2026 FIFA World Cup: The Best and the Worst Team Performances

Spain

Spain won its second World Cup title after defeating Argentina 1–0 in the final. Despite an early hiccup that saw the team play out a goalless draw against the so-called “minnow” country Cabo Verde, Spain was one of the strongest contenders to win. The team got its campaign back on track with a convincing 4–0 win against Saudi Arabia and a 1–0 victory against Uruguay in the group stage. It entered the knockout round at the top of its group and defeated Austria 3–0 to advance to the round of 16, in which it knocked out Portugal 1–0. It played Belgium in the quarterfinal, winning the match 2–1, and then defeated France 2–0 in the semifinal. Spain is the reigning European champion and qualified first in its UEFA group with a 5–1–0 record, scoring 21 goals and conceding only 2. Head coach Luis de la Fuente’s team—built around players Rodri, Lamine Yamal, and Pedri—is known for its mastery of possession play and attractive passing. Among the eight tournament winners, Spain had the longest gap (76 years) between making its World Cup debut (1934) and winning the title (2010).

Argentina

Argentina, the defending champion and the top team in FIFA’s rankings, lost its bid for a fourth title. It failed to score against Spain in the final match after coming from behind in both the semifinal, defeating England 2–1, and the quarterfinal, beating Switzerland 3–1. It struggled in the knockout stage, with narrow wins over Egypt in the round of 16 and minnow Cabo Verde in the round of 32. It was the first time Argentina appeared to falter its 2026 campaign after making a bright start by securing qualification to the knockout stage with convincing wins in its first two group-stage matches. The team’s talismanic superstar Lionel Messi entered the competition in red-hot form, scoring eight goals to become the tournament’s second highest goal scorer. Argentina finished first in South American qualifying. Head coach Lionel Scaloni led the team to Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024 and a World Cup title in 2022.

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England

England’s campaign to win its second title ended in a defeat to Argentina in the semifinal, but it won the third place playoff against France in a thrilling 6–4 result. It was England’s best finish in the World Cup since winning the title in 1966. The team advanced to the semifinal after a victory against Norway in the quarterfinal, and a gritty performance against Mexico in the round of 16—down one player after a red card, England held on for a 3–2 win in the Mexico City Stadium. The English team has never lacked talent but has somehow failed to impress on football’s biggest stage. The surprise exclusion of experienced players such as Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold from the final World Cup squad had left many criticizing head coach Thomas Tuchel’s tactics. A 4–2 victory over Croatia seemed to have been the perfect response, but the English players stuttered in their second group-stage match, playing out a tame 0–0 draw with Ghana that made supporters apprehensive of the team’s chances. England entered the knockout stage at the winners of their group after a 2–0 win against Panama and advanced to the round of 16 with a 2–1 victory against the Democratic Republic of Congo. World-class players such as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice provided both scoring quality and midfield ability, but they could not pull off something special to help the team win it all.

France

France was one of the leading contenders but its title hopes ended with a 2–0 loss to Spain in the semifinal. It subsequently lost the third place playoff to England. France had won the 2018 World Cup, reached the 2022 final, and entered the 2026 edition after winning its Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) qualifying series with an unbeaten record of five wins and one draw, scoring 16 goals and conceding 4. The team’s formidable attacking prowess was on full display during the World Cup, with Kylian Mbappé emerging as one of the tournament’s most prolific scorers. France won all its group stage matches, entering the round of 32 as the winner of its group. It advanced to the round of 16 after knocking out Sweden and defeated Paraguay to enter the quarterfinal. It beat Morocco to advance to the semifinal for the third World Cup in a row. French head coach Didier Deschamps is one of only three footballers—along with Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer—to win the World Cup both as a player and as a coach of the national team.

Norway

Norway exceeded all expectations at the 2026 World Cup. Two wins in its first two group-stage matches saw the Norwegian team become one of the first to secure a place in the knockout stage, during which it defeated Côte d’Ivoire 2–1 and then knocked out Brazil 2–1. The blistering form of striker Erling Haaland, who scored seven goals in the team’s matches to add to his tally of 16 goals in the qualifying stage, was an important reason for the team’s successes. The team made quite a splash in its first World Cup appearance since 1998, and its fans won hearts across the globe with its popular “Viking row” celebration. The team displayed impressive form in the preliminary tournament qualifiers, winning all eight of its matches, scoring 37 goals, and defeating four-time World Cup champions Italy twice. While Norway’s World Cup campaign ended because of a 2–1 loss against England in the quarterfinals, the players can hold their heads high after delivering the country’s best performance in the tournament’s history.

Germany

Four-time World Cup winner Germany delivered another subpar performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. While it progressed past the group stage for the first time since winning the title in 2014, the German team was knocked out of the World Cup by Paraguay in the round of 32, losing 4–3 on penalties. While Germany has appeared in more World Cup finals than any other team, its current crop of relatively inexperienced players did not inspire confidence in either fans or experts. The German team’s group-stage results were mixed as well. It opened the 2026 tournament with a 7–1 win over debutant Curaçao, but an unconvincing performance in a 2–1 victory over Côte d’Ivoire exposed the team’s shortcomings. Germany lost against Ecuador 2–1 in its third match of the tournament.

Portugal

Similar to England, Portugal’s best World Cup campaign came in 1966, when the team finished third. In 2026 the team was one of the strongest on paper going into the tournament, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, and Nuno Mendes expected to excel. However, Portugal was eliminated in the round of 16 by Spain after an uneven campaign. It stumbled in its opening match, managing only a 1–1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A 5–0 win against Uzbekistan in its second group-stage match had raised supporters’ hopes, and forward Cristiano Ronaldo became the first men’s player to score goals in six different World Cups. After drawing Colombia 0–0, Portugal advanced to the round of 32, in which it defeated Croatia 2–1 before a narrow 1–0 loss against Spain ended its campaign.

Netherlands

The Netherlands’s hopes for its first World Cup title were dashed after it exited the tournament in the round of 32 after losing to Morocco 3–2 on penalties. It was held to a 2–2 draw by Japan in its tournament opener, but it roared back to smash Sweden 5–1, highlighting the team’s offensive talent and squad depth. The Dutch team is the most successful squad to have never won the World Cup, reaching the finals thrice (1974, 1978, and 2010). It also reached the quarterfinals or better in each of its last three tournament appearances. Since the 2010 final loss to Spain, which came after extra time, the Dutch have not lost a World Cup match in open play; its 2014 semifinal exit and 2022 quarterfinal exit both came against Argentina on penalties, with its failure to qualify for the main tournament in 2018 the only blemish on its record.

Brazil

Five-time champion Brazil delivered a subpar campaign in the 2026 edition and by 2030 will see its trophy drought extend to match the country’s record of going 28 years without winning the World Cup (1930–58). While Brazil came from behind to win its round of 32 match against Japan 2–1 to advance into the round of 16, it was defeated 2–1 by Norway in the second knockout round. Brazil’s 2026 campaign began unconvincingly with a 1–1 draw with Morocco followed by 3–0 wins against Haiti and Scotland. While forward Vinícius Júnior was a bright spark for the team during the tournament, other players such as Raphinha struggled to perform. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti had guided the team through an underwhelming qualifying campaign, with questions about the mercurial quality and high average age of the squad going unanswered. The selection of 34-year-old Neymar, despite his lack of recent playing time, also raised eyebrows. The Brazilian forward has had an excellent career for the national team but could not play in either of the team’s first two matches of the tournament because of an injury. He did, however, score Brazil’s only goal against Norway.

Other flops

Uruguay: The two-time World Cup winner with a strong squad was held to disappointing draws by Saudi Arabia and Cabo Verde and was eliminated at the group stage.

South Korea: After beating Czechia (Czech Republic) in its opening match, South Korea faded to finish third in its group and failed to advance to the knockout stage.

Sweden: Sweden was one of the 2026 World Cup’s more erratic teams, with a 5–1 win over Tunisia and a 5–1 loss to the Netherlands. It was knocked out following a 3–0 loss against France in the round of 32.

Türkiye (Turkey): One of the pretournament dark horses, the team was among the first to be eliminated from contention in the group stage.

Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde, a tiny archipelago off the west coast of Africa with a population of about 500,000, became one of the fan favorites of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The “Blue Sharks” (Cabo Verde football team’s nickname) remained unbeaten against Spain (0–0), Uruguay (2–2), and Saudi Arabia (0–0) in the group stage and pushed defending champion Argentina to the absolute brink in the round of 32, almost pulling off one of the greatest upsets in FIFA World Cup history. The team’s 40-year-old veteran goalkeeper Vozinha emerged as one of the breakout stars of the tournament. He made seven crucial saves to keep a clean sheet against European champion Spain and restricted Argentine superstar Lionel Messi to a lone goal from nine attempts in the round of 32 match.

Morocco

At the 2022 World Cup Morocco became the first African country to reach a World Cup semifinal. In the 2026 tournament’s round of 32 it knocked out the Netherlands, winning on penalties (3–2) before beating Canada in the round of 16. Morocco fell one step short of replicating its 2022 run when it lost against France 2–0 in the quarterfinals. Earlier, in the group stage it held Brazil to a 1–1 draw and displayed tactical discipline and athletic defending to grind out victories against Scotland (1–0) and Haiti (4–2). The Moroccan squad’s top-level players such as Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Díaz did well to help the team go deep into the knockout stage. The team’s ability was on full display during its run to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, and being controversially awarded the AFCON title by the continental football governing body after the fact did nothing to detract from Morocco’s performance on the pitch.

Japan

Japan was one of the standout performers in the opening stages of the 2026 World Cup. After battling the Netherlands to a 2–2 draw, the Samurai Blue showed excellent discipline and the desire to win while routing Tunisia 4–0. A 1–1 draw against Sweden meant that Japan finished second in its group. The team was eliminated at the round of 32 following a narrow 2–1 loss against Brazil. Before the main tournament, Japan was the first nonhost country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, scoring 54 goals and conceding only 3 across two Asian rounds. It played in its eighth consecutive tournament and had defeated two former champions, Germany and Spain, in the 2022 edition.

Mexico

Cohost Mexico entered the 2026 World Cup with a massive home-field advantage. It also holds the record for the most tournament appearances by a country that has never won the title. Following group-stage victories over South Africa and South Korea, Mexico became the first team to secure a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament and advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Ecuador. The fact that the team’s only previous quarterfinal appearances also occurred at home (1970 and 1986) inspired hope that it might excel this time around. However, Mexico were knocked out by England in the round of 16, breaking the hearts of thousands of fans in the Mexico City Stadium.