Based on the results of the draw World Cup-2026 “Sokker.ru” highlights 7 main matches of the group stage.
Mexico- South Africa. When: June 11th
The debut match and that says it all. No matter who plays the first matches of the World Cup, these matches always have special attention and definitely arouse the interest of the spectators. Furthermore, this time there will be a curious déjà vu: Mexico and South Africa already open World Cup in 2010, but the owners were African at the time. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with Tshabalala opening the scoring with an audacious counterattack and Rafael Márquez equalizing soon after.
Brazil – Morocco. When: June 13th
Some may question whether this match is particularly interesting. But for a second, Morocco is the team that placed fourth at the last World Cup. And its youth team recently won the U20 World Cup. Well, Brazil is Brazil: it is always a brand and matches with its participation can only arouse further interest. Furthermore, the teams will play in the first round, and therefore the option whereby they could save their energy before the playoffs by playing in the 3rd round, when they would have already solved all the problems of the tournament, will be excluded. They also have their own history of dueling World Cup — in 1998, Brazil beat Morocco 3:0 with a goal from the magnificent Ronaldo.
Argentina-Algeria. When: June 16th
The opening match of the world champions at the World Cup is always interesting. And in the case of Argentina, doubly so. Just remember how they started the last tournament, unexpectedly losing to Saudi Arabia. Now the opponents will be a team with a similar style. It is quite possible that this time it will not be easy for Messi’s star team to enter the tournament. But you have to be careful: second place in the group can send you to Spain already in the round of 16.
England – Croatia. When: June 17th
Comparison with history. Moreover, the Croatians offended the English more painfully: both the qualification for Euro 2008 and the semi-finals can be remembered World Cup-2018. This time England seems to be the clear favourites, but you can expect anything from the Croatians. Perhaps, together with France-Norway, this is the only top-level match between European teams in the group stage World Cup-2026.
Portugal-Colombia. When: June 23rd
Portugal may have been unluckier than the other seeds in their group. Here we have dangerous World Cup debutant Uzbekistan and mighty Colombia. And another rival could be the Democratic Republic of Congo if the intercontinental playoffs take place. Portugal will face the Colombians in the 2nd round and this is a very unpleasant situation. With a high degree of probability, the fate of first place will be decided in this match, and the loser may even risk being eliminated from the tournament before the last round. Well, in general, a duel between the best European and South American teams in the group stage World Cup-2026 is a scarce commodity.
Uruguay-Spain. When: June 26th
Perhaps, judging by the names of the opponents, this is the highest level match of the group stage. The current European champions against the Uruguayans, traditionally inflexible and stingy. Yes, this is no longer the lively Uruguay of 10 years ago with Cavani and Suarez, but this team is still capable of biting the European giants.
Norway – France. When: June 26th
Holland-Mbappe – and that says it all. The two best scorers this season in Europe’s top leagues. Of course, it may seem that only in name the Norwegians are inferior to the French, but look at what a skating rink the northerners performed in their qualifying group. Italy didn’t do well twice. So France and Norway will have big problems, and not just because of the presence of a Manchester City super scorer in their squad.
