Who can be eliminated?
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If you want to get through the preliminary rounds of this World Cup, you should be well versed in mathematics. The new mode of the XXL tournament stipulates that in addition to all winners and runners-up from the twelve groups, the eight best third parties also advance. The teams that can make it to the knockout round on the second matchday of the World Cup don’t want to count – and they want clarity as quickly as possible. After the 7-1 start against debutant Curaçao, the German team of national coach Julian Nagelsmann also has the chance to clear the first hurdle at this World Cup early. This means that early qualification is achieved after two games.
The maximum score of six points is necessary for safe qualification after two games. The DFB team can book their ticket to the round of 32 against Ivory Coast on Saturday (10 p.m./ZDF and MagentaTV). In this case, if Ecuador does not win against Curaçao, the group victory would be perfect. Because at the World Cup, if there is a tie, the direct comparison counts before the goal difference. After the direct comparison and the goal difference, the number of goals scored is the next criterion. The fair play rating and, as the final criterion, the FIFA world rankings are then used.
World Cup 2026: These teams can advance early
Like Germany, the Ivory Coast can also complete their qualification early with a win on Saturday in Toronto. The same applies to all other groups: the victorious teams that started would advance to the next round early with another success.
These are: Mexico, South Korea (both Group A), Scotland (Group C), USA, Australia (both Group D), Sweden (Group F), France, Norway (both Group I), Argentina, Austria (both Group J), Colombia (Group K) and England and Ghana (both Group L).
Who can be eliminated?
In certain constellations it is possible that teams with zero points are eliminated with a second defeat on the second match day. The following can already be eliminated: Czech Republic, South Africa (both Group A), Haiti (Group C), Turkey, Paraguay (both Group D), Ecuador, Curaçao (both Group E), Tunisia (Group F), Algeria, Jordan (both Group J), Uzbekistan (Group K) as well as Croatia and Panama (both Group L).
Lessons from World Cup match day one: When in doubt, prefer a draw
Cape Verde’s goalkeeper hero Vozinha becomes a social media phenomenon, Lionel Messi writes his name into the football history books and the DFB team is reminiscent of Brazil 2014: The first matchday of the XXL World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico delivered many stories. What lessons emerged from the 24 games played in the first week of the World Cup – and who stood out?
The last time there was a World Cup match day like Monday was 68 years ago, when there were four draws in a row. Quite surprisingly, former world champions Spain and outsiders Cape Verde initially drew 0-0, followed by a 1-1 draw between Belgium and Egypt, a 1-1 draw between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay and a 2-2 draw between Iran and New Zealand. A FIFA statistic showed how rare this is: the only time such a match day in the history of the tournament had occurred was on June 15, 1958. In general, the trend towards a draw on the first match day was noticeable.
Switzerland (1:1 against Qatar), Canada (1:1 against Bosnia-Herzegovina) and the Netherlands (2:2 against Japan) also did not get beyond one point despite being favorites.
World Cup 2026: The stars deliver
The big names are in form – and marked the first day of the match with their goals. Lionel Messi drew level with Miroslav Klose as the most successful World Cup goalscorer with a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win against Algeria. Both now have 16 goals.
Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland had a perfect start to the World Cup, scoring twice in his first game in a 4-1 win against Iraq. French top star Kylian Mbappé (3-1 against Senegal) and England captain Harry Kane (4-2 against Croatia) also scored braces. Brazil’s Vinicius Junior saved the record world champions from defeat at the start with his goal in the lively 1-1 draw against secret favorites Morocco. Spain’s Lamine Yamal, who came on late after an injury, was left without a goal.
World Cup 2026: The TV ratings
ARD and ZDF got off to a strong start in terms of ratings. According to AGF video research, an average of 23.427 million people watched the German national team’s 7-1 win against debutants Curaçao on the first. This means that the quota was not only better than at the start of the home European Championship two years ago (22.49 million), but also significantly better than at the first World Cup game in 2022 in Qatar. At that time, 9.23 million people watched in the afternoon.
World Cup 2026: Surprise outsiders
The expansion of the field of participants from 32 to 48 nations dilutes the sporting competition – that was one of the core arguments of those who are critical of the increase. There were a few examples of this thesis in debutants Curaçao and Tunisia (1:5 against Sweden), but most of the outsiders did impressively – or even surprised like Cape Verde, which sensationally managed a clean sheet against European champions Spain.
In addition, Australia unexpectedly won 2-0 against Türkiye, who was considered the secret favorite. Former World Cup hosts Qatar defied Switzerland to a draw. And Haiti also at least looked decent in the 1-0 defeat against Scotland – and didn’t stand without a chance. The Democratic Republic of Congo achieved a real coup when they fought to a 1-1 draw against co-favorites Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo.