The first week of fixtures in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, consisting of 48 teams and 12 groups, has ended.
MEXICO WON IN THE OPENING MATCH WITH 3 RED CARDS
In the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, hosts Mexico started the tournament with a victory by defeating South Africa 2-0 with goals from Quinones and Jimenez. Mexico finished the match with 10 players and South Africa with 9 players, in which a total of 3 red cards were issued.
NATIONAL TEAM WAS DEFEAT IN ITS FIRST MATCH
Ending its long World Cup drought, Türkiye played a match in the organization after 24 years.
The national team started their group competition with the Australian competition.
The National Football Team lost 2-0 to Australia in its first match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with goals scored by Irankunda and Metcalfe.
ENGLAND WON THE GOAL DUEL
Arguably the biggest match of the first week was played between England and Croatia in Dallas. In the match between the two strong championship candidates of the tournament, England defeated Croatia 4-2 and achieved one of the most magnificent victories of the week. The British took the leadership seat in the group with their productivity in the offensive line.
BRAZIL AND MOROCCO COULD NOT DEFEAT
Brazil, one of the biggest favorites of the cup, started the tournament against the semi-finalists of the last World Cup. In the breathtaking match played at the New Jersey Stadium, Brazil and Morocco drew 1-1. The tempo of the match and the tactical battle of the two teams made us watch the best quality football of the first week.
FRANCE OPENED IN THE SECOND HALF
In the opening of Group I, France, one of the last finalists, easily passed the Senegal obstacle with a score of 3-1. Despite the tough play of the African representative, the Roosters showed their quality and got a clear victory and took control of the group.
With the 2 goals he scored, Kylian Mbappe managed to become the top scorer of the French National Team with 58 goals, and also reached 14 goals in the World Cup, ranking 5th on the list after Klose, Messi, Fenomeno Ronaldo and Gerd Müller.
GERMANY PASSED CURAÇAO WITH 7 GOALS
In the opening match of the 2026 World Cup Group E, Germany defeated Curaçao 7-1. Curaçao scored its first goal in World Cup history against Germany.
SPAIN COULDN’T SCORE A GOAL AGAINST CAPE Verde Islands
In the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group H, Spain drew 0-0 with Cape Verde.
Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha made his mark in the match by making 7 saves against Spain.
With this match, Cape Verde competed in the World Cup for the first time in its history. The island country became the third country with the least population to qualify for the tournament, after Curaçao and Iceland.
PORTUGAL AGREED TO 1 POINT
The match played at NRG Stadium in Houston ended with a 1-1 draw.
The goal scored by Joao Neves in the 6th minute gave Portugal a 1-0 lead. 45+5. In the minute, Democratic Congo decided the outcome of the match with Yoane Wissa.
LAST CHAMPION ARGENTINA STARTED EASILY
Led by Lionel Messi, the reigning World Cup champion Argentina started the tournament with a clear message by defeating Algeria 3-0 to defend its title. In the match in Kansas City, Argentina scored 3 goals in a superior game from start to finish.
The team’s leader in scoring all 3 goals for Argentina was Lionel Messi, who scored his first hat-trick in the World Cup.
With this hat-trick, Messi also became the top scorer in the World Cup with Klose, with 16 goals.
STATISTICS OF THE WEEK AND REMARKABLE DETAILS
With the 2 goals he scored against Senegel, Kylian Mbappe reached 14 goals in the list of top scorers in the World Cup and ranked 4th on the list after Klose, Fenomen Ronaldo and Gerd Müller.
One day after France’s match, Argentina took part in the match against Algeria. Lionel Messi scored 3 goals and scored a hat-trick in the match, breaking the record with Klose by reaching 16 goals.
Spain could not score a goal against Cape Verde, which participated in the World Cup organization for the first time, and left the match with a 0-0 draw.
MOST DIFFERENT WIN: Defeating Curaçao 7-1 in Group E, Germany became the team that scored the most goals and won the most in the first week.
The match with the most goals: Germany 7-1 Curaçao, in which a total of 8 goals were scored, and England 4-2 Croatia, in which 6 goals were scored, left football fans satisfied with goals.
DRAW SERIES: The cautious start of the teams in the new format with 48 teams attracted attention. 9 of the 24 matches played in the first week ended in a draw. Especially all the matches in groups B and G ended in a draw.
KING GOAL: Argentinian Lionel Messi was the top scorer in the tournament with 3 goals.
ALL RESULTS
As the first week of the World Cup comes to an end, the first matches in the groups and the scores of the match are as follows:
GROUP A
Mexico 2-0 South Africa
South Korea 2-1 Czechia
GROUP B
Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Qatar 1-1 Switzerland
GROUP C
Brazil 1-1 Morocco
Scotland 1-0 Haiti
GROUP D
USA 4-1 Paraguay
Australia 2-0 Türkiye
GROUP E
Germany 7-1 Curaçao
Ivory Coast 1-0 Ecuador
GROUP F
Netherlands 2-2 Japan
Sweden 5-1 Tunisia
G GROUP
Belgium 1-1 Egypt
Iran 2-2 New Zealand
GROUP H
Spain 0-0 Cabo Verde
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay
GROUP I
France 3-1 Senegal
Norway 4-1 Iraq
GROUP J
Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Austria 3-1 Jordan
GROUP K
Portugal 1-1 Democratic Republic of Congo
Colombia 3-1 Uzbekistan
GROUP L
England 4-2 Croatia
Ghana 1-0 Panama