WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP H

Group H features European Champions Spain , with South American heavyweights Uruguay. The group is completed by Saudi Arabia and first time qualifiers Cape Verde from Africa.

SPAIN –

Spain qualified as winners of European Group E ahead of Turkey, winning their first 5 games to ensure their final 2-2 draw with Turkey was irrelevant.

March 2026 friendlies saw Spain beat Serbia 3-0 before a disappointing 0-0 draw with Egypt which was overshadowed by unsavoury chanting from the crowd.

Spain manager is Luis de la Fuente

Spain’s goalkeeper is Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao with back up from Arsenal’s David Raya

The Spanish defence includes Aymeric Laporte the former Manchester City star alongside Marcos Llorente and Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella

In midfield Spain have Pedri and Dani Olmo of Barcelona with Manchester City’s Rodri and Arsenal’s Martín Zubimendi.

In attack Spain have the young star of Euro 2024 Lamine Yamal of Barcelona alongside Mikel Oyarzabal with young Víctor Muñoz of Real Zaragoza recently scoring on his debut. Nico Williams (his brother Inaki will be in the Ghana squad) and Ferran Torres may also feature.

URUGUAY –

Uruguay qualified from South America group in fourth place and claimed an automatic spot. This was however only decided on goal difference with Colombia, Uruguay , Brazil and Paraguay all finishing on 28pts , one point behind runners up Ecuador.

Uruguay are managed by former Leeds Head Coach Marcelo Bielsa

In March 2026 friendlies they drew 1-1 with England and 0-0 with Algeria.

In goal they have Sergio Rochet.

In defence they have captain José María Giménez of Atlético Madrid alongside Ronald Araújo of Barcelona and Manuel Ugarte from Manchester Utd.

In midfield they are led by Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde with Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

In attack Uruguay have former Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez with Brian Rodríguez.

SAUDI ARABIA –

Saudi Arabia came through the complex Asian qualifying , the Second Round saw Saudi Arabia qualify for Round Three with Jordan as top 2 in Group G.

The Third Round saw Saudi Arabia miss out on automatic qualification as Japan and Australia qualified from Group C. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia who finished 3rd and 4th in the 6 team group moved to Round Four.

In Round Four there were two groups of three teams with Saudi Arabia qualified as winners of Group B.

In March 2026 friendlies they lost 4-0 to Egypt and 2-1 to Serbia, leaving doubts over the future of coach Hervé Renard and he may not even be in charge for the World Cup.

Saudi Arabia manager Hervé Renard was sacked in April 2026 ahead of the World Cup and his replacement is Greek Georgios Donis.

In goal is Nawaf Al-Aqidi with back up from the experienced Mohammed Al-Owais

The defence includes Saud Abdulhamid of Lens and Abdulelah Al-Amri

The midfield has the experience of Salman Al-Faraj and Mohamed Kanno

In attack Salem Al-Dawsari has over 100 caps and is assisted by Saleh Al-Shehri, Abdullah Al-Hamdan and winger Firas Al-Buraikan.

CAPE VERDE –

Cape Verde were the surprise winners of African qualifying Group D ahead of Cameroon.

in 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde failed to qualify finishing bottom of their group as Egypt and Botswana qualified.

In March friendlies Cape Verde lost 4-2 to Chile before drawing 1-1 with Finland.

Cape Verde manager is former player Pedro “Bubista” Brito

In goal they have Vozinha who plays in second division in Portugal

The defence includes Irish born Roberto Lopes (Pico) who plays for Shamrock Rovers alongside João Paulo Fernandes of FCSB

In midfield they have Deroy Duarte of Ludogorets and Kevin Pina of Krasnodar.

In attack they have captain Ryan Mendes of Iğdır in Turkey alongside Garry Rodrigues of Apollon Limassol and Willy Semedo of Omonia.

Dailon Livramento is currently on loan to Casa Pia in Portugal from Italian side Verona.

Group H Fixtures

15/6/26 5pm Spain v Cape Verde

15/6/26 11pm Uruguay v Saudi Arabia

21/6/26 5pm Spain v Saudi Arabia

21/6/26 11pm Uruguay v Cape Verde

27/6/26 1am Spain v Uruguay

27/6/26 1am Saudi Arabia v Cape Verde

PREDICTIONS

I can only see Spain and Uruguay winning their opening two games and playing each other for top spot.

Similarly I can see Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde playing the final game looking for a win to claim third spot but a draw will see both eliminated.

1st Place prediction – Spain 7pts

2nd Place prediction – Uruguay 7pts

3rd Place prediction – Saudi Arabia 1pt GD -3

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP G

Group G features Belgium alongside African qualifiers Egypt with war-torn Iran and minnows New Zealand.

BELGIUM –

Belgium qualified winning qualifying Group J holding off a strong finish from Wales. A 4-2 win Cardiff after a thrilling 4-3 comeback win at home to the Welsh being the decisive matches after drawing twice with North Macedonia.

A 5-2 friendly win over USA in March was added to with a 1-1 draw against Mexico.

Belgium are managed by Frenchman Rudi Garcia

In goal Belgium will have Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, with Senne Lammens of Manchester Utd as back up.

The defence is led by the experienced Timothy Castagne of Fulham, Thomas Meunier from Lillie, alongside Brighton’s Maxim De Cuyper. Brandon Mechele and Zeno Debast will likely start in central defence.

In midfield is Napoli’s former Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne alongside captain Youri Tielemans of Aston Villa and clubmate Amadou Onana. Rangers Nico Raskin is also likely to feature.

The attack is expected to be led by Romelu Lukaku if he is fit , but Belgium also have other attacking options in Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and Charles De Ketelaere of Atalanta. Dodi Lukébakio of Benfica scored in the recent Manchester City’s winger Jérémy Doku adds in a more creative role, along with AC Milan’s Alexis Saelemaekers.

EGYPT –

Egypt qualified as winners of Group A in African qualifying winning 8 and drawing 2 of their 10 matches.

In the 2025 African Cup of Nations beat Zimbabwe and South Africa before drawing 0-0 with Angola to reach the knockout stages as group winners.

Wins over Benin after extra time and 3-2 over Ivory Coast took Egypt to the Semi Finals before losing 1-0 to Senegal.

March 2026 friendlies saw Egypt beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 and draw 0-0 with Spian.

Egypt are managed by Hossam Hassan

Mohamed El Shenawy is their experienced goalkeeper, although Mostafa Shobeir may start.

The defence includes Mohamed Hany, Ramy Rabia and Ahmed Abou El Fotouh

Egypt’s midfield includes Hamdy Fathy, Emam Ashour and former Arsenal man Mohamed Elneny.

In attack time is catching up on talisman Mo Salah and they may turn more to Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush and winger Trézéguet.

IRAN –

Iran qualified have progressed level with Uzbekistan in Second Round on 14pts from 6 games , they were drawn together again in the Third Round and both qualified automatically with Iran topping the group on 23pts from 10 games.

In March 2026 Iran lost a friendly 2-1 to Nigeria before beating Costa Rica 5-0 , both games played in Turkey

Iran manager is Amir Ghalenoei

Alireza Beiranvand is their normal goalkeeper.

In defence they have Ehsan Hajsafi, Shojae Khalilzadeh and Milad Mohammadi.

The midfield has Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Saman Ghoddos and Ali Gholizadeh.

In attack they will have captain Mehdi Taremi and Mehdi Ghayedi.

NEW ZEALAND –

New Zealand qualified having won Group B winning all three games taking them to a semi final where they beat Fiji 7-0 before beating New Caledonia in the final 3-0.

In March 2026 New Zealand hosted a FIFA series where they lost 2-0 to Finland before beating Chile 4-1

New Zealand are managed by Englishman Darren Bazeley

They have Max Crocombe of Millwall in goal, with back up from Alex Paulsen.

The defence includes Finn Surman and Tyler Bindon of Sheffield Utd

The midfield includes Marko Stamenić of Swansea and Motherwell’s Elijah Just

In attack New Zealand will be hoping Chris Wood of Nottingham Forest is fit for the World Cup however they can also call on the experienced Kosta Barbarouses.

Group F Fixtures

15/6/26 8pm Belgium v Egpyt

16/6/26 2am Iran v New Zealand

21/6/26 8pm Belgium v Iran

22/6/26 2am Egypt v New Zealand

27/6/26 4am Belgium v New Zealand

27/6/26 4am Egypt v Iran

PREDICTIONS

I think Belgium will be too good and win all three games.

It will be interesting to see how Iran will fair as they will have huge motivation playing on American soil assuming they take part.

I can see Iran beating New Zealand and getting a draw with Egypt, with Egypt and New Zealand drawing

1st Place prediction – Belgium 9pts

2nd Place prediction – Iran 4pts

3rd Place prediction – Egypt 2pts GD -2

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP F

Group F could be a very interesting group featuring Holland as top seeds with Japan the first qualifiers , Tunisia from African and the European Playoff winners Sweden who have come from a dismal qualifying campaign to impressive playoffs victories.

HOLLAND –

Holland had a fairly comfortable qualification winning 6 of 8 games and drawing 1-1 twice with Group runner up Poland.

A 2-1 friendly win over Norway in March was added to with a 1-1 draw against Ecuador where the early dismissal of Denzel Dumfries no doubt impacting the game.

The Dutch are managed by legend Ronald Koeman

In goal Holland have Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen with back up from Mark Flekken of Bayer Leverkusen.

The defence is led by captain Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool alongside Manchetser City’s Nathan Aké and Denzel Dumfries of Inter Milan. Fellow Liverpool player Jeremie Frimpong plays in right wing back role , while Jurriën Timber is likely to feature of the left. The Dutch also have Manchester Utd’s Matthijs de Ligt and Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven.

In midfield Holland are well served by Juventus star Teun Koopmeiners, Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders of Manchester City, PSV’s Jerdy Schouten will miss the tournament due to a recent injury. Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona who has had injury problems in the lead up to the World Cup. Tottenham’s Xavi Simons misses out due to injury.

The attack has come in for some criticism in recent years particularly Memphis Depay, he is assisted by Roma’s Donyell Malen and Cody Gakpo of Liverpool.

They have sometimes turned to the physical presence of former Manchester Utd player , now at Ajax Wout Weghorst.

JAPAN –

Japan impressed at World Cup 2022 with come from behind wins over Germany and Spain and were unfortunate to be knocked out on penalties by Croatia.

They qualified for World Cup 2026 winning all 6 games to top Group B in the Second Round before winning Group C ahead of Australia in the Third Round to secure their qualification with some ease.

Their March 2026 1-0 wins over Scotland and England suggest they are tight in defence and coming into the tournament with confidence.

Japan manager is Hajime Moriyasu

Zion Suzuki of Parma is their goalkeeper.

The defence includes Takehiro Tomiyasu of Ajax , Tsuyoshi Watanabe of Feyenoord and Hiroki Ito from Bayern Munich.

Japan’s midfield is expected to feature Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, Junya Itō from Genk, Leeds Utd’s Ao Tanaka and Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada.

Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma and Monaco’s Takumi Minamino both miss out through injury.

In attack Japan can call on the experience of Daizen Maeda from Celtic. Ayase Ueda of Feyenorrd will likely feature alongside Freiburg’s Yuito Suzuki.

TUNISIA –

Tunisia qualified with some ease from African Group H winning 9 and drawing 1 of their 10 games without conceding a goal to win the group and secure automatic qualification.

Tunisia competed in the African Cup of Nations taking 4pts from their 3 games in December 2025 finishing second in their group behind Nigeria. They were beaten on penalties in the last 16 after a 1-1 draw with Mali.

A new manager has taken over –  Sabri Lamouchi, so the team is currently in a period of change.

March 2026 friendlies saw them draw 0-0 with Canada and beat Haiti 1-0.

Aymen Dahmen is their normal goalkeeper.

In defence they have Ali Abdi, Montassar Talbi of Lorient and Servette’s Dylan Bronn.

The midfield has captain Ellyes Skhiri of Eintracht Frankfurt alongside Anis Ben Slimane of Norwich City and Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri.

Rani Khedira of Union Berlin has recently changed to Tunisia’s nationality and is brother of former German and Real Madrid star Sami Khedira

In attack they will have Firas Chaouat and Celtic’s Sebastian Tounekti. Louey Ben Farhat could add young energy to their attacking options.

SWEDEN –

Sweden had a terrible qualifying campaign under manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, and he was replaced by former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter for the playoffs. They had qualified for the playoffs by winning their Nations League group and took full advantage beating Ukraine 3-1 in Valencia then Poland 3-2 at home in the final.

They have Kristoffer Nordfeldt in goal.

The defence is led by captain and former Manchetser Utd’s Victor Lindelöf now at Aston Villa. He is partnered by former Celtic player Carl Starfelt now at Celta Vigo and Gustaf Lagerbielke of Braga.

Jesper Karlström of Udinese and Brighton’s Yasin Ayari play alongside Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski with Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga.

In attack Sweden are well served by Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres who scored a hat trick against Ukraine and the winner against Poland alongside Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren.

Alexander Isak Sweden’s talismanic striker has recently returned to the Liverpool team following a long term injury.

Group F Fixtures

14/6/26 9pm Holland v Japan

15/6/26 0.00am Sweden v Tunisia

20/6/26 6pm Holland v Sweden

21/6/26 5am Tunisia v Japan

26/6/26 0.00am Holland v Tunisia

26/6/26 0.00am Japan v Sweden

PREDICTIONS

This is an intriguing group with the cohesion of the Japanese , the Swedish team which has good attacking options and a new manager , pitted against the African’s of Tunisia and Holland who have experience and perhaps a squad getting older and with injuries and loss of form might struggle.

I can see a surprise with Japan beating Holland in the opening game and Sweden beating Tunisia.

Sweden then will have more freedom and will take the game to the Dutch who will likely hang on and get a draw while Japan beat Tunisia.

Japan 7pts and Sweden 5pts will play out a draw to confirm their passage and leave Holland fighting Tunisia for third place which they will do , with a narrow but decisive 2 goal win.

1st Place prediction – Japan 7pts

2nd Place prediction – Sweden 5pts

3rd Place prediction – Holland 4pts GD +1

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP E

Group D sees European giants Germany joined by Ecuador from South America, Ivory Coast from Africa and first time qualifiers Curacao.

Germany –

Germany qualified in the end with a 6-0 home win over Slovakia after losing to them away earlier in the qualifiers and are now managed by Julian Nagglesmann.

Germany goalkeeper is Oliver Baumann. Manuel Neuer may come out of retirement.

The German defence includes Nico Schlotterbeck, Jonathan Tah and captained by the experienced Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich

In midfield Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz is joined in the wide positions by Serge Gnabry formerly of Arsenal and Leroy Sané formerly of Manchetser City,

The experienced Leon Goretzka of Bayern Munich also featured recently against Switzerland.

The link between midfield and attack is filled by Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala.

The German attack is led by Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade and former West Ham striker Niclas Füllkrug who is now at AC Milan. Kai Havertz of Arsenal and Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav are other options in attack.

Ecuador –

Ecuador qualified from the South American group in second place behind Argentina on 29pts , just ahead of Colombia, Uruguay , Brazil and Paraguay all finishing on 28pts. This was despite beginning with a 3pts deduction from the 2022 qualifying campaign for fielding a player using false paperwork regarding his nationality. Ecuador only lost two games in qualifying 1-0 in Argentina and 1-0 in Brazil.

Since qualifying Ecuador have played a number of friendlies beating New Zealand 2-0 and drawing with USA , Mexico , Canada, Morocco and Holland.

Ecuador are managed by Argentinian Sebastián Beccacece

In goal will be 39yo Hernán Galíndez with back up from Gonzalo Valle.

The defence is led by Pervis Estupiñán of AC Milan and Arsenal’s Piero Hincapié

Midfield includes their star player Moisés Caicedo of Chelsea alongside Alan Franco and possibly John Yeboah of Venezia.

The Ecuador attack is led by the experienced captain Enner Valencia, however at the age of 36 , and still Ecuador go to man for goals , they may struggle in this department.

Ivory Coast –

Ivory Coast qualified by winning African qualifying Group F winning 8 and drawing 2 of their 10 games.

They recently played two friendlies in England beating South Korea 4-0 and Scotland 1-0.

Ivory Coast manager is Emerse Faé

Yahia Fofana is their goalkeeper with back up Alban Lafont

The defence has Odilon Kossounou of Atalanta , Evan Ndicka of Roma and two players playing in Portugal , Ghislain Konan and Ousmane Diomande.

The midfield includes experienced captain formerly with AC Milan and Barcelona Franck Kessié alongside Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangaré.

Ivory Coast attack features former Arsenal striker Nicolas Pépé and Manchester Utd’s Amad Diallo with Evann Guessand of Crystal Palace.

Ivory Coast could include Guela Doue brother of France’s Desire Doue.

Curcao –

This is Curacao’s first appearance and were managed by former Rangers manager Dick Advocat , who resigned in February 2026 but returned in May 2026.

Curacao qualified by winning Round Two Group C ahead of Haiti before winning Round Three Group B ahead of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago as well as Bermuda, winning 3 and drawing 3 of their 6 games.

In March 2026 they played in FIFA series in Australia losing to China 2-0 and Australia 5-1

In goal will be Eloy Room.

The defence is led by Juriën Gaari with Roshon van Eijma and Sherel Floranus who play in Holland.

Midfield includes Leandro Bacuna, captain formerly of Aston Villa

Kenji Gorré of Maccabi Haifa  is their main threat in attack alongside Brandley Kuwas of Volendam.

Group E Fixtures

14/6/26 6pm Germany v Curacao

15/6/26 0am Ivory Coast v Ecuador

20/6/26 9pm Germany v Ivory Coast

21/6/26 1am Ecuador v Curacao

25/6/26 9pm Germany v Ecuador

25/6/26 9pm Ivory Coast v Curacao

PREDICTIONS

I can see an emphatic win for Germany in their opening game, with a draw between Ivory Coast and Ecuador in a tight match

Germany will want to ensure qualification with a win over Ivory Coast , while Ecuador should be too strong for Curacao.

Germany may settle for a draw against Ecuador and top the group on 7pts, with Ecuador on 5 pts.

I can see Ivory Coast easily beating Curacao and ending in third place.

Curacao will lose all three games

1st Place prediction – Germany 7pts

2nd Place prediction – Ecuador 5pts

3rd Place prediction – Ivory Coast 4pts GD +2

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP D

Group D sees hosts USA joined by Paraguay alongside Australia and European Playoff Winner Turkey. This could be the closet fought group of the opening phase.

USA –

USA have played a series of friendlies, as hosts recently losing 5-2 to Belgium and 2-0 to Portugal.

In the Autumn as hosts they played friendlies at home and beat Australia 2-1, Paraguay 2-1 and Uruguay 5-1.

Last summer they played in the Concacaf Gold Cup beating Trinidad & Tobago 5-0, Saudi Arabia 1-0 and Haiti 2-1 to win their group.

A penalty shootout win over Costa Rica after a 2-2 draw saw then into the semi final where they beat Guatemala 2-1 before losing the final 2-1 to Mexico.

USA are managed by former Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino.

USA goalkeeper will likely be Matt Freese who has recently taken over the gloves from Matt Turner

In defence USA are unlikely to see the return from injury of Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers Johnston but the squad is likely to include his club mate Auston Trusty. Captain Tim Ream played at the 2022 World Cup and will play alongside Mark McKenzie of Toulouse , Antonee Robinson of Fulham and Chris Richards of Crystal Palace. Sergiño Dest of PSV could start at wing back.

In midfield former Rangers player Malik Tilman will be partnered with Weston McKennie of Juventus and Giovanni Reyna , son of former Rangers and USA star Claudio Reyna. Tyler Adams of Bournemouth and formerly with Leeds Utd is also a mainstay of the squad.

USA goal threat comes from Timothy Weah formerly with Celtic and son of legend George Weah. He will be partnered with former Chelsea striker Christian Pulisic now with AC Milan and Leeds Utd’s Brenden Aaronson. Monaco’s Folarin Balogun will also feature. Derby County’s Patrick Agyemang will miss the tournament after picking up a recent serious injury.

Paraguay –

Paraguay qualified from the South American group in sixth place and claimed the final automatic spot. This was however only decided on goal difference with Colombia, Uruguay , Brazil and Paraguay all finishing on 28pts , one point behind runners up Ecuador.

Since qualifying Paraguay have played a number of friendlies with mixed results most recently beating Greece 1-0 away and losing 2-1 to Morocco in France.

Paraquay are managed by Argentinian Gustavo Alfaro

In goal will be Gatito Fernández with back up Orlando Gil, Gastón Olveira from Olimpia has recently made his debut after changing allegiance from Uruguay.

The defence is led by captain Gustavo Gómez, alongside Sunderland’s Omar Alderete and Júnior Alonso.

Midfield includes former Newcastle man Miguel Almirón with former Nottingham Forest player Ramón Sosa and Brighton’s Diego Gómez. Playmaker Maurício Prado, from Palmeiras is another to recently agree to change to Paraguay and made his debut recently although born in Brazil.

Paraguay will have the experience of Gabriel Ávalos in attack alongside young exciting winger Julio Enciso of Strasbourg.

Australia –

Australia began Asian qualifying winning all of their 6 Second Round games to progress with the top 2 from 9 Groups to the Third Round.

In the Third Round they finished 2nd behind Japan in a 6 team Group as they both went through as automatic qualifier.

Australia played friendly matches during October and November 2025 beating Canada 1-0 in Montreal before losing 3 games in USA – 2-1 to USA, 1-0 to Venezuela and 3-0 to Colombia.

In March 2026 FIFA series they beat Cameroon 1-0 and Curacao 5-1, both in Australia.

Australia manager is Tony Popovic

Matt Ryan is their goalkeeper and captain.

The defence has Jordon Bos of Feyernoord and Aziz Behich with former Hearts man Kye Rowles. Harry Souttar of Leicester City has recently returned from injury and may make the squad, his brother John Souttar is likely to feature for Scotland.

The midfield includes Ajdin Hrustić and Middlesborough’s Riley McGree, and former Ross County player Jackson Irvine.

Australia’s attack should feature Hibs Martin Boyle, but the recent introduction of 20 yo Watford striker Nestory Irankunda could bring additional attacking flair. Norwich City’s Mohamed Touré could also feature.

Turkey –

Bosnia finished second behind Spain in European qualifying and went on to qualify for World Cup 2026 via the playoffs. A 1-0 home win over Romania was followed by a 1-0 away win over Kosovo in the final.

Turkey are managed by Italian Vincenzo Montella

Ugurcan Çakir of Galatasaray is the Turkish goalkeeper with back up Mert Günok of Fenerbache.

The defence is led Ozan Kabak, alongside him are Abdülkerim Bardakcı and Merih Demiral

Midfield includes captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu of Inter Milan and Orkun Kökçü

Real Madrid’s Arda Güler could be one of the young stars of the World Cup supplying Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Kenan Yıldız of Juventus.

Group D Fixtures

13/6/26 2am USA v Paraguay

14/6/26 5am Australia v Turkey

19/6/26 8pm USA v Australia

20/6/26 4am Turkey v Paraquay

26/6/26 3am USA v Turkey

26/6/26 3am Paraguay v Australia

PREDICTIONS

I can see an opening draw between USA and Paraquay in a tight match

I would expect Turkey to beat Australia in their opening game.

USA will want to put on a show as a host nation and beat Australia, while Turkey beat Paraguay in another tight match.

I can see USA getting a draw with Turkey as the Turks win the group on 7pts, and USA in second place on 5pts.

Paraquay will beat Australia to end on 4pts and await their fate as a third place team.

Australia I fear will end with three defeats.

Group D does seem the most wide open with pundits finding it hard to choose between USA and Turkey as group winners and 3rd place between Paraguay and Australia.

1st Place prediction – Turkey 7pts

2nd Place prediction – USA 5pts

3rd Place prediction – Paraquay 4pts GD 0

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP C

Group C sees 5 time World Cup winners Brazil joined by Scotland alongside Morocco and Haiti.

Brazil –

Brazil despite their unconvincing qualifying campaign will go into the tournament as clear favourites to win Group C .

Brazil qualified from the South American group in fifth place and claimed an automatic spot. This was however only decided on goal difference with Colombia, Uruguay , Brazil and Paraguay all finishing on 28pts , one point behind runners up Ecuador.

Brazil are managed by former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti

Brazil goalkeeper will likely be Liverpool’s Allison Becker with back up from former Manchester City’s Ederson.

PSG’s vastly experienced Marquinhos is captain and mainstay of the defence alongside Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães.

Casemiro of Manchester Utd is the main man in midfield alongside Barcelona’s Raphinha and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes.

Brazil’s attack is led by Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jnr, with the central striker role options include, Raphinha of Barcelona and Man Utd’s Mattheus Cunha, as well as youngster Endrich. Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli has a habit of coming on as a late substitute and scoring. It looks likely Chelsea’s Estevao will miss out through injury.

Scotland –

Scotland qualified as winners of European C beating Denmark into second place with a dramatic 4-2 win at Hampden on the final Matchday.

Scotland are managed by Steve Clarke

In goal is likely to be Angus Gunn , although he will be pushed by Hearts Craig Gordon if he is fit by June.

The defence is led by Andy Robertson of Liverpool , while Scott McKenna’s move to Dinamo Zagreb has pushed him in as a mainstay in central defence while Kieran Tierney from Celtic can fit in across the back line where required.

Rangers John Souttar could be joined at the World Cup by his brother Harry playing for Australia, as well as Jack Hendry.

Right back could see Nathan Patterson of Everton or Brentford’s Aaron Hickey.

Midfield is Scotland’s strength with Napoli pair Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour alongside Aston Villa’s John McGinn and Lewis Ferguson of Bolonga.

Kenny McLean who’s spectacular goal sealed qualification is a mainstay of the squad and Ryan Christie of Bourenemouth.

Scotland’s attack has been a long term problem with Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams being the obvious options, however the introduction of a fit again Ben Gannon-Doak could provide the pace required to break down tight defences.

Morocco –

Morocco qualified easily for the World Cup and were recently controversially awarded the African Cup of Nations after they lost the final to Senegal on penalties.

Morocco manager Walid Regragui resigned after the loss to Senegal and has been replaced by Mohamed Ouahbi who led Morocco to success at under 20 World Cup in 2025 which has seen Morocco move away from a more defensive approach in recent fr

Yassine Bounou is an experienced goalkeeper and was a star of the team at World Cup 2022 when they reached the semi finals.

The defence is led by captain Achraf Hakimi of PSG who plays alongside Man Utd’s Noussair Mazzraoui and Issa Diop of Fulham.

This is a defensive unit with experience and quality which led to conceding only 1 goal in 6 matches at the recent AFCON

The midfield includes Girona’s Azzedine Onuahi, PSV’s Ismael Saibari and youngster Bilal El Khannouss of Stuttgart and former Manchester Utd player Sofyan Amreabat. Roma’s Neil El Aynaoui is also an option in midfield.

Morocco’s attack is led by Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz and could feature young Ilias Akhomach who also plays in Spain for Rayo Vallencano. Soufiane Rahimi and Abde Ezzalzouli are other options.

Haiti –

Haiti progressed to Round 3 of the Concacaf qualifying finishing runners up to Curacao before they won Group C to qualify automatically after Honduras surprise loss in Nicaragua in the penultimate Matchday. Haiti’s win over Nicaragua coupled with Honduras 0-0 draw with Costa Rica took they to World Cup 2026

Haiti are managed by Frenchman Sébastien Migné

Johny Placide the Haiti goalkeeper is their captain and most experienced player.

The defence includes experienced Ricardo Ade and Carlens Arcus. Hannes Delcroix of Lugano who played at youth level for Belgium and Josué Casimir of Auxerre have recently chosen to play for Haiti.

Midfield includes Danley Jean Jacques who plays in MLS for Philladelphia Union. Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde of Wolves who played youth football for France has chosen to play for Haiti.

Haiti top scorer is Duckens Nazon, (44 goals in 76 games) who has played in England and France as well as a spell at St Mirren. Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor recently committed himself to Haiti and played in two friendlies against Tunisia and Iceland. Ruben Providence is an exciting winger. Frantzdy Pierrot has scored 33 international goals in 49 games.

Group C Fixtures

13/6/26 11pm Brazil v Morocco

14/6/26 2am Scotland v Haiti

19/6/26 11pm Scotland v Morocco

20/6/26 1.30am Brazil v Haiti

24/6/26 11pm Scotland v Brazil

24/6/26 11pm Haiti v South Morocco

PREDICTIONS

I would expect Brazil to win their opening games two games , and perhaps play a weakened team against Scotland. They will probably still win all three games to top the group on 9pts.

Scotland will struggle to break down Haiti but will in the end claim all three points.

Morocco having lost to Brazil and knowing they have to play Haiti in the final game will settle for a draw with Scotland.

Brazil will narrowly beat Scotland and Morocco will claim second place on goal difference from Scotland with an emphatic victory over Haiti.

This will be the second group completed.

Haiti will likely be a tough nut for Scotland to crack in their opening game. Once they get past the honeymoon period of their first game at the finals since 1974, and meeting tougher opposition they will lose the other two games.

1st Place prediction – Brazil 9pts

2nd Place prediction – Morocco 4pts GD +3

3rd Place prediction – Scotland 4pts GD +1

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP B

Group B sees hosts Canada joined by Switzerland alongside Qatar and European Playoff Winner Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Canada –

Canada have played a series of friendlies, as hosts recently drawing 2-2 with Iceland and 0-0 with Tunisia. Last summer they played in the Concacaf Gold Cup beating Honduras 6-0, El Salvador 2-0 and drawing 1-1 with Curacao before losing on penalties to Guatemala after a 1-1 draw.

Canada have lost all 6 games at previous World Cups and will be looking for their first victory.

Canada are managed by former Leeds Utd manager Jesse Marsch.

Canada goalkeeper will likely be Dyane St Clair of Inter Miami with back up from Orlando City’s Maxime Crepeau.

In defence Canada will be hoping to see a return to form of their star man Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich but injuries have kept him out of the national team over the past year. The defence will be boosted by return from injury of Celtic’s Alistair Johnston. Marseille’s Derek Cornelius on loan to Rangers and Karmal Miller of Portland Timbers will likely make up the defence.

Tajon Buchanan of Inter Milan on loan to Villareal is joined in midfield by Norwich City’s Ali Ahmed. Jonathan Osorio of Toronto adds experience to the midfield alongside Ismael Kone of Marseille, on loan to Sassauolo and Stephen Eustaquino.

Canada’s star man is striker Jonathon David of Juventus who will be assisted by Cyle Larin of Southampton and Daniel Jebbison of Bournemouth on loan to Preston.

Switzreland –

Switzerland qualified as European Group B winners ahead of Kosovo, Slovenia and Sweden winning 4 games and only dropping points with away draws in Kosovo and Slovenia.

Switzerland are managed by former player Murat Yakin

In goal will be Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel who has taken over from the highly experienced Jann Sommer after his retirement in 2024.

The defence is led by Ricardo Rodriguez of Real Bets , alongside Manchester City;s Manuel Akanji who is currently on loan to Inter Milan. They also have the experience of Nico Alvedi and Silvan Widmer who play their club football in Germany.

Midfield sees highly experienced Granit Xhaka now at Sunderland alongside Remo Freuler of Bolonga and Denis Zakaria of Monaco.

The Swiss attack is led by the experience of Breel Embolo who now plays in France for Rennes and he is partnered in attack by Dan Ndoye of Nottingham Forest and Ruben Vargas of Sevilla. Noah Okafor of Leeds Utd has been in good form late in the season.

Qatar –

Qatar began Asian qualifying winning 5 of their 6 Second Round games to progress with the top 2 from 9 Groups to the Third Round.

In the Third Round they finished 4th in a 6 team Group behind automatic qualifiers Iran and Uzbekistan.

This led Qatar to the Fourth Round where they won a 3 team group which they hosted and after drawing 0-0 with Oman then beat UAE 2-1 to qualify for World Cup 2026.

Qatar’s friendly matches in March 2026 were postponed due to the war in Iran.

They are managed by former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui.

Meshaal Barsham is their goalkeeper, with back up from Mahmud Abunada.

The defence has the experienced Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel, with left back Homam Ahmed who plays in the Spanish Second Division.

The midfield also has experience with Karim Boudiaf and Abdulaziz Hatem both having over 100 caps each.

Qatar’s attack is led by captain Hassan Al-Haydos. They also have Akram Afif one of the best players in Africa and Almoez Ali with over 100 caps each.

Bosnia –

Bosnia finished second behind Austria in European qualifying and went on to qualify for World Cup 2026 via the playoffs. A late goal in Cardiff to secure a 1-1 draw was followed by a penalty shoot out win and repeated the 1-1 scoreline at home to Italy in the final before again prevailing on penalties.

Bosnia are managed by former player Sergej Barbarez

Nikola Vasilj the Bosnia goalkeeper.

The defence is led by Atalanta’s former Arsenal defender Sead Kolašinac and alongside him are Amar Dedić of Benfica, Sassuolo’s Tarik Muharemović and former Rangers player Nikola Katic.

Midfield includes Hull City’s Amir Hadžiahmetović, Benjamin Tahirović of Brondby and Amar Memić of Viktoria Plzeň.

Bosnia’s talismanic striker is 40yo Eden Dzeko formerly of Manchester City and now at Schalke, and Ermedin Demirović of Stuttgart.

Group B Fixtures

12/6/26 8pm Canada v Bosnia

13/6/26 8pm Switzerland v Qatar

18/6/26 8pm Switzerland v Bosnia

18/6/26 11pm Canada v Qatar

24/6/26 8pm Switzerland v Canada

24/6/26 8pm Bosnia v Qatar

PREDICTIONS

I would expect Switzerland to beat Qatar with Canada drawing their opening game with Bosnia.

In the second round of fixtures , Switzerland v Bosnia will be tight and will end up drawn

Canada should keep their hopes alive of a top two finish with a win over Qatar.

The final group games I can see Switzerland topping the group with a win over Canada.

I think Bosnia will beat Qatar and finish on 5points, and claim second place.

Canada will set the target of 4 points as they aim to be one of the top 8 third place teams. This is will the first group to be completed.

Qatar will finish as one of the weaker teams and losing all three games, with an underprepared and ageing squad.

I have seen some pundits rating Canada over Bosnia with home advantage and a couple of star players but Bosnia I feel will have a more balanced squad and could surprise many.

1st Place prediction – Switzerland 7pts

2nd Place prediction – Bosnia 5pts

3rd Place prediction – Canada 4pts GD 0

WORLD CUP 2026 – GROUP A

Group A sees Mexico one of the hosts joined by the European Playoff D Winner Czechia alongside South Africa and South Korea.

Mexico –

Mexico go into the tournament with home advantage and a strong defensive record in recent friendly matches although they have not played a competitive game since they won the Concacaf Gold Cup in July 2025 beating USA 2-1 in the final.

March 2026 friendlies saw draws with Belgium 1-1 and Portugal 0-0.

Mexico are managed by former player Javier Aguirre, his third stint in charge of the National team and the greatest in Mexican history.

Mexico hope to break the barrier of having been eliminated at the Round of 16 on seven consecutive World Cups from 1994 to 2018 and then failed to qualify from the Group Stage in 2022.

Mexico will include goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa who has experience of playing at the previous five World Cups and is looking to play in his sixth and has announced he will retire at the end of the tournament. He is likely as back up to first choice Raúl Rangel. Mexico will miss the injured Luis Angel Malagon.

Johan Vasquez of Genoa is a mainstay in central defence and is likely to be joined by César Montes of Lokomotiv Moscow. At full back they have highly experienced Jesús Gallardo.

The midfield is likely to be led by the experienced Edson Alvarez of Fenerbache, with highly talented 17yo Gilberto Mora also likely to feature, and would become the youngest ever Mexican World Cup player. Luis Romo also adds experience in midfield but can play in a number of positions.

In attack Mexico have star man Raul Jimenez the highly experienced striker now at Fulham , previously with Wolves and Benfica. Santiago Gimenez is also expected to feature and has moved to AC Milan just over a year ago from Dutch football. In addition Mexico have attackers Alexis Vega, Armando González and Guillermo Martinez.

Czechia –

Czechia qualified through the European playoffs where they drew 2-2 at home with Republic of Ireland then won on penalties before repeating the 2-2 scoreline and a penalty shoot out victory over Denmark in the final again in Prague. They were in the playoffs after finishing second to Croatia, who they took one point from in their two games between the nations and winning 5 of the other 6 games , suffering only a shock defeat 2-1 away to Faroes.

Czechia are managed by Miroslav Koubek, set to become the oldest manager in World Cup history at 74.

The goalkeeper is Matej Kovar of PSV Eindhoven, with the defence including former West Ham player Vladimir Coufal and captain Ladislav Krejci on loan at Wolves from Girona.

In midfield Czechia have the experienced West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek alongside playmaker Pavel Šulc of Lyon, In attack their is further experience in striker Patrik Schick, who famously netted from the halfway line against Scotland at Euro 2020.

South Korea –

South Korea qualified winning 6 and drawing 4 of their 10 qualifying matches between September 2024 and June 2025, to finish top of their group ahead of fellow qualifiers Jordan.

They then hosted the East Asia Football Federation Championship where having beaten China 3-0 and Hong Kong 2-0 they lost 1-0 to Japan to finish runners up.

Home friendly wins all with clean sheets over Paraguay , Bolivia and Canada were then followed by a 4-0 defeat in Milton Keynes by Ivory Coast and 1-0 defeat in Vienna by Austria.

South Korea coach, Hong Myung-bo is unpopular and under pressure going into the World Cup.

Hyeon-woo Jo is another experienced goalkeeper and is expected to start for South Korea, with Seung-gyu Kimas back up.

In defence South Korea have Kim Min-Jae of Bayern Munich , Toe-seok Lee of Austria Vienna and Young-woo Seol from Crvena Zvezda.

In midfield they have In-beom Hwang from Feyenoord as well as English Championship players , Ji-Sung Eom (Swansea), Jun-ho Bae (Stoke), Seung-ho Paik (Birmingham), Min-hyeok Yang (Coventry).

In attach the vastly experienced former Tottenham striker Heung-min Son is their talisman and will be joined by Hee-chan Hwang of Wolves , with Celtic’s Hyun-jun Yang and Kang-in Lee of PSG other possibilities.

South Africa –

South Africa squeezed into World Cup 2026 finishing top of their qualifying group taking 18 points from 10 games , one point ahead of Nigeria and Benin. They were nearly derailed after fielding Teboho Mokoena who should have been suspended which saw a 2-0 win over Lesotho turned to a 3-0 defeat.

In the African Cup of Nations South Africa qualified for the knockout stages beating Angola and Zimbabwe despite a 1-0 defeat to Egypt.

Cameroon knocked South Africa out 2-1 in the last 16.

South Africa are managed by Belgian Hugo Broos

Ronwen Williams the South African goalkeeper is their captain and most important player in an inexperienced squad.

The defence are mainly home based including Khuliso Mudau. Mbekezeli Mbokazi plays in MLS for Chigaco Fire and Siyabonga Ngezana of FCSB in Romania. Another who could feature is Tylon Smith of QPR.

Samukele Kabini who plays in Norway for Molde, can play left back or in midfield alongside home based players, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Bathusi Aubass and Teboho Mokoena who is vice captain with over 50 caps.

The star of the South Africa team is Lyle Foster the forward who plays for Burnley, he is normally flanked by Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis. Shandro Campbell of Club Brugge may also feature.

Group A Fixtures

11/6/26 8pm Mexico v South Africa

12/6/26 3am Czechia v South Korea

18/6/26 5pm Czechia v South Africa

19/6/26 2am Mexico v South Korea

25/6/26 2am Mexico v Czechia

25/6/26 2am South Korea v South Africa

PREDICTIONS

Mexico with home advantage will be favourites to win the group.

I would expect Mexico to win their opening game before finding tougher opposition in their other two games , a draw with South Korea could be topped off with a win over Czechia to win the group on 7pts.

Czechia I can see winning their first two games and resting players for their final game and ending in second place on 6pts.

South Korea after losing their opening game will be happy with a point against Mexico and beat South Africa to finish third on 4 points, and await the other groups to finish to see if they qualify.

A strong win over South Africa could potentially boost their goal difference and with Groups B & C already completed , will have an idea of what is required.

South Africa will likely be weak and lose all three games.

Pundits seen split between Czechia and South Korea for second place , as I say I think it will be Czechia.

1st Place prediction – Mexico 7pts

2nd Place prediction – Czechia 6pts

3rd Place prediction – South Korea 4pts GD +1

WORLD CUP – WEST GERMANY 74 Second Round – Final

The Second Round comprised two groups of four teams each playing a further three round robin games with the two winners meeting in the final and the runners up playing in the third / fourth place playoff.

PART TWO – 26TH JUNE TO 7TH JULY 1974

Wednesday 26th June 1974

Group A – HOLLAND 4 ARGENTINA 0 – Gelsenkirchen

A superb attacking display by the Dutch and from Johan Cruyff in particular spectacularly destroyed Argentina’s hopes of further progression and firmly made this Holland team favourites to reach the final.

Group A – BRAZIL 1 EAST GERMANY 0 – Hanover

Brazil squeezed past the dark horses of East Germany when Brazilian veteran Rivellino scored a free kick, smashing it through the German wall.

Group B – WEST GERMANY 2 YUGOSLAVIA 0 – Dusseldorf

The hosts scored a goal in each half from Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller as the they ran out comfortable winners.

Group B – POLAND 1 SWEDEN 0 – Stuttgart

In a tight game Sweden conceded their first goal of the tournament as they lost 1-0 to the Poland side now showing how their advancement to the tournament ahead of England was no fluke. Grzegorz Lato scored on the only goal of the game and his fifth goal of the tournament.

Sunday 30th June 1974

GROUP A – ARGENTINA 1 BRAZIL 2 – Hanover

Brazil took a first half lead through Rivellino however Argentina drew level by half time , Jarizinho scored the winning goal in the second half.

GROUP A – HOLLAND 2 EAST GERMANY 0 – Gelsenkirchen

A goal in each half gave Holland the win that ensured they would only require a draw against Brazil in their final group game to reach the final.

GROUP B – POLAND 2 YUGOSLAVIA 1 – Frankfurt

Poland continued to their campaign with a win over Yugoslavia , Kazi Deyna their inspirational captain scored a penalty in the first half before Yugoslavia equalised before half time. Lato once again scored the winning goal.

GROUP B – WEST GERMANY 4 SWEDEN 2 – Dusseldorf

In an entertaining game , Sweden took a shock lead through Ralf Edstrom , before West Germany scored twice in a minute early in the second half through Wolfgang Overath and Rainer Bonhof. Sweden responded immediately to make it 2-2 when Roland Sandberg put doubts in German minds about reaching the final. Germany went on to win when Jurgen Grabowski scored with 15 mins remaining and as Sweden pushed for the equaliser, Uli Hoeness netted a late penalty to give the hosts a 4-2 win. This left West Germany needing a draw against Poland to reach the final

Wednesday 3rd July 1974

GROUP A – ARGENTINA 1 EAST GERMANY 1

With both countries eliminated after losing their opening two matches this was a tame 1-1 draw.

GROUP A – HOLLAND 2 BRAZIL 0

This was played like a World Cup semi final with the winners progressing to the final , but the Dutch only requiring a draw.

A goal by Johan Neeskens early in the second half all but ended Brazilian hopes and when Johan Cruyff added a second , Holland were into their first World Cup Final.

GROUP B – WEST GERMANY 1 POLAND 0

West Germany confirmed their place in the World Cup Final although only needing a draw when Gerd Muller scored in later stages , it ensured the hosts would play in the final.

GROUP B – SWEDEN 2 YUGOSLAVIA 1

Sweden won the dead rubber 2-1, having exchanged first half goals , a late winner by Conny Torstensson gave the Swedes third place in Group B

GROUP A

1  Holland 3 3 0 0 8 0 +8 6
2  Brazil 3 2 0 1 3 3 0 4
3  East Germany 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
4  Argentina 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1

GROUP B

1  West Germany 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 6
2  Poland 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 4
3  Sweden 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 2
4  Yugoslavia 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0

Saturday 6th July 1974

Third Place Playoff – BRAZIL 0 POLAND 1 – Munich

Grezegorz Lato scored his 7th goal of the tournament as he ended top scorer as Poland claimed Third Place

Sunday 7th July 1974

FINAL WEST GERMANY 2 HOLLAND 1 – Munich

The 1974 World Cup final had an incredible opening when English referee Jack Taylor awarded Holland a penalty when Johann Cruyff was brought down inside the penalty area in the first minute. John Neeskens converted to put Holland 1-0 ahead after 2 mins. Germany were then also awarded a penalty which Paul Breitner netted after 25 mins to make the score 1-1

The decisive moment came in the 43rd minute as the teams approached half time , the German striker Gerd Muller turned sharply and fired the ball into the corner of the net to give the hosts a 2-1 victory.

WORLD CUP – WEST GERMANY 74 First Round

The World Cup in West Germany was played just two years after the terrible terrorist attack when 11 Israeli athletes were killed during the Olympic Games in Munich 1972.

The Jules Rimet trophy had been awarded to Brazil after their third success in Mexico 1970 so a new trophy was designed and used for the first time in 1974.

Australia , East Germany , Haiti and Zaire competed for the first time and were joined by Scotland for the first time in 20 years as the only UK team to qualify.

There were 16 qualifiers divided into 4 groups of 4 teams with the top two qualifying for the second group stage where there were 2 groups of 4 teams with the 2 group winners qualifying for the final.

Sweden beat Austria 2-1 in a playoff to win Qualifying in Group on 27th November 1973.

The draw for the finals was made on 5th January 1974 in Frankfurt with Yugoslavia or Spain draw in Group 2 with Brazil , Scotland and Zaire.

Yugoslavia qualified on 13th February 1974 with a 1-0 playoff win over Spain in Frankfurt after the teams finished level on points and goal difference in Qualifying Group 7.

The winner of European Qualifying Group 9 , Soviet Union had to play an Inter Continental Playoff against Chile. the first leg was drawn 0-0 in Moscow but after a coup in Chile , the Soviets refused to play the second leg in Santiago and the tie was awarded to Chile by FIFA.

PART ONE – 13TH JUNE TO 23RD JUNE 1974

Thursday 13th June

Group 2 – BRAZIL 0 YUGOSLAVIA 0 – Frankfurt

The opening game saw a cautious approach by both teams as the holders Brazil much weakened by the retirement of Pele struggled to breakdown the high skilled Europeans, on a wet evening in Frankfurt.

Friday 14th June

Group 1 – WEST GERMANY 1 CHILE 0 – West Berlin

The German full back Paul Breitner scored the first goal of the 1974 World Cup with a superb long range strike into the top corner after 18mins.

The Germans struggled to add to their lead against the Chilean defence.

Group 1 – EAST GERMANY 2 AUSTRALIA 0 – Hamburg

Two nations competing for the first time which saw the hosts neighbours in the end comfortably beat the Aussies 2-0 after a dour first half

Group 2 – SCOTLAND 2 ZAIRE 0 – Dortmund

Scotland with veteran Denis Law making his only appearance at a World Cup would struggle to break down the Africans after taking an early two goal lead through Peter Lorimer and Joe Jordan.

Saturday 15th June

Group 3 – HOLLAND 2 URUGUAY 0 – Hanover

Two goals by Johnny Rep gave the Dutch a winning start to their campaign

Group 3 – SWEDEN 0 BULGARIA 0 – Dusseldorf

In an entertaining match Sweden and Bulgaria drew 0-0

Group 4 – ITALY 3 HAITI 1 – Munich

The minnows of Haiti looked to be causing a shock when they took a 1-0 lead early in the second half but Italy came back with three goals as they outclassed their Central American opposition.

Group 4 – POLAND 3 ARGENTINA 2 – Stuttgart

Poland came out of the blocks and scored two goals inside the first 10 minutes before taking a 3-0 lead through Lato for his second goal of the game early in the second half. Argentina mounted a comeback but could only score twice, as the Poles held on for victory.

Tuesday 18th June

Group 1 – WEST GERMANY 3 AUSTRALIA 0 – Hamburg

The host nation moved through the gears after their uninspiring opening 1-0 win to comfortably see off World Cup new boys Australia with two first half goals before Gerd Muller scored his first goal of the competition with their third goal in the second half. A maximum of 4pts from their fist two games saw West Germany qualify for the Second Round ahead of their meeting with local rivals East Germany.

Group 1 – EAST GERMANY 1 CHILE 1 – West Berlin

East Germany despite taking the lead early in the second half were held to a surprise 1-1 draw by Chile. Chile were still to play minnows Australia with the two German nations to meet in the final group games.

Group 2 – YUGOSLAVIA 9 ZAIRE 0 – Dortmund

Zaire crumbled at the hands of Yugoslavia after a fall out between the players and their association over payments during the tournament and also the fact their coach was Yugoslav made their performance on the night suspicious after they had fared well against Scotland in the opening game.

Group 2 – BRAZIL 0 SCOTLAND 0 – Frankfurt

Scotland put on a heroic performance against the reigning World Champions and came close to winning the game when Scotland captain Billy Bremner could only push a close range effort the wrong side of the post.

This left Scotland needing to beat Yugoslavia in the final game if Brazil beat Zaire by more than the 2 goals Scotland had beaten the Africans.

Wednesday 19th June

Group 3 – BULGARIA 1 URUGUAY 1 – Hanover

Bulgaria seemed to put themselves in with a great chance of qualifying for Round 2 when they took a 75th min lead through Bonev, however Uruguay stayed in contention when Pavoni equalised in 87 mins.

Group 3 – HOLLAND 0 SWEDEN 0 – Dortmund

Sweden manged to stop the Dutch scoring and kept their chances of qualification alive, although the match provided the first Cruyff turn.

Group 4 – ARGENTINA 1 ITALY 1 – Stuttgart

Argentina took the lead after 20 mins through Rene Houseman before an own goal brought the sides level before half time as both teams kept their hopes of qualification alive.

Group 4 – POLAND 7 HAITI 0 – Munich

Poland stormed into Round 2 with a blitz of new boys Haiti with Szarmach scoring a hat trick and Lato scoring his second brace of the tournament

Saturday 22nd June

Group 1 – AUSTRALIA 0 CHILE 0 – West Berlin

Chile’s draw with Australia put both nations out of the 1974 World Cup.

Group 1 – EAST GERMANY 1 WEST GERMANY 0 – Hamburg

The only senior professional game between the two German nations with the surprise scoreline of the lesser fancied East Germany winning with a 77th min goal from Sparwasser.

Group 2 – BRAZIL 3 ZAIRE 0 – Gelsenkirchen

Brazil’s 3-0 win put them into round two as they scored more against Zaire.

Group 2 – SCOTLAND 1 YUGOSLAVIA 1 – Frankfurt

Scotland went into their final game knowing a win would take them into the second round, and needed Brazil not to win by 3 goals or more if they drew.

In a cagey game Yugoslavia knew a draw would be enough and gave Scotland few chances. Karasi scored after 81mins for Yugoslavia and virtually ended Scotland’s World Cup dreams.

Joe Jordan scored after 88 mins to give Scotland brief hope , but the game ended 1-1 and Scotland ended the tournament undefeated but eliminated.

Sunday 23rd June

Group 3 – HOLLAND 4 BULGARIA 1 – Dortmund

The Dutch produced an excellent performance although it took two first half penalties by Johan Neeskens to put them in front, before Johhny Rep put the result beyond doubt in the second half.

Group 3 – SWEDEN 3 URUGUAY 0 – Dusseldorf

Sweden progressed to Round Two with star man Ralf Edstrom scoring twice as they maintained their great defence with their third clean sheet.

Group 4 – ARGENTINA 4 HAITI 1 – Munich

Argentina comfortably qualified for Round Two

Group 4 – POLAND 2 ITALY 1 – Stuttgart

A major shock as Italy were knocked out despite a late Fabio Capello goal by Poland.

TABLES 

GROUP 1

1 East Germany 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 5
2 West Germany 3 2 0 1 4 1 +3 4
3 Chile 3 0 2 1 1 2 -1 2
4 Australia 3 0 1 2 0 5 -5 1

GROUP 2

1 Yugoslavia 3 1 2 0 10 1 +9 4
2 Brazil 3 1 2 0 3 0 +3 4
3 Scotland 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 4
4 Zaire 3 0 0 3 0 14 -14 0

GROUP 3

1 Netherlands 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 5
2 Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 0 +3 4
3 Bulgaria 3 0 2 1 2 5 -3 2
4 Uruguay 3 0 1 2 1 6 -5 1

GROUP 4

1 Poland 3 3 0 0 12 3 +9 6
2 Argentina 3 1 1 1 7 5 +2 3
3 Italy 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 3
4 Haiti 3 0 0 3 2 14 -12 0