What Did the First Round of the 2026 World Cup Reveal?

The curtain has fallen on the first round of the 2026 World Cup after days filled with excitement and remarkable results, which have outlined initial impressions of the participating teams' levels and revealed early surprises in the race for qualification.

The opening round witnessed strong performances from several favored teams, led by the German team, which achieved the biggest victory so far by sweeping Curaçao 7-1, sending a strong message to its competitors from the outset.

The English team began their campaign with an exciting 4-2 victory over Croatia, while the Norwegian team made a strong statement by defeating Iraq 4-1. The Argentine team also succeeded in overcoming Algeria with a clean 3-0 win, while the French team started their participation with a deserved 3-1 victory over Senegal.

On the other hand, the Arab teams had varied performances during the first round. After the strong performance by the Moroccan team against Brazil, managing to secure a valuable 1-1 draw, the Egyptian team also earned an important point against Belgium with the same result. Similarly, the Saudi team held Uruguay to a 1-1 draw.

On the other hand, the Algerian national team suffered a harsh defeat against Argentina with a score of 3-0, while the Iraqi team fell to Norway with a score of 4-1. The Tunisian team lost to Sweden 5-1, and the Jordanian team began its participation with a defeat against Austria with a score of 3-1.

The round also saw several notable draws, most notably Portugal drawing 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Spain drawing goalless with Cape Verde, as well as the Netherlands and Japan drawing 2-2, and Iran drawing with New Zealand by the same score. Additionally, Qatar and Switzerland, and Canada and Bosnia both drew 1-1 in their matches.

In the rest of the results, the United States defeated Paraguay 4-1, Mexico beat South Africa 2-0, Australia won against Turkey 2-0, Scotland triumphed over Haiti with a clean sheet, Colombia secured a 3-1 victory against Uzbekistan, Ghana overcame Panama with a last-minute goal, Ivory Coast won against Ecuador 1-0, and South Korea achieved a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic.

With the end of the first round, the competition appears open to all possibilities, awaiting the second round of matches that could early on determine the fate of some teams, while giving others a chance to make up for their shaky starts in the largest edition in World Cup history.