Cape Verde, the co-hosts, Lionel Messi and the winners & losers of the World Cup group stage

It's very much a case of so far, so good for the World Cup's co-hosts. Granted, the United States, Mexico and Canada were all placed in very weak groups but each team deserves credit for securing a place in the knockout stage with one game to spare.

The USMNT and El Tri even had top spot in the bag after winning their opening two fixtures - and that was particularly significant for the Mexicans, as it means that they'll play on home soil in the round of 32 - and again in the last 16 should they defeat Ecuador at the Azteca, a magnificent and mythical arena in which they've never lost a World Cup match. Mexico, thus, have a real shot at reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since they last hosted the tournament all the way back in 1986.

Unfortunately for Canada, they squandered the opportunity to play at least one more game in Vancouver after losing 2-1 to Switzerland in the same city. However, just getting out of the group stage is undeniably a great achievement for a team that had never previously won a game at the finals, with Jesse Marsch arguing that 40 million people will claim that they were present for the historic 6-0 rout of Qatar that captivated what is traditionally "a hockey country".

What's more, it's not as if the Canucks will have too far to travel for the round of 32. Canada will take on South Africa in an eminently winnable tie in Inglewood, meaning there's a very real chance that all three host nations will feature in the last 16, as the USMNT should have far too much firepower for Bosnia & Herzegovina in Santa Clara.

Sabri Lamouchi knew full well that Tunisia were going to be up against in a group containing Sweden, Japan and Netherlands but he insisted that both he and his players were looking forward to taking part "in this incredible global event". Unfortunately for the former France international, his participation was brought to a brutally premature end, with Lamouchi sacked after Tunisia's 5-1 loss to Sweden, thus becoming the first coach in World Cup history to be sacked after just one game.

Still, the ex-Nottingham Forest boss may take some comfort in the fact that the national team's problems run far deeper than the coach. Indeed, Herve Renard's inability to lift The Eagles of Carthage, who suffered two more comprehensive defeats against Japan and Netherlands, has prompted an arguably overdue debate over the way in which the Tunisian Football Federation (TFF) operates.

After all, Lamouchi was only hired five months ago to replace Sami Trabelsi, who led the team through qualifying without conceding a goal only to be sacked after an Africa Cup of Nations last-16 loss to Mali on penalties.

Sebastian Beccacece was quick to point out that Ecuador's dramatic 2-1 win over Germany wasn't about him. "This is for the people," he said. "The players have given them qualification [for the round of 32], so let them celebrate together, and enjoy it."

Beccacece deserved to enjoy it too, though - and he did, with the coach scaling the stands to embrace his family, both after Ecuador's late winner, and when the full-time whistle blew.

There were truly sensational scenes, the kind that remind you why you watch the World Cup, and made all the more emotional for the fact that Beccacece probably would have been sacked had Ecuador not pull off a massive upset in New Jersey.

The Argentine may have done a sensational job by leading Ecuador to a second-placed finish in the South American qualifying section but the defensive nature of his tactics were called into question - and particularly after a run of four consecutive scoreless draws.

So, Beccacece looked like a dead man walking after Ecuador failed to score a single goal in the first two World Cup games. Drawing 0-0 with Curacao was a particularly bad look for the 45-year-old, who knew that nothing less a win over Germany would keep La Tri in the competition - and him in a job.

Beccacece, then, deserves the utmost credit for masterminding a fully deserved victory over a team on an 11-match winning streak - despite falling behind after just two minutes of play.

"It ​is the biggest win for Ecuador in a World Cup," the coach quite rightly claimed after securing a spot in the knockout stage by defeating the four-time champions. "We worked for that, we came with the dream of making Ecuador's best cup ​ever, and now we have.

"We kept the tranquillity. We kept the exact ​same idea of ​how to ⁠play. Now, we will keep ​going, with humility, with prudence." And with an Argentine coach who's suddenly the toast of Ecuador.

Iran are out of the World Cup and that's hugely convenient for both the United States and FIFA because, in all likelihood, a lot of people will forget how disgracefully Amir Ghalenoei and his players were treated at the tournament.

For no other reason than pure political persecution, Iran were, as Ghalenoei put it, "the most oppressed team" in World Cup history, forced to arrive just before and immediately after their first two group games, which had a devastating effect on their preparation for both games. "Everything is like a disaster for us," captain Mehdi Taremi admitted after the 2-2 draw with New Zealand on matchday one.

In spite of that fact, Iran were "millimetres away" from reaching the round of 32, as Shoja Khalilzadeh's injury-time 'winner' against Egypt was disallowed for the most marginal of offsides.

Had they not been subjected to "the worst possible conditions", there's every chance that Iran, who were the first World Cup team ever to be bombed by a host nation, would have reached the knockout stage and, speaking after his undefeated team's elimination, Ghalenoei implored FIFA to "not let this happen again", while at the same time urging "Mr. Infantino to stand up to" the United States. There was/is obviously no chance of that happening. Infantino is a coward who will do nothing other than talk about this being the greatest World Cup ever when he makes his closing address next month.

However, while the U.S. and FIFA will doubtless do their utmost to make it seem as if Iran were never even there, Ghalenoei's players, who left a note calling for "peace, respect and friendship to prevail among all nations" after their 0-0 draw with Belgium in Los Angeles, made their mark on the 2026 World Cup against all odds. "What these young people did," the coach said, "will be written in history."

The common consensus was before the tournament began that there were three obvious 'dark horses': Norway, Japan and Turkey. The first two did a decent job living up to their billing; the latter did not.

Despite beating co-hosts USA, Turkey finished bottom of a group that many tipped them to top and the truly traumatic thing was that they were eliminated after just two games. "Everybody’s sad, everybody’s crying," Real Madrid attacking midfield Arda Guler revealed after Vincenzo Montella's men followed up a shock 2-0 loss to lowly Australia with a 1-0 defeat by 10-man Paraguay. "We should have won these games. We tried very hard ‌but it didn’t work. But we should have scored some goals."

They didn't, though. Turkey merely broke the record for most shots on goal across two games without finding the back of the net at least once.

"Somehow the ball didn’t go in," Montella lamented. "It's really tough to say goodbye ‌to the World Cup ‌after only two matches." And especially for a relatively young squad that had genuinely earned its 'dark horse' status by playing some fantastic football while reaching the quarter-finals of the European Championship just two years ago.

Four years ago in Qatar, a magnificent Morocco side made history by reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup. However, one could easily argue that this summer's tournament is already an even bigger success for Africa.

The continent sent 10 teams to the tournament in North America and only one is going home after the group stage (Tunisia). It's a truly historic achievement, given the previous record for CAF nations in the knockout stage was two!

"Now every African team can dream big. The last World Cup, Morocco has been to the semi-finals, but what's coming next is good for the African teams," Yoane Wissa said after helping DR Congo reach the round of 32 with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan. "We can see that now young players are coming through even earlier, so that's good, and that shows our federation can dream big."

"I'm toxic," Marcelo Bielsa admitted after Uruguay's embarrassing 5-1 friendly loss to a second-string United States team last December. "To associate yourself with me makes you worse off. Do you understand me?" Anyone who didn't certainly does now.

Uruguay's World Cup campaign was a complete disaster, with the Celeste bowing out after failing to win a single game in Group H. Friday's 1-0 loss to Spain sealed their fate but Uruguay never should have been in a position where the outcome of the game in Guadalajara would in any way affect their qualification for the round of 32.

A team ranked 16th in the world should have easily beaten Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. However, Uruguay were held to a draw by both, making their early elimination sadly predictable, particularly as it was obvious even before the tournament began that all was night right behind the scenes.

As we wrote ahead of Uruguay's opener, Bielsa is a deeply flawed genius, a difficult character cursed with a tendency to wear players down, so it was no great surprise to see his reign end in acrimony.

"If you ask me how my time [with the national team] will be remembered, it is a tenure that left nothing behind," the Argentine admitted. "I leave nothing to Uruguayan football.” Which is desperately sad but undeniably true.

You'll probably hear a lot of talk in the next few days about Cape Verde showing why expanding the World Cup to 48 teams was a good thing. Pay it no heed. Cape Verde didn't sneak through the back door. They qualified on merit, topping a group containing Cameroon. And they didn't steal a spot in the round of 32 via a third-placed finish. They finished second in their group without losing a single game, which is just the most remarkable achievement for the smallest nation by land area ever to qualify for the finals.

"Honestly, it's mad," midfielder Deroy Duarte said after being named man of the match after the 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia that secured qualification for the round of 32. "I feel like I'm in a dream. We're so happy. Let's hope all Cape Verdeans are happy too. From tomorrow, we'll focus on the next match."

And that next match is against Argentina, meaning their Dublin-born centre-back, Roberto Lopes, who was recruited by the Blue Sharks on LinkedIn, is going to get the chance to play against Lionel Messi.

“For me, he's the greatest of all time," the Shamrock Rovers centre-back said. "What an opportunity to test yourself. It’s an incredible feat for us as players to go up against that level of opposition."

Naturally, nobody will give Lopes & Co. any chance of upsetting the reigning champions but Bubista and his players no longer fear any side in world football. "For us," the coach said, "nothing is impossible."

It's funny to think about it now but there were question marks over a number of the tournament's top performers before the group stage got under way. Lionel Messi only played 20 minutes of Argentina's two warm-up games because of muscular fatigue in his left hamstring and yet hit five goals in his first two appearances as he surpassed Miroslav Klose as the World Cup's all-time leading scorer.

Lamine Yamal had his own injury issues after missing the end of Barcelona's 2025-26 campaign but he marked his first World Cup start with the opening goal in Spain's rout of Saudi Arabia on matchday two. Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, arrived in North America in peak physical condition - some Real Madrid fans felt he had been saving himself for the World Cup - but Didier Deschamps once again found himself having to defend his captain's character before France's campaign had even got under way, after more claims that the forward wasn't a true team player. Mbappe responded with four goals in his first two appearances.

Vinicius Junior also wasted little time in silencing his critics. The winger has long been attacked in his native Brazil for failing to replicate his club form for his country - but he stepped up when the Selecao were struggling against Morocco and went on to become emulate illustrious compatriots Jairzinho (1970), Romario (1994), Rivaldo and Ronaldo (both 2002) by scoring in all three group games.

As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he's spent a significant chunk of career proving people wrong and, after drawing a blank against DR Congo, he netted in his next outing, against Uzbekistan, to become the first man to score in six World Cups.

With Mohamed Salah having led Egypt into the knockout stage for the first time ever, Harry Kane eyeing another Golden Boot, Erling Haaland taking the tournament by storm before being strategically benched, and Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele hitting a hat-trick against Norway, it's fair to say that all of the World Cup's biggest stars illuminated the group stage, which bodes very well indeed for rest of the tournament.

To absolutely nobody's surprise, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has made a complete mess of the 2026 World Cup, both on and off the field. 

As already outlined on this site, the 48-team format that necessitated the introduction of a third-placed table was both unfair and farcical, while the introduction of hydration breaks was, as expected, a complete momentum-killer, a disgraceful decision disguised as an attempt to protect players that was, in reality, nothing more than another cynical move to generate as much advertising revenue as possible for the tournament's TV rights holders. 

Unsurprisingly, supporters all over the world saw through Infantino's intellingence-insulting defence of interrupting play even in air-conditioned arenas or rainy conditions in the interest of 'equality', and they rightly booed the breaks in each and every single game.

And that was just the fans lucky enough to be able to actually get to the games. Millions and millions of other supporters all around the world were prevented from joining the biggest party in sport, unable to attend the vast majority of the games in the United States on account of the extortionate price of tickets, hotels and transport - or simply because they were the 'wrong' colour or religion. 

Again, none of this was in the least bit surprising, because despite all of the concerns expressed in the build-up, by African football fans in particular, Infantino spent more than a year pandering to the whims of a right-wing lunatic. It was, thus, inevitable that FIFA would lose complete control of a tournament they were meant to be running - as underlined by the fact that Africa's top referee couldn't even get into the United States.

Infantino claimed that this would be "the most inclusive" World Cup in history but it's already been the most exclusive - and for that the president of FIFA should never be forgiven, let alone re-elected.