France and Senegal surge as Cape Verde reach World Cup last 32

Results from four World Cup group matches on Friday, June 26, 2026, tightened the race for the round of 32 and produced one of the tournament's standout stories.

France defeated Norway 4-1 in Group I, with Ousmane Dembélé scoring a hat-trick in what analysts described as his first World Cup treble. Norway fielded a heavily rotated side, yet France still recorded 19 attempts and 10 on target while holding 57 per cent possession. Coach Germaine Thomas, a Jamaica Football Federation coaching educator and assistant with the national men's Under-20 team, said the French camp chose to keep key players sharp rather than rest them after already securing qualification.

Senegal beat Iraq 5-0 after the Iraqis were reduced to ten men in the 13th minute. Sadio Mané led the performance, Papa Gueye scored twice and Ismaïla Sarr also found the net as Senegal posted 30 shots and roughly 70 per cent possession, strengthening their case among the best third-place finishers.

Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 to top Group H with seven points, while Uruguay finished with two and were eliminated. Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to finish second in the group and advance directly to the knockout stage — the smallest country by land size ever to reach that phase at a World Cup.

Former FIFA referee Victor Stewart told the panel that World Cup officiating follows tournament-specific VAR guidance. He cited the Germany-Ecuador match, where a high boot in the build-up to a German goal was not overturned because the on-field referee judged no foul had occurred.

Round-of-32 pairings already confirmed include Argentina versus Cape Verde, France versus Sweden, Germany versus Paraguay, Brazil versus Japan and Ivory Coast versus Norway. The knockout phase begins on Sunday, June 28, with further group games set for Saturday including Panama against England and Jordan against Argentina.