FIFA World Cup 2026 - The Group Stages Quiz

Answer: False

This ignominious award goes to the "Battle of Nuremberg", a round of 16 clash in 2006 between Portugal and the Netherlands which saw a record four red cards given in a FIFA World Cup match, two for each team, along with sixteen yellow cards.

Mexico vs South Africa did not quite hit those levels. Two of the red cards given were contentious, but South Africa's Sphephelo Sithole could have no complaints after bringing down the last man, Brian Gutierrez, outside the box. After one of the worst World Cup debuts I can remember, the South African midfielder did well to dust himself down, after a red card and error leading to a goal. He produced a solid performance against South Korea in the third and final group match, which saw South Africa win 1-0 reach the knockout rounds of a FIFA World Cup for the first time.

Answer: Curacao

On matchday one, the thirty-seven year old Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room conceded seven goals in a 7-1 demolition at the hands of Germany. He showed incredible resilience to make fifteen saves against Ecuador, which set the record for most saves in a World Cup shutout (the match finished 0-0), and the most in a World Cup game that did not go to extra time. American Tim Howard set the record at sixteen saves during the 2014 FIFA World Cup vs. Belgium (Round of 16 match), but that was in a match that went to extra time and is slightly contentious as one of the shots saved was going off target.

The 40 year-old Cape Verdean Vozinha kept a clean sheet and made seven saves in a 0-0 draw against a significantly higher ranked Spain, winning the "Player of the Match" award for his incredible performance, which saw him become the oldest player to feature in a nation's first FIFA World Cup match. Vozinha's mother missed his historic performance as she could not attend the match due to the cost of getting a visa. US officials later stepped in, the visa fees were waived, and a private businessman paid to cover her travel to the USA, where she saw her son keep another clean sheet against Saudi Arabia and also saw Cape Verde become the only debuting team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to make it to progress out of the group phase to the round of 32, a feat not accomplished by Uzbekistan, Jordan or Curacao. Perhaps, most importantly of all, Vozinha also gained over seventeen million Instagram followers during the group stages, just to cap it all off.

Answer: Mexico

Emboldened by the incredible partisan atmosphere at the Estadio Azteca and Estadio Akron, Mexico began their 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over South Africa and then added two more victories and clean sheets with 1-0 and 3-0 victories over South Korea and Czechia respectively. Topping the group also had the distinct advantage of keeping the Mexico team in Mexico for the round of 32 clash with Ecuador.

After announcing his intention to retire from football after the tournament, legendary goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was even given a run-out, coming on in the 78th minute of the game against Czechia to see out his career in style, where it all began for him at the Estadio Azteca. This was Ochoa's sixth FIFA World Cup for Mexico and the fourth in which he had played.

Answer: 43

Would you have expected anything less? Haaland netted a first half brace against Iraq, which saw him equal that record and he became the outright top scorer at FIFA World Cups for Norway in the second group game against Senegal, netting another brace in a 3-2 victory. Haaland was rested for the third group game against France to keep him fit for the round of 32.

The former record holder was Kjetil Rekdal, who scored two goals across the 1994 and 1998 iterations of the tournament. Haaland was born in 2000.

Answer: First team to sack their manager after one game

You can't really imagine a FIFA World Cup campaign going much worse than Tunisia's in 2026. They responded to a 5-1 defeat in their opening game at the hands of Sweden by sacking their manager Sabri Lamouchi who was only appointed in January 2026. Replacing him was the seasoned international manager Herve Renard, but Tunisia fared no better, losing 4-0 to Japan in what was the 1000th World Cup game, and then 3-1 to the Netherlands in the third group game. Tunisia have previously sacked their manager at a World Cup: they sacked Henryk Kasperczak at the 1998 FIFA World Cup after two group games.

Answer: Panama

No hat-tricks because of Panama hats, which are actually produced in Ecuador. No hat-tricks for them in the group stages either as they only scored two goals.

A solid defensive unit let down by a lack of real attacking quality, Panama finished bottom of group L, losing all three games to England, Croatia and Ghana while only conceding four goals. The other three incorrect options were all eliminated from the tournament at the end of the group stages and all only scored one goal each.

Answer: Cristiano Ronaldo

Entering his sixth FIFA World Cup at the age of 41, questions were raised over whether Cristiano Ronaldo was a net positive or negative for his side heading into the tournament. He silenced the naysayers by scoring a brace against Uzbekistan; the first ensuring he became the first man or woman to score in six FIFA World Cups, the second surpassing the legendary Eusebio's long-standing record of nine Portugal World Cup goals. "I'm back, I'm back", Cristiano bellowed towards the television cameras after the Uzbekistan match, before blanking in a 0-0 draw against Colombia.

Answer: Became half of the first mother/son duo to play at a World Cup

One of the more heartwarming stories to come out of the group stages, Tyler Bindon became the second half of the first mother/son duo to play at their respective FIFA World Cups: his goalkeeper mother Jenny represented New Zealand in the 2007 edition of the tournament.

After her retirement, Jenny Bindon became a goalkeeper coach and relocated their family to the USA. It was here that Tyler Bindon joined the United States youth setup, making three appearances for the United States under-19s before making his senior international debut for New Zealand in 2023. Jenny was interviewed by ESPN after the Iran game, detailing that her son came up to her after the match, grasped her hand and said "We did it, Mom" and the enormity of the moment only hit her at that point.

Tyler Adams captained the United States at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in case you were wondering about any other Tylers. Steve Sumner was also the first New Zealand player to score at a World Cup, back in 1982.

Answer: Iran

Iran just could not catch a break at the 2026 World Cup. Their participation at the tournament was thrown into doubt amidst conflict with the USA, but Iran played regardless. In their final group game against Egypt they had a 93rd-minute winning goal overturned by VAR due to an offside and were seconds away from making it to the knockout stages regardless, due to being one of the eight best third-placed teams, before Kalajdzic's stunning last-minute equaliser sent them home.

Many critics lambasted the lackadaisical nature of the match at 2-2, with both teams mutually benefitting from a draw, but managers of both teams denied any collusion. Sensationally, both of these teams were involved in an incredibly similar scenario at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which has been described as the "Disgrace of Gijon". In this match West Germany and Austria were accused of defending what they had and not playing with maximum effort, to ensure a mutually beneficial scenario where both teams would progress at the expense of Algeria, who were behind on goal difference. This was one of the matches that sparked the change that ensured both of the final group stage matches would be played simultaneously.

The other three answer options all finished bottom of their respective groups.

Answer: Lionel Messi

You'd have been forgiven for thinking Lionel Messi might have let up somewhat after finally achieving his lifelong dream of lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022, but the all-time great was on fire in the group stages. Messi scored six goals in the three group games, the most of any player, starting the tournament with a hat-trick against Algeria and following up with a brace against Austria and a goal against Jordan, which was his first as a 39-year old.

This final goal would make him the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches, a run which includes goals in all four knockout games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and a brace in the final.