World Cup Latest – How Are The Home Nations And Favourites Performing?
We are almost at the halfway point of the Group Phase of the 2026 World Cup Finals and it has been a competition packed with goals, incidents and not without its controversy. From the oft-criticised hydration breaks, to the star names showing up in force, this has been a World Cup for the ages so far.
With that in mind, how have the two home nations, England and Scotland performed so far, and how do they compare with some of the other favourites tipped to win the tournament in the early betting markets?
Home Nations
England
- V Croatia – W 4-2 – Kane 2, Bellingham, Rashford
- V Ghana – Playing Tuesday
- V Panama – Playing Saturday
England sit top of Group L after an excellent performance and victory over Croatia. Twice England let the lead slip in the first half with some sloppy defending, but the Three Lions were excellent in the second half and fully deserved the win, which could have been by a much bigger margin.
Scotland
- V Haiti – W 1-0 – McGinn
- V Morocco – L 0-1
- V Brazil – Playing Wednesday
Scotland have played two of their three Group Stage games earning a hard-fought 1-0 win over Haiti, but going down 1-0 to Morocco in their second game. Three points may be enough to reach the second-phase for the first time, but they will have to play markedly better against Brazil than they have managed in their first two fixtures of the tournament.
Pre Tournament Favourites
France
- V Senegal – W 3-1 – Mbappe 2, Barcola
- V Iraq – Playing Monday
- V Norway – Playing Friday
After a poor first half, France finally found their feet in the second half against Senegal, scoring three goals to earn a fine 3-1 victory. Mbappe came alive in the second 45 after a dismal first half, scoring twice while Michael Olise was in sparkling form for the pre-tournamement favourites.
Spain
- V Cape Verde – D 0-0
- V Saudi Arabia – W 4-0 – Yamal, Oyarzabal 2, Altambakti OG
- V Uruguay – Playing Thursday
Spain began the World Cup as the favourite for many but a disappointing performance against Cape Verde started them off poorly. However, they produced a much better, fluid display against Saudi Arabia on Sunday with a commanding 4-0 win to take control of the Group.
Argentina
- V Algeria – W 3-0 – Messi 3
- V Austria – Playing Monday
- V Jordan – Playing Sunday
Lionel Messi produced the magic once again as he inspired the Champions to a confident start in the tournament as they routed Algeria 3-0. Expect Argentina to rest Messi for their final game if they beat Austria on Monday.
Portugal
- V DR. Congo – D 1-1 – Neto
- V Uzbekistan – Playing Tuesday
- V Colombia – Playing Sunday
A below par performance from Portugal saw them earn a draw against DR Congo in their opener, a game in which Ronaldo was virtually anonymous. The pressure is on in their final two games for Roberto Martinez’s team to perform.
Brazil
- V Morocco – D 1-1 – Vinicius Jr.
- V Haiti – W 3-0 – Cunha 2, Vinicius Jr.
- V Scotland – Plating Wednesday
After being outplayed for much of the game against Morocco, Brazil hung on for a point and then despatched Haiti 3-0 with three first half goals. However, the performances are not quite there to suggest that they could go on to win the tournament just yet.
Germany
- V Curacao – W 7-1 – Nmecha, Schlotterbeck, Havertz 2, Musiala, Brown, Undav
- V Ivory Coast – W 2-1 – Undav 2
- V Ecuador – Plating Thursday
A comprehensive thrashing of Curacao was followed by a narrow 2-1 win over Ivory Coast as Germany confirmed their place in the knockout phase. Denis Undav has been a huge influence from the bench with three goals and two assists.
World Cup 2026 So Far…
Ten Most Impressive Teams
- Morocco
- United States
- Argentina
- England
- France
- Germany
- Norway
- Mexico
- Canada
- Netherlands
Ten Most Impressive Players
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Denis Undav (Germany)
- Harry Kane (England)
- Michael Olise (France)
- Vinicius Jr. (Brazil)
- Yan Diomande (Ivory Coast)
- Jude Bellingham (England)
- Kylian Mbappe (France)
- Brian Brobbey (Netherlands)
Ten Best Games So Far
- England 4-2 Croatia
- United States 4-1 Paraguay
- Canada 6-0 Qatar
- Germany 7-1 Curacao
- Netherlands 5-1 Sweden
- Netherlands 2-2 Japan
- Sweden 5-1 Tunisia
- Iraq 1-4 Norway
- France 3-1 Senegal
- Brazil 1-1 Morocco
It has been an exciting start to the World Cup Finals, but from now on, things will get tricky as teams start to face up to the prospect of elimination, or moving on to the knockout phase.
