Welcome to day twelve of the 2026 World Cup finals.
We are aiming to bring you a daily round up of the matches to come and recent results.
There are 48 countries at these 2026 World Cup finals, the most there has ever been. The matches to take place across Mexico, Canada and the USA.
The 48 teams are divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two in each group automatically going through and the eight best performing teams who finish third in their groups.
So only 16 of the 48 countries will be knocked out after the 72 group games have all played out, with the other 32 teams going through to the knockout stages.
We have now reached a point where we are more than halfway through the 72 group games with 40 played. That means 64 games in total still to go when you include the knockout stages.
Belgium were poor when struggling to a 1-1 draw against Egypt in their opening group match, needing an own goal to rescue a point. This goalless draw against Iran was no better for the Belgians.
They huffed and puffed against a limited Iran but seem to lack the pace and ability to turn possession into goals. Lukaku and De Bruyne have had injury affected club seasons and with age also catching up with them maybe, their effectiveness is diminished. Lukaku in particular looks nowhere near at full fitness and without Doku was missed through illness, they offer so little going forward. Ngoy was sent off on 66 minutes but Belgium had been poor before that anyway, Iran (Photo below shows their fans celebrating at final whistle) deserved their point for this battling display.
The other match in Group G saw Egypt bounce back from a New Zealand opener to win 3-1, Salah with one of the goals. I think this group always looked one of the least inspiring and difficult to see any of the four teams progressing far in the knockout stages. Egypt are almost certainly already in the knockout stages with four points from two matches and Belgium currently on two points will be guaranteed progress if beating New Zealand in their final match, though I wouldn’t be putting any money on them doing so. A win for Iran against Egypt would guarantee them progress on five points and could even see them top the group.
The two matches in Group H produced far more drama and goals.
Spain did to Saudi Arabia what they were expected to do against Cape Verde. With Yamal scoring after only ten minutes it was game over and no chance of a repeat of that goalless draw. Spain totally bossing the match and 3-0 up after 24 minutes, an own goal just after the break then they cruised the rest of that second half. Saudi Arabia only had two touches of the ball inside the opposition penalty area all match.
Cape Verde continue to be one of the surprise packages, following up their goalless draw against Spain with another point from a 2-2 draw with Uruguay. Cape Verde taking the lead only for Uruguay to score two late goals in the first half. Cape Verde not to be denied as they won a point thanks to a 61st minute equaliser.
Group H has intriguing possibilities now, as Spain could even end up third in the group, though with four points already from two matches they would almost certainly still progress. If losing to Spain in their final match, Uruguay would only have two points, even if still getting third it would be all but an impossibility for them to qualify for the knockout stages. What the opening two rounds of matches has set up is a huge Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia final match. The Saudis would be all but guaranteed progress if winning, whilst Cape Verde definitely would do so with a victory and indeed could even top the group. If Spain beat Uruguay then a draw for Cape Verde would guarantee them second place in the group, whilst if they finished third in the table with three points from three draws and a zero goal difference, that could still see them go through.
It is now 121 goals in 40 matches and this 2026 World Cup still on track to average three or more goals per game for the first time since the 1958 World Cup. The closest was the 1970 Mexico World Cup that averaged 2.97 goals per match, this 2026 World Cup now averaging 3.02 goals per game after the opening 40 matches.
The next six matches to be played across Monday and Tuesday are detailed below, all kick-offs are shown as UK times and with the channel that is showing them.
Friday 19 June
Mexico 1 South Africa 0 Group A
USA 2 Australia 0 Group D
Scotland 0 Morocco 1 Group C
Saturday 20 June
Brazil 3 Haiti 0 Group C
Turkey 0 Paraguay 1 Group D
Netherlands 5 Sweden 1 Group F
Germany 2 Ivory Coast 1 Group E
Sunday 21 June
Ecuador 0 Curacao 0 Group E
Tunisia 0 Japan 4 Group F
Spain 4 Saudi Arabia 0 Group H
Belgium 0 Iran 0 Group G
Uruguay 2 Cape Verde 2 Group H
Monday 22 June
New Zealand 1 Egypt 3 Group G
Argentina v Austria 6pm (BBC1) Group J
France v Iraq 10pm (BBC1) Group I
Tuesday 23 June
Norway v Senegal 1am (ITV1) Group I
Jordan v Algeria 4am (ITV1) Group J
Portugal v Uzbekistan 6pm (ITV1) Group K
England v Ghana 9pm (BBC1) Group L