Matches I watched during the 2026 men’s World Cup
During the Men’s World Cup I managed to watch 50 matches whole or in part. I found it a fantastic tournament and changed my mind about the 48 team format after seeing how many of the smaller nations showed up with such tactical sophistication. There were many highlights in this tournament for me, including Canada’s amazing advance to the round of 16 including our dismantling of Qatar, the late winner against South Africa and a first half against 6th rated Morocco that left me proud as I could be.
I’ve highlighted some of my favourite matches in bold. Many of these were upsets like Cabo Verde or DR Congo holding European giants to draws, or significant matches like Haaland’s Norway against England or the stand off between one of my favourite players of all time, Luka Modric versus Cristiano Ronaldo in Toronto.
There were some really unhinged matches too like England-Mexico which might have been the most entertaining of the whole tournament. Or Argentina-Egypt which had emotional swings and controversy all over it. Norway defeating Brazil was one for the history books, and Norway became everyone’s darlings at this tournament.
Watching France collapse in the face of Spain in the semi-final was astonishing. I thought France never got into a higher gear during the previous rounds and was waiting to see what would happen if they unleashed themselves against Spain. Alas, Spain revealed themselves in that game as an indomitable force, unbeatable against the free flowing French attack. All tournament long they had been relentless in defence, recovering turnovers with a swarm of players and yet still somehow retaining their shape. In possession they were diabolical, holding the ball for long stretches and building towards the goals they needed. They were commanding.
The final was nothing to write home about in terms of matches, but it did reveal Spain’s dominance. Argentina had no answer, and while England beat themselves with fear, Spain played through the Argentinian dark arts, neutralized their offensive threats and patiently held on to win the championship.
Group stage
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| June 12 | Canada v Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–1 |
| June 12 | USA v Paraguay | 4–1 |
| June 13 | Qatar v Switzerland | 1–1 |
| June 13 | Haiti v Scotland | 0–1 |
| June 13 | Australia v Türkiye | 2–0 |
| June 15 | Sweden v Tunisia | 5–1 |
| June 15 | Spain v Cape Verde | 0–0 |
| June 15 | Belgium v Egypt | 1–1 |
| June 16 | France v Senegal | 3–1 |
| June 16 | Iraq v Norway | 1–4 |
| June 16 | Argentina v Algeria | 3–0 |
| June 16 | Austria v Jordan | 3–1 |
| June 17 | Portugal v DR Congo | 1–1 |
| June 17 | Ghana v Panama | 1–0 |
| June 18 | Switzerland v Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–1 |
| June 18 | Canada v Qatar | 6–0 |
| June 19 | USA v Australia | 2–0 |
| June 19 | Germany v Côte d’Ivoire | 2–1 |
| June 19 | Ecuador v Curaçao | 0–0 |
| June 20 | Netherlands v Sweden | 5–1 |
| June 21 | Tunisia v Japan | 0–4 |
| June 21 | Belgium v Iran | 0–0 |
| June 21 | New Zealand v Egypt | 1–3 |
| June 22 | France v Iraq | 3–0 |
| June 22 | Norway v Senegal | 3–2 |
| June 24 | Colombia v DR Congo | 1–0 |
| June 25 | Türkiye v USA | 3–2 |
| June 26 | Egypt v Iran | 1–1 |
| June 26 | New Zealand v Belgium | 1–5 |
Round of 32
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| June 28 | South Africa v Canada | 0–1 |
| June 29 | Brazil v Japan | 2–1 |
| June 29 | Netherlands v Morocco | 1–1; Morocco won 3–2 on penalties |
| July 1 | USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 |
| July 2 | Spain v Austria | 3–0 |
| July 2 | Portugal v Croatia | 2–1 |
| July 3 | Australia v Egypt | 1–1; Egypt won 4–2 on penalties |
| July 3 | Argentina v Cape Verde | 3–2 |
Round of 16
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| July 4 | Canada v Morocco | 0–3 |
| July 5 | Brazil v Norway | 1–2 |
| July 5 | Mexico v England | 2–3 |
| July 6 | Portugal v Spain | 0–1 |
| July 6 | USA v Belgium | 1–4 |
| July 7 | Argentina v Egypt | 3–2 |
| July 7 | Switzerland v Colombia | 0–0; Switzerland won 4–3 on penalties |
Quarter-finals
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| July 9 | France v Morocco | 2–0 |
| July 10 | Spain v Belgium | 2–1 |
| July 11 | Norway v England | 1–2 |
| July 11 | Argentina v Switzerland | 3–1 |
Semi-finals
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| July 14 | France v Spain | 0–2 |
| July 15 | England v Argentina | 1–2 |
Final
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| July 19 | Spain v Argentina | 1–0 after extra time |
Ferran Torres scored the final’s only goal in the 106th minute as Spain won its second men’s World Cup.
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