The 10 best games of the 2026 World Cup so far
The 2026 World Cup has had some amazing moments so far, including victorious underdogs, late comebacks and Germany somehow losing on penalties.
With just eight games left to go, it’s fair to say that, on the pitch at least, this tournament could go down as one of the better ones in living memory.
Here are, in no particular order, the ten best matches of the tournament so far.
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Cape Verde 0-0 Spain – Group H – June 15
Some people might say that a goalless draw has no place being in any “best matches” list, but the circumstances surrounding Cape Verde‘s opening fixture against Spain mean it warrants celebration.
Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper whose name means “little grandmother” announced his arrival at the World Cup with a stunning display, producing heroics that meant the debutants took a huge point from the European Champions that would help them get out of a group containing two former World Cup winners and Saudi Arabia. An astonishing first appearance.
Portugal 1-1 DR Congo – Group K – June 17
This might not have been the best game of the tournament, but it certainly produced an incredible moment that a whole nation will never forget.
Yoane Wissa rising in the penalty area to head home DR Congo‘s first ever World Cup goal is a beautiful moment in its own right, but to do it against one of the pre-tournament favourites Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo, to earn a valuable group stage draw, was truly special and something to savour.
England 4-2 Croatia – Group L – June 17
One of the best battles of the group stages got Group L off to a bang, with England and Croatia trading blows in a topsy-turvy clash.
England’s class eventually told in the second half, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford adding two decisive strikes to give them a positive opening result. However, the four-goal first half was a real treat for the neutrals, with Croatia twice pegging back the Three Lions.
Austria 3-3 Algeria – Group J – June 28
With a draw enough to send both of these sides through to the knockout stages, many predicted that this game would finish level in dull circumstances. They were half right.
While a draw did end up playing out, it was anything other than boring, with six goals exchanged between the two sides. When Riyad Mahrez struck to put Algeria 3-2 up in the 93rd minute, things didn’t look great for Austria.
However, Sasa Kalajdzic headed home an even later equaliser three minutes later to ensure both sides made it to the round of 32.
Germany 1-1 Paraguay (3-4 on penalties) – round of 32 – June 29
Football is a simple game: 22 men kick a ball around for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win. Except that hasn’t been the case for a while now.
It took more than 90 minutes for Paraguay to get the job done, with the game going beyond both regulation time and extra time into penalties.
The usually clinical Germans were poor from the spot and when Jonathan Tah sent his shot over the bar and into row Z, it was a momentous occasion that saw the underdogs progressing in the most unlikely fashion. A real collector’s item.
Belgium 3-2 Senegal – Round of 32 – July 1
Senegal seemed to be cruising and Belgium were awful. Yet, football has a way of producing unlikely surprises.
Few would have predicted a Belgium turnaround after Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr had put Senegal 2-0 up.
However, Belgium never lost hope and managed to pull back two goals in the final five minutes of normal time, with Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans earning extra time.
Tielemans then converted a penalty in the 125th minute to break Senegal hearts and send Belgium through to the round of 16 to face the USA, where very little of note happened to them. I can’t think of any big talking points anyway…
Portugal 2-1 Croatia – Round of 32 – July 2
In this battle of the veterans, Cristiano Ronaldo vs Luka Modric, we knew we would be seeing one of the two legends of the game for the final time on the international stage.
Another seasoned pro got the ball rolling in this one as Ivan Perisic opened the scoring in a thrilling end-to-end game.
Both sides had goals ruled out for offside, both hit the post and it could really have gone either way. In the end, it was Goncalo Ramos’ head that won the match, although a controversial “header” at the other end was their real saviour.
Josko Gvardiol looked to have pulled Croatia level in added time, but VAR intervened, revealing that Igor Matanovic’s hair had grazed the ball on its way through to Mario Pasalic who set up the goal, rendering him offside. It was a very harsh call at the end of a thrilling encounter.
Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde – Round of 32 – July 3
When Lionel Messi caressed a wonderfully floated ball over the top and prodded it past Vozinha in the Cape Verde goal, it seemed as if a routine win for the world champions might be on the cards.
But the World Cup debutants had other ideas, instead producing a magnificent display full of heart and courage that almost saw them shock the world.
The highlight of the game, and possibly the tournament so far, came in the form of Sidny Lopes Cabral’s wonder strike from the corner of the area that almost sent the game to penalties. However, it wasn’t to be with Argentina digging deep to find just enough to get through.
Not much had been expected of Cape Verde before the tournament and though they didn’t win the World Cup, or even any of their matches, they still won the hearts of the viewing public and made a big case to suggest that the expanded tournament has been a success.
England 3-2 Mexico – Round of 16 – July 5
Ahead of kick off there were warnings of altitude, of weather and of a visceral home atmosphere, all creating more nervousness than usual about England heading into a knockout fixture.
Those warnings seemed to have been dispelled pretty quickly though when Jude Bellingham scored his second of the match to put the Three Lions on course for a routine win in the 38th minute.
Yet, by the 54th minute, the score was 2-1 and England were down to 10 men to bring that nervousness back tenfold.
A penalty each took the score to 3-2 before Thomas Tuchel deployed his secret weapon: Daniel Johnson Burn. The boy from Blyth headed anything that came near him back over the halfway line, something truly magnificent to behold, and helped England hold on against the onslaught and emerge victorious.
It was a performance for the ages and a unifying moment for fans watching from home as they spilled out of pubs at 5am on Monday morning, squinting into the rising sun, celebrating and singing with one another on their way to what must have been some hugely unproductive shifts at work.
Argentina 3-2 Egypt – Round of 16 – July 7
The reigning world champions have flown pretty close to the sun on a couple of occasions so far during this tournament, but somehow they’re yet to crash out.
After being pushed close by Cape Verde, Messi and co found themselves in an even worse position against Egypt, 2-0 down with 11 minutes of normal time to go, with their talisman wasting another penalty – his second miss from the spot of the tournament.
However, somehow they managed to find three late goals to turn things around before the final whistle, not even requiring extra time.
The Egyptians cried foul play, accusing the referee of fixing the game in favour of the South Americans, but the game was theirs for the taking, and they let it slip. It was astonishing, it was thrilling and it was heartbreaking all at the same time. A brilliant World Cup classic.
