World Cup 2026: Sketching the portrait of each group and the race for tickets to the next round

VHO - The 2026 World Cup draw has concluded with 48 teams divided into 12 groups, opening a challenging journey for the world's top football teams. On the North American stage - a space where culture, technology and sports intersect - each group carries historical stories, contemporary expectations and unpredictable unknowns.

Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo – four icons of contemporary football – all promise to shine right from the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

Group A: Mexico and the host's spirit

The opening match at the Azteca Stadium evoked memories of the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, when South Africa held Mexico to a 1-1 draw at Soccer City. That year, South Africa was the host. This year, it was Mexico's turn. Nearly 16 years, four World Cups have passed.

Despite having participated in the World Cup finals 17 times and having made it past the group stage since 1994, El Tri (Mexico's nickname) have only won once in the knockout stages. That was against Bulgaria in 1986, the last time the country hosted the biggest football festival on the planet.

During that World Cup that overshadowed Maradona, Javier Aguirre was a striker for El Tri. Now, as head coach, the veteran coach is responsible for taking Mexico to the quarterfinals for the third time as host.

Mexico and South Africa meet again in the opening match of the World Cup, a scene that recalls the history of the tournament.

South Africa are making their first appearance at the World Cup since hosting it. Under veteran Belgian coach Hugo Broos, the team beat Nigeria and Benin in qualifying, despite being penalized for fielding a suspended player.

South Korea continued to extend their Asian record with their 11th consecutive World Cup. Hong Myung-bo, a legend who attended four World Cups and finished third in the 2002 World Cup Golden Ball voting, led the “Taeguk Warriors” through the qualifying round with an unbeaten record.

The remaining ticket in the group will belong to the winner of the European play-off: Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia or Republic of Ireland.

Group B: Historic opportunity for Canada, holding breath waiting for Italy to arrive

Canada has been to the World Cup twice, and while Qatar 2022 saw the team score its first goal, it has yet to pick up a point.

Coach Jesse Marsch currently owns a generation of players considered the "golden generation" of Canadian football, with Jonathan David (Juventus) and Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) as the two leading players.

The “ease” of the group depends largely on whether the Italian team can pass the play-off round or not. If the “Blue Army” is present, the situation will change immediately.

The Swiss team, after two missed World Cups at the end of the last century, has reached the knockout round in 4/5 recent tournaments, and is also the team that reached the quarter-finals of the last 2 Euros.

Under coach Murat Yakin, the watchmaking nation has easily qualified without losing a single match. With two seasoned veterans in Ricardo Rodríguez and Granit Xhaka, both aiming for their fourth World Cup, Switzerland are a tough nut to crack.

Meanwhile, Qatar benefited greatly from being co-hosts of the fourth qualifying round and secured their place after a 2-1 win over the UAE. Coach Julen Lopetegui's team is made up entirely of domestic players.

Scott McTominay and his Scottish teammates carry the desire to rewrite the past, aiming to participate in the knockout round for the first time.

Table C: Memories of 1998 and painful memories of 1974

Scotland returns to the World Cup after 28 years, and the scenario is somewhat similar to France 1998, when they were also drawn in a group with Brazil and Morocco. That year, Brazil and Norway qualified for the next round.

Haiti – replacing Norway – entered their second World Cup in half a century. Their only previous World Cup appearance (1974) was rarely mentioned not because of the three defeats, but because of the tragedy of midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph: after failing a drug test, he was beaten by Haitian military officers at the Sheraton Munich hotel before being deported to Port-au-Prince.

Haiti still faces major restrictions: most of its fans are banned from entering the US under Washington's restricted list.

As for Brazil, Carlo Ancelotti is the third coach of the yellow-green team in the qualifying campaign alone, which has seen an unprecedented three-game losing streak. However, the “Samba Dancers” are still in the safe zone, and Ancelotti’s mark has brought them remarkable progress.

Morocco – who made history at Qatar 2022 by becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals – will continue to maintain their position as North Africa's number one, entering the 2026 World Cup with a perfect record in qualifying.

The fitness and form of Christian Pulisic – Milan's main striker – is considered key to the home team's performance.

Group D: Host USA finds form

A year ago, the US team was in crisis: losing to Panama and Canada in the Nations League, then losing to Türkiye and Switzerland. But Mauricio Pochettino breathed new life into the team, and in November alone, the US beat Paraguay and then “destroyed” Uruguay 5-1 in a series of friendlies.

The hosts’ first opponents will be Paraguay, a team that has participated in 6 consecutive World Cup finals. In the previous 5 World Cups, “La Albirroja” won exactly 1 match each time, resulting in 2 group stage eliminations. This time, Paraguay is still loyal to its defensive identity: only scoring 14 goals in 18 qualifying matches.

Meanwhile, Australia is not as strong as in previous years, and the squad lacks stars. However, the spirit of the team under the leadership of coach Tony Popovic was shown in two decisive matches: defeating Japan and Saudi Arabia to win the ticket. The last ticket of Group C will belong to the winner of the play-off C: Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Türkiye.

Nick Woltemade, the rising star of German football, is expected to become a dangerous striker for "Die Mannschaft".

Group E: The return of the Germans and the battleground for the "steel defenders"

After two group stage exits, Germany no longer have the image of an invincible “tank”. Julian Nagelsmann’s controlling and imposing style of play has a modern feel, but also leaves them vulnerable.

Ecuador were the shining light of the South American qualifiers: finishing second to Argentina and conceding just five goals. A steely defence of Willian Pacho and Piero Hincapié, protected by Moisés Caicedo up front, made them one of the toughest teams to break down in the region.

Ivory Coast, from being doubted during the “post-golden generation” period, has been strongly reborn under coach Emerse Faé, the coach who created the CAN 2023 championship. “The Elephants” scored 25 goals without conceding a single one in the qualifying round, a seemingly unrealistic number.

Curaçao – the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup – emerged as an interesting unknown, making the group somewhat less “tough” than initially predicted.

Group F: Orange - blue and speed race

The Netherlands under coach Ronald Koeman does not possess iconic stars like Johan Cruyff or Arjen Robben like in the past, but this team is stable and coldly effective.

Memphis Depay, the author of 8 goals in the qualifying round, continues to be "the best version of himself" every time he wears the national team shirt.

In the opening match, the “Orange Storm” will face Japan – the most impressive Asian team in the qualifying round. The “Blue Samurai” have only lost one match and have a record of 54-3 over the two qualifying rounds. From the “small shoes”, Japan has grown to become a modern, fast, sharp, tactically disciplined team and is capable of competing on equal terms with all the big names in world football.

Tunisia, meanwhile, had 14 different players score in qualifying – a testament to their diverse, non-individualistic style of play. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the play-offs, this group will be reminiscent of the 1974 World Cup, when Johan Cruyff first performed the legendary “Cruyff turn”.

Egypt and Mohamed Salah hope to make a new mark in North America, after missing out on the World Cup stage in Qatar 2022.

Group G: Old glory and new transformation

Belgium and Egypt are both on the other side of the golden generation, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less ambitious. Rather, both teams are slowly emerging from the shadow of their legends. Under Rudi Garcia, Belgium sometimes attacked like a storm, sometimes struggled even against Kazakhstan.

Egypt – the most successful team in African history – has never shone at the World Cup. This team has Salah and Marmoush in attack, but the qualifying results show that their strongest foundation lies in the defense, which has only conceded 2 goals.

Meanwhile, New Zealand benefited from Oceania’s automatic qualification. The All Whites won all five of their qualifying matches, scoring 29 goals – but were still the lowest-ranked team of the 48 teams.

Iran – also on the US “ban list” – could face obstacles with entry documents, travel and logistics when competing in North America.

Spain with its young, technically skilled and strong competitive squad continues to assert its image as a strong candidate for the world throne.

Group H: Spain and the modern football model

Spain, the reigning Euro champions and the number one team in the FIFA rankings, are a model that combines traditional possession play with the speed and directness of a younger generation. Coach Luis de la Fuente's team dropped just two points and scored an average of 3.5 goals per game in qualifying.

Meanwhile, Uruguay under eccentric tactician Marcelo Bielsa started promisingly, but a recent run of form – culminating in a 5-1 defeat to the USA – has raised questions about internal divisions.

Cape Verde's excellent form continues to surprise: despite not participating in CAN 2024, they still eliminated Cameroon thanks to an extremely solid defense.

Hervé Renard's Saudi Arabia almost fell into the intercontinental play-offs, but thanks to a "favorable" series of matches in Jeddah, they escaped on goal difference.

Group I: The Haaland - Mbappe battle

The key match of the 2026 World Cup group stage will certainly be the clash between France and Norway, when Kylian Mbappe promises to compete in scoring with Erling Haaland, the two best strikers in the world today.

But before that, France must face Senegal, the team that created a historic shock when defeating "Les Bleus" in 2002.

The French team has one of the strongest squads in the world, but often plays below expectations.

Mbappe is a big star but it is not easy to fit into a unified system, and there is a growing feeling that coach Didier Deschamps – with his “safety first” philosophy – is keeping the team from exploding to its full potential.

In contrast to France is Norway, the team that scored the most goals in Europe in the qualifying round: 37 goals/8 matches, an extremely impressive achievement.

Senegal are again led by coach Pape Thiaw, a member of the 2002 team. This team has a midfield full of goalscorers. Sadio Mané is still the focal point, but the destructive power is shared between satellites such as Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Matar Sarr or Ndiaye.

The final representative of the group will be Bolivia, Suriname or Iraq.

Will this summer be Lionel Messi’s last moment on the World Cup stage? That question remains open, but his appeal has not diminished for a moment.

Group J: Messi question mark

After the drought comes the rain. Argentina went 28 years without a title, then won both the World Cup and Copa América under Lionel Scaloni. They topped the South American qualifying group and brought the 2026 World Cup to a single question: What role does Lionel Messi, at 39, still play?

In their fifth World Cup appearance, coach Vladimir Petkovic's Algeria played much more freely than the team that won CAN 2019.

Ralf Rangnick's Austria team maintained their strong pressing style, reaching the finals after a thrilling comeback against Bosnia. The strength of the team lies mainly in their dynamic midfield, with Konrad Laimer being the key.

Jordan, under coach Jamal Sellami, uses a 3-4-3 formation and is especially dangerous away from home, defending tightly and counter-attacking quickly.

Group K: Ronaldo, operating mechanism and time pressure

Cristiano Ronaldo – who had his two-match suspension controversially reduced – will probably start. For Roberto Martínez, that is both an advantage and a concern, as CR7’s speed and limited mobility often slow down the team’s operations.

Without Ronaldo, Portugal scored 9 goals against Armenia in the final qualifying match. The question is whether they will be “smoother” or “more confused” with him back?

The Republic of Congo – if they pass the play-off (against New Caledonia or Jamaica) – could pose a difficult challenge for the “Seleccao” on opening day.

Uzbekistan, contrary to the stereotype of “benefits from the expansion of the World Cup”, actually had the fourth best record in Asia in qualifying. Only Japan conceded fewer goals than them in the final stages.

Colombia, the reigning Copa America runner-up, possesses a fearsome attack with two core players James Rodríguez and Luis Diaz.

Group L: Tuchel, Kane and the English dream of reaching the top of the world

Thomas Tuchel was appointed England manager with a clear objective: to win the World Cup. His team qualified without conceding a single goal, and perhaps no England manager has ever had such a rich array of creative players. But it all depends on one name: Harry Kane.

Croatia – the highest-ranked team in Pot 2 – have maintained their form under Zlatko Dalic, and this is the third time in five World Cups they have met England.

Ghana shocked everyone when they failed to qualify for CAN despite having a very strong attack, but immediately "restored their honor" with 8 wins in the World Cup qualifiers under coach Otto Addo.

Panama – who lost to England by 6 goals at the 2018 World Cup – entered the finals for the second time with an unbeaten record in the final round of Concacaf qualifying.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/world-cup-2026-phac-hoa-chan-dung-tung-bang-dau-va-cuoc-dua-ve-di-tiep-186136.html