World Cup 2026, Groups E, F, G and H Quiz

Group E was notable for having the fewest number of draws in the total of six games played. Only one game ended in a draw. Germany (ranked 10) was making its 21st World Cup appearance since 1934, winning four times (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014). In 2026, they got off to a flying start with a 7-1 victory over debutants Curacao.

In the second game, they came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 over the highly fancied Ivory Coast, but in their final match against Ecuador, they dropped an early lead to lose 2-1. They finished first in Group E with six points, but only on goal difference.

Ivory Coast was ranked 33rd in the world rankings, which made them the third-ranked team in this group, yet they finished second in the group with six points behind Germany on goal difference alone. They beat the higher-ranked Ecuador 1-0 in their first match, lost to a last-minute goal by Germany in their second match (2-1), then had a comfortable win over Curacao, 2-0, in the final game. By coming second, they automatically progressed from the group phase and qualified for the next round.

This team, ranked 23, was expected to qualify in the top two of their group instead of their third-place finish. This was their fifth World Cup campaign. They first qualified in 2002 and made the last 16 in 2006. They lost their first match to the Ivory Coast 1-0.

It then drew its second 0-0 with Curacao, but then it rolled favourites, Germany 2-1 in its final match, giving it four points and third place in Group E, enough to make the top eight of the 12 third-placed teams and qualify for the next round.

Everybody loves an underdog and arguably, except for the three other teams in Group E, most people wanted this tiny nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands to do well. Perhaps it had its moment of glory in its first match against Germany in the 21st minute, when Comenencia scored to equalise at 1-1 for 17 glorious minutes until Germany potted another six in the last 52 minutes. Perhaps equally impressive was that they held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw in their second game. Ivory Coast defeated them 2-0 in their final match.

They were eliminated in the first round, but the one point they earned was one point more than most people would have expected.

The four teams in Group F finished in the same order as their world ranking that was used to decide the World Cup draw in November 2025: Netherlands (8), Japan (18), Sweden (38), and Tunisia (45). In their first match, the Netherlands played a 2-2 draw with Japan, but thrashed Sweden 5-1 in their second match.

In their third match, they did not have it their own way before dispatching Tunisia, 3-1. With seven points, they were two points clear of second place and qualified for the next round.

Japan did not lose any of their three pool matches, but it drew two of them, costing it four points. However, five points were enough to qualify for automatic advancement as they finished second in Group F. Arguably, Japan would have been pleased to draw 2-2 with eighth-ranked Netherlands, but it would have been disappointed with a 1-1 draw with Sweden in their third match.

They won their second match by thrashing Tunisia 4-0.

Sweden qualified for the next round by earning four points from one win, one draw and a loss. However, by coming third in its group, there was no automatic advancement, but it had to wait to see how other third-placed teams landed. While they thrashed Tunisia, 5-1 in the team's first match, the Netherlands thrashed them in turn by the same score in its second match.

They managed a 1-1 draw in the final match against Japan, which was enough to progress, as one of the top eight 3rd placed teams.

Tunisia ranked 48th, was the fifth-highest-ranked African nation out of ten competing in the 2026 competition. However, the country was unable to earn a single point from its three group matches and was eliminated at the end of the group stage. The scores in its four games were 5-1, 4-0, and 3-1 against Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands, respectively.

Group G featured four draws in six matches, with Belgium and Egypt recording a single win each. Iran did not lose a match but drew all three matches, finishing third in the group, leaving it unclear if they had qualified or not until all third-place finishers were known. Belgium had qualified 15 times for the World Cup, including the inaugural competition in 1930. Their best result was third place in 2018.

Belgium (ranked 8) and Egypt (ranked 29) both landed on five points from one win and two draws, with Belgium gaining top spot with a superior goal difference. They drew 1-1 with Egypt, 0-0 with Iran, but then in the last game of the group blasted New Zealand with a late burst in the second half to win 5-1.

Egypt (ranking 29) had qualified four times for the World Cup, since its inaugural qualification in 1934. They would have been pleased to hold Belgium to a 1-1 draw. Their win over New Zealand was comprehensive at 3-1, but they would have expected a win over Iran; instead it finished a 1-1 draw.

In the end, it was only Egypt's lesser winning margin over New Zealand compared with Belgium's that determined first and second place in Group F.

Perhaps the dark horse of the tournament, Iran, was ranked highly in the world rankings at 20 (the second highest of the eight Asian World Cup qualifiers), but with political issues surrounding the country in 2026, it was unclear if they would be able to play at the high level that its world ranking promised.

The team would have expected to win against New Zealand instead of a 2-2 draw. Iran would have been pleased to keep Belgium to a 0-0 draw, but would have expected to beat Egypt instead of a 1-1 draw.

New Zealand came into the 2026 World Cup with a world ranking of 85, the lowest of all 48 teams that qualified. The team had qualified twice previously, in 1982 and 2010, but had yet to win a World Cup game. In its first game, New Zealand held the lead twice against Iran, but Iran equalised twice, and so the final score was 2-2. That was the New Zealand team's highlight as they lost twice after that, 3-1 to Egypt and 5-1 to Belgium. With one point, they were eliminated in the Group stage again, and their first World Cup win eluded them once again.

In its first match, Spain, ranked number one, playing in its 17th tournament (they were the 2010 World Cup Champions), played Cape Verde, a tiny African island nation making its World Cup debut and ranked at 68. It was a David and Goliath match, but the Spaniards could not score against a resolute defence, and the final score of 0-0 was considered a major upset. Spain soon got back on their expected trajectory with a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, but had to fight to beat Uruguay 1-0 in their final group match. Spain's two wins were the only victories in the entire Group H fixtures; there were four draws. Spain's seven points put them in first place in Group H.

Cape Verde were the darlings of the 2026 World Cup. Nobody expected them to do well, so when they managed a scoreless draw with Spain, the world took notice. In their second match, they scored their first goal in World Cup history. The team celebrations were huge - you could be forgiven for thinking that the team had won the World Cup. Uruguay, a World Cup stalwart, came back and netted twice to take a 2-1 halftime lead. In the second half, Cape Verde's defence was a wall, and then they equalised in the 61st minute. Incredibly, Cape Verde had managed two draws against two powerhouses.

Their third match against Saudi Arabia resulted in a 0-0 draw, which meant that the Blue Sharks had not lost a match. It also meant that Cape Verde qualified automatically for the Round of 32, as they came second in their group with their three points, the absolute minimum you needed to reach second place in the group stage.

Uruguay is a team of perennial World Cup journeymen. Ranked 16, they were the inaugural World Cup Champions in 1930 and won it again in 1950. The Sky Blues were expected to qualify for the next round easily enough, but in the first match, only a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia was possible.

In its second match, another draw (2-2) with Cape Verde made its final match with Spain a must-win. In a hard-fought match, Spain scored just before halftime and hung on to win. Uruguay placed third in the group, but with only two points, this was never going to be enough to be one of the top eight third-place getters to qualify for the next round; and the Sky Blues were eliminated in the Group stage.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most successful soccer nations in Asia: this team has won the AFC Asian Cup three times and played in the final six times. The Green Falcons made their World Cup debut in 1974 and have qualified on all seven occasions the competition has been held up to and including this 2026 tournament, where they were ranked 61.

They scored two draws in their three pool matches. In the first match, they drew 1-1 with Uruguay and played a scoreless draw with Cape Verde in their final match.

However, Spain thrashed them in their second match 4-0. Like Uruguay, this team finished with two points, but an inferior goal difference meant that the Saudis finished in fourth place in Group H.