The Six Biggest Disappointments of the 2026 World Cup Group Stage

FIFA’s expansionist ideals have opened the World Cup to 48 teams, with an unrelenting schedule barely offering respite for viewers around the globe, let alone those actually involved across three North American countries this summer.

After 17 days, 72 matches and an impressive 215 goals, only 16 nations were eliminated from the group stage. The all-new round of 32 represents the start of the knockout stages, where behemoths collide with debutants in a bid to perpetuate their respective campaigns.

Crucially, the quality dilution some feared hasn’t come to the fore, with minnows admirably punching above their weight. However, the overperformance of some inevitably means others have underwhelmed, and a portion of fanatics have departed North America disheartened with their country’s showing at this summer’s tournament. For those whose journeys are already over, 2030 feels like a lifetime away.

Here are the six most disappointing teams of the 2026 World Cup group stage.

South Korea

South Korea entered the World Cup with relatively subdued expectations, but an evenly matched Group A meant it had as good a chance as any to advance into the knockouts.

And when the Taegeuk Warriors fought back to defeat Czechia on Matchday 1, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in starring, it seemed possible that Hong Myung-bo’s technically clean outfit would emerge as one of the most watchable teams at the tournament.

That performance proved to be no more than a false dawn, though. The swagger swiftly faded against Mexico, and South Korea was undone by a stubborn South Africa in the final round of fixtures to finish third in the group. Three points and -1 goal difference meant it was the 10th-ranked third-place finisher, not enough to advance.

The fallout’s been dramatic, too. Hong has gone, as expected, after South Korea’s president Lee Jae Myung called for an inquest from the sports ministry into the team’s failure.

“We will swiftly push forward with reforms to sports administration to ensure such a thing never happens again," Lee wrote on X.

Scotland

Scotland was doubtless one of the major off-field winners, with the Tartan Army endearing themselves wonderfully to their hosts.

It had impressively qualified at Denmark’s expense, and after a couple of poor showings at major tournaments, Steve Clarke’s roster seemed to be maturing at just the right time.

However, its maiden World Cup campaign since 1998 ended with indifference. A first win at the tournament in 36 years, albeit unconvincing against Haiti, opened the door for a round of 32 spot, but Clarke’s side, so cautious and bereft of ideas in possession, barely laid a glove on both Morocco and Brazil to exit the tournament with a whimper.

Clarke’s dismissive interviews aggravated fans, and the longtime Scotland manager has since left his post to round off a stellar tenure but a rather sombre summer.

At least Scotland had that night at Fenway Park.

Türkiye

Türkiye wasn’t quite the popular ‘dark-horse’ pick as it was heading into Euro 2020, where it fell flat on its face and endured a humiliating group stage elimination.

Still, several projected Vincenzo Montella’s spritely outfit, laden with youthful gems, to turn a few heads across the Atlantic. Turn heads it most certainly did, but only because of the extent of its profligacy.

The Turks remarkably amassed a mammoth 62 shots without scoring in their opening two defeats, with Australia and Paraguay somehow finding a way to keep Montella’s men at bay. One of their shining lights, Kenan Yıldız, recorded 14 shots without scoring.

Türkiye was eliminated before Matchday 3, but it at least went out on a high by edging past a heavily rotated USMNT at the last.

Tunisia

The worst team at the 2026 World Cup without question, and one of the least inspiring in the tournament’s storied history.

Tunisia’s disarray was depicted when Sabri Lamouchi became the first manager since the World Cup’s inception almost 100 years ago to get fired after the first matchday. It pivoted to slick Frenchman Hervé Renard, the man who masterminded Saudi Arabia’s stunning victory over Argentina in Qatar, but this Tunisian roster was beyond salvageable.

After Lamouchi oversaw a 5–1 defeat to Sweden, Renard, who at least looked the part on the touchline, led the Eagles of Carthage in their 4–0 loss to Japan and 3–1 defeat to the Netherlands. There were two goals to ’celebrate,’ at least, but there’s no underplaying just how miserable a tournament this was for Tunisia.

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Uruguay

Marcelo Bielsa, one of soccer’s most revered minds, will likely bow out of the World Cup with an underwhelming record. Across three tournaments, Bielsa notched just three wins and guided just one of his teams (Chile, 2010) into the knockout stages.

Expectations weren’t exactly bullish for Bielsa’s Uruguay heading into the summer, and that scepticism seemed justified when it toiled woefully for 45 minutes against Saudi Arabia in Miami. The 4-4-2 was shelved for wingers and a 4-3-3, and Uruguay did improve drastically in the second half to earn a point.

However, by only mustering a draw against lovable debutant Cabo Verde, the two-time winners required a victory against European champion Spain on Matchday 3 to advance.

Reports emerged ahead of the game regarding a difference in opinion between players and Bielsa as to how they should go about securing the necessary result. Still, despite the potential discontent, Uruguay performed with fire and vigor against La Roja. It wasn’t enough, though.

Another Fernando Muslera World Cup blunder condemned Bielsa’s men to a 1–0 defeat and an early exit.

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Portugal

Portugal remains in the tournament, and it did produce a swashbuckling display to cast aside Uzbekistan on Matchday 2.

On either side of that result, though ... oof.

The potential outsider to go all the way this summer was first flummoxed by DR Congo, with ponderous possession play bereft of an injection rendering Portugal easy to stymie.

Colombia was always going to be a sterner test, even if Cristiano Ronaldo declared himself officially “back” after scoring twice against the 60th-ranked nation in the world, and the South Americans were mightily unfortunate not to score a statement victory in Miami.

Remarkably, at the age of 41, Ronaldo played more minutes than anyone during the group stage. Roberto Martínez’s curious dependance on the no-longer-great all-time great will hurt Portugal against elite opposition.

Plucky Croatia awaits in the round of 32, then we could enjoy a clash of the Iberian heavyweights in the last 16. Spain, too, hasn’t performed as many expected it to thus far.

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Published Jun 28, 2026 | Modified Jun 28, 2026JAMES CORMACK

James Cormack is a freelancer soccer writer for Sports Illustrated FC. An expert on Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, he follows Italian and German soccer, taking particular interest in the work of Antonio Conte & Julian Nagelsmann.

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