the call to substitute the veteran goalkeeper at half time but his side’s fortunes didn’t change. They did push for an equalizer late on but only saw Agustin Canobbio sent off in stoppage time to compound their misery and end their World Cup run.
Group I: France thrash Norway and Senegal boost chances
The much-hyped encounter between France and Norway turned out to be a one-sided affair at the end. A much-changed Norway lineup were no match for the powers of Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe as the French sealed the top spot with a 4-1 win.
It took Dembele only seven minutes to open the scoring after Mbappe had played a clear through ball to him. In the 20th minute, the PSG forward struck again. Mbappe once again found Dembele and the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner cut inside and then whipped a curling shot into the far corner. A minute later, Norway had their first goal.
The Les Bleus defence appeared to be napping when Thelo Aasgaard drove through them and finished in the bottom corner. Dembele then completed the second quickest hat trick in World Cup history. After receiving a pass from Aurelin Tchouameni in the box, Dembele was composed as Norway defenders surrounded him, and he found the bottom corner for his third goal in the 32nd minute.
Norway had the chance to score a second, but Strand Larsen saw his penalty saved by Mike Maignan five minutes after the restart. Desire Doue then added gloss to a fantastic French performance, scoring from a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Senegal also boosted their chances of qualification for the knockout stages after a 5-0 thrashing of Iraq. After losing their first two games, the African side knew they needed a big performance to keep their World Cup hopes alive. They made a rapid start when Abdoulaye Seck’s header from a corner was turned in by Habia Diarra. Iraq were then reduced to 10 men when Rebin Sulaka was sent off in the 13th minute for pulling down Sadio Mane, with the forward through on goal.
While they were unable to add to their lead in the first half, the Lions of Teranga roared fiercely in the next 45 minutes. A mistake from Zidane Iqbal allowed Lamine Camara to steal the ball and square it for Ismaila Sarr to make it 2-0 in the 56th minute. Pape Gueye then scored the first of his stunning goals, beating Jalal Hassan with a left-footed strike into the top corner just before the hour mark.
Gueye’s second in the 71st minute was another powerful drive that left the keeper no chance. Senegal rounded off the win when Iliman Ndiaye rifled in a shot from outside the box and into the net eight minutes from time. While they are not guaranteed progress yet, this win massively boosts Senegal’s chances of making it to the knockouts.
Group G: Iran stay alive and Belgium top group
Iran kept their World Cup hopes alive with a third consecutive draw at the World Cup. They started the match against Egypt in Seattle on the backfoot after Mahmoud Saber’s shot evaded a group of defenders to go wiggle past Alireza Beiranvand in the fifth minute.
Iran then had the chance to draw level after Mehdi Taremi was brought down in the box. However, Taremi saw his penalty saved after Mostafa Shobeir dived correctly to make the save. But Team Melli had their reward in the 14th minute when Ramin Rezaeian drilled home from a rebound to bring his side level.
Both teams huffed and puffed for large parts of the game, but Iran did appear more of a threat. They then thought they had scored the winner when Shoja Khalilzadeh scored from a goal-mouth scramble to spark wild celebrations from their fans and players. But a VAR check ruled out the dramatic winner after it was judged that Khalilzadeh’s foot was marginally offside. In the end, the game ended 1-1, and Egypt go through with a second-place finish while Iran await results on Saturday to see their fate.
The other game in Group G saw Belgium confirm their place in the knockout stages with a resounding 5-1 win over New Zealand. With two draws in two games, Rudi Garcia’s men were far from assured of progress to the next round. But they put in their best performance of the tournament to finish as group leaders.
Belgium started on the front foot and went ahead in the 28th minute when Leandro Trossard smashed home after the All Whites failed to deal with a corner. They created more chances but failed to double their advantage by the end of the first half. Trossard then scored his and his team’s second goal just five minutes into the second half. After seeing his first attempt blocked, he followed it up with a volley to find the back of the net.
Kevin De Bruyne showed his quality with a neat left-foot strike from 20 yards out to make it 3-0 in the 66th minute. Elijah Just then scored his third World Cup goal to get New Zealand on the score sheet with six minutes left.
However, Romelu Lukaku restored their three-goal advantage, scoring from a header less than a minute after coming on. Another substitute, Alexis Saelemaekers, scored the fifth goal for the rampant Red Devils in the stoppage time as they went top of Group G.
