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The knockout bracket for the 2026 World Cup continued to take shape Friday with Groups G, H and I drawing to a close
The six fixtures featured some heavy hitters. Belgium’s fate is still to be decided after it drew its first two matches. Spain has its toughest test so far in the form of Uruguay. And Group I saw France and Norway each tied with six points following back-to-back victories
Here’s an overview of what unfolded across North America
Friday Schedule and Results
Group I: France 4, Norway 1
Group I: Senegal 5, Iraq 0
Group H: Cabo Verde 0, Saudi Arabia 0
Group H: Spain 1, Uruguay 0
Group G: Egypt vs. Iran, 11 p.m. ET
Group G: New Zealand vs. Belgium, 11 p.m. ET
Group Standings
Group G
Group H
Group I
Full group standings are available at FIFA’s official website
Friday Highlights
Spain 1, Uruguay 0
Uruguay are out, with barely a whimper
Spain eliminated Uruguay on Friday with a 1-0 victory, leaving Uruguay with just two draws and a loss in the Group Stage. Álex Baena’s first-half goal was the death knell for Uruguay
Here’s a damming stat from Uruguay’s perspective—the country had more cards on Friday (four in total, one red) than they had goals during this tournament (three). They were more bark than bite at this year’s World Cup
As for Spain, they’ll face either Austria or Algeria in the Round of 32
Cabo Verde 0, Saudi Arabia 0
Cabo Verde are through. Let the celebrations begin
Cabo Verde’s draw against Saudi Arabia on Friday, paired with Spain’s victory over Uruguay, advanced the African nation to the Round of 32
Yes, their prize is a trip with holders Argentina, a brutal opponent for the knockout phase. But who cares? Cabo Verde just made history, advancing to the knockout rounds—the smallest country to ever do so—in its first-ever World Cup. You can’t script it up much better than that
Enjoy this one, Cabo Verde. You’ve been one of the best stories of this year’s World Cup
France 4, Norway 1
Thirty-two minutes
That’s all the time France star Ousmane Dembélé needed to earn a hat trick as Les Bleus swept Norway aside 4-1
Dembélé gave his country the lead in the seventh minute. He faked cutting in with his left before putting a right-footed shot past Norwegian goalkeeper Egil Selvik
The 2025 Ballon d’Or winner made it a brace in the 20th minute. This time he did keep the ball on his left foot and curled a shot from outside the 18-yard box into the far post
Thelo Aasgaard scored for Norway to make it a 2-1 game, but Dembélé wasn’t done. He registered his third goal with another left-footed effort inside the far post
With a two-goal cushion, France cruised for much of the remainder of the match. Jørgen Strand Larsen did let the French off the hook in the 50th minute when he couldn’t convert a penalty. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a diving save to his left
Désiré Doué put the finishing touches on France’s win with a goal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time
The French came into the World Cup as one of the favorites and lived up to that reputation in the group stage. They won all three of their matches and had a goal differential of plus-seven
Senegal 5, Iraq 0
Facing a must-win situation, Senegal hammered Iraq 5-0 with goals from Habib Diarra, Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye
Diarra wasted little time putting the Lions of Teranga ahead. Off a corner kick, he was in the right place to get a deflection on the ball and leave Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil with little chance of making the save
A tough start for Iraq got even worse in the 13th minute, when defender Rebin Sulaka received a red card. Holding Senegal to just one goal in the first half was a positive result all things considered
The proverbial dam broke, however, after Jalal Hassan replaced Basil at halftime. Sarr and Gueye scored in quick succession
Gueye notched a brace for good measure and Ndiaye capped off the outburst in the 82nd minute
With a third-place finish in the group, Senegal could potentially punch its ticket to the round of 32
