Now that the FanTeam Fantasy World Cup 2026 game is live we take a look at what happened in the 1st round of matches (GW1). FanTeam’s game is 18+ only – please play responsibly. BeGambleAware. T&Cs apply. For more discussion, team planning and strategy chat, visit FISO’s FanTeam Forum.
The opening round of World Cup 2026 group matches produced 75 goals across 24 fixtures, with Lionel Messi delivering the standout individual performance: a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria. Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Kai Havertz, Folarin Balogun, Yasin Ayari and Elijah Just also scored twice.
Thursday 11 June
Mexico 2-0 South Africa
Scorers: Julian Quiñones, Raul Jimenez
Korea Republic 2-1 Czechia
Scorers: Hwang Inbeom, Oh Hyeongyu; Ladislav Krejci
Korea came from behind after Krejci’s 59th-minute opener, with Hwang levelling and Oh scoring the winner.
Friday 12 June
Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Scorers: Cyle Larin; Jovo Lukic
Lukic put Bosnia ahead before Larin rescued Canada’s first World Cup point.
USA 4-1 Paraguay
Scorers: Damian Bobadilla OG, Folarin Balogun 2, Giovanni Reyna; Mauricio
Balogun was the star with a brace as the hosts opened with a statement win.
Saturday 13 June
Haiti 0-1 Scotland
Scorer: John McGinn
Australia 2-0 Türkiye
Scorers: Nestory Irankunda, Connor Metcalfe
Brazil 1-1 Morocco
Scorers: Vinicius Junior; Ismael Saibari
Qatar 1-1 Switzerland
Scorers: Miro Muheim OG; Breel Embolo
Sunday 14 June
Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador
Scorer: Amad Diallo
Germany 7-1 Curaçao
Scorers: Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz 2, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown, Deniz Undav; Livano Comenencia
Germany were the standout team of GW1, with Havertz scoring twice.
Netherlands 2-2 Japan
Scorers: Virgil van Dijk, Crysencio Summerville; Keito Nakamura, Daichi Kamada
Sweden 5-1 Tunisia
Scorers: Yasin Ayari 2, Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, Mattias Svanberg; Omar Rekik
Monday 15 June
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay
Scorers: Abdulelah Al-Amri; Maxi Araujo
Spain 0-0 Cabo Verde
The biggest shock of the round, with Spain blanking despite heavy fantasy investment.
IR Iran 2-2 New Zealand
Scorers: Ramin Rezaeian, Mohammad Mohebi; Elijah Just 2
Belgium 1-1 Egypt
Scorers: Mohamed Hany OG; Emam Ashour
Tuesday 16 June
France 3-1 Senegal
Scorers: Kylian Mbappé 2, Bradley Barcola; Ibrahim Mbaye
Iraq 1-4 Norway
Scorers: Aymen Hussein; Erling Haaland 2, Leo Ostigard, Aymen Hussein OG
Haaland scored twice, with Ostigard and a late own goal completing Norway’s win.
Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Scorer: Lionel Messi 3
Austria 3-1 Jordan
Scorers: Romano Schmid, Yazan Al-Arab OG, Marko Arnautovic; Ali Olwan
Wednesday 17 June
Ghana 1-0 Panama
Scorer: Caleb Yirenkyi
England 4-2 Croatia
Scorers: Harry Kane 2, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford; Martin Baturina, Ivan Perisic
Kane’s double set England on their way, with Bellingham and Rashford also scoring. Croatia replied through Baturina and Perisic.
Portugal 1-1 Congo DR
Scorers: Joao Neves; Yoane Wissa
Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia
Scorers: Abbosbek Fayzullaev; Daniel Muñoz, Luis Díaz, Jaminton Campaz
Multi-Goal Heroes
Hat-trick
- Lionel Messi – Argentina v Algeria
Two goals
- Harry Kane – England v Croatia
- Erling Haaland – Norway v Iraq
- Kylian Mbappé – France v Senegal
- Kai Havertz – Germany v Curaçao
- Folarin Balogun – USA v Paraguay
- Yasin Ayari – Sweden v Tunisia
- Elijah Just – New Zealand v Iran
Fantasy Takeaway
GW1 rewarded managers who backed the obvious premium forwards. Messi, Kane, Haaland, Mbappé and Havertz all delivered, while Germany’s 7-1 win justified the heavy ownership of Kimmich, Wirtz, Musiala and Havertz.
Spain were the big disappointment. The 0-0 draw with Cabo Verde wiped out expected returns for Yamal & Oyarzabal and leaves FanTeam managers with an early decision: hold for Saudi Arabia in GW2, or chase the Brazil, France and Portugal fixtures instead.
The early Golden Boot race is already led by Messi, with Kane, Haaland, Mbappé, Havertz, Balogun, Ayari and Elijah Just all close behind.