World Cup: the group-stage disappointments 🥶 | OneFootball

They could still wake up... or not.

This Sunday evening at 9 p.m., the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup begins with the first round-of-32 match between Canada and South Africa.

The group stage has now delivered its verdict, bringing plenty of great moments... but also disappointments.

Among them, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Uruguay, and Tunisia rank right at the top. The first three teams failed to get out of groups that were largely within their reach, while Tunisia suffered three humiliations in three matches.

But there are also disappointments among the teams that qualified for the round of 32!

Portugal had a particularly worrying group stage, conceding two draws against DR Congo and Colombia. 

In the same vein, although they finished top of their group, Belgium had a real scare, winning only one match, 5-1, against New Zealand.

As for individual performances, several stars are still missing in action for now.

Germany’s attacking players, Leroy Sané, Florian Wirtz, and Jamal Musiala, have been disappointing, as has Algerian winger Anis Hadj Moussa, who was dropped to the bench for the Greens’ last two matches after starting the competition in the lineup against Argentina. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 CHANDAN KHANNA - AFP or licensors