World Cup 2026 Group Standings, Schedule After Friday's Results Ahead of Knockout Bracket

The knockout bracket for the 2026 World Cup continued to take shape Friday with Groups G, H and I drawing to a close.

The six fixtures featured some heavy hitters. Belgium's fate is still to be decided after it drew its first two matches. Spain has its toughest test so far in the form of Uruguay. And Group I saw France and Norway each tied with six points following back-to-back victories.

Here's an overview of what unfolded across North America

Friday Schedule and Results

Group I: France 4, Norway 1

Group I: Senegal 5, Iraq 0

Group H: Cabo Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 p.m. ET

Group H: Uruguay vs. Spain, 8 p.m. ET

Group G: Egypt vs. Iran, 11 p.m. ET

Group G: New Zealand vs. Belgium, 11 p.m. ET

Group Standings

Group G

Team	Played	Points	GD
1. Egypt	2	4	+2
2. Iran	2	2	0
3. Belgium	2	2	0
4. New Zealand	2	1	-2

Group H

Team	Played	Points	GD
1. Spain	2	4	+4
2. Uruguay	2	2	0
3. Cabo Verde	2	2	0
4. Saudi Arabia	2	1	-4

Group I

Team	Played	Points	GD
1. France	3	9	+7
2. Norway	3	6	+2
3. Senegal	3	3	0
4. Iraq	3	0	-9

Full group standings are available at FIFA's official website

Friday Highlights

France 4, Norway 1

Thirty-two minutes.

That's all the time France star Ousmane Dembélé needed to earn a hat trick as Les Bleus swept Norway aside 4-1.

Dembélé gave his country the lead in the seventh minute. He faked cutting in with his left before putting a right-footed shot past Norwegian goalkeeper Egil Selvik.

The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner made it a brace in the 20th minute. This time he did keep the ball on his left foot and curled a shot from outside the 18-yard box into the far post.

Thelo Aasgaard scored for Norway to make it a 2-1 game, but Dembélé wasn't done. He registered his third goal with another left-footed effort inside the far post.

With a two-goal cushion, France cruised for much of the remainder of the match. Jørgen Strand Larsen did let the French off the hook in the 50th minute when he couldn't convert a penalty. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a diving save to his left.

Désiré Doué put the finishing touches on France's win with a goal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.

The French came into the World Cup as one of the favorites and lived up to that reputation in the group stage. They won all three of their matches and had a goal differential of plus-seven.

Senegal 5, Iraq 0

Facing a must-win situation, Senegal hammered Iraq 5-0 with goals from Habib Diarra, Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye.

Diarra wasted little time putting the Lions of Teranga ahead. Off a corner kick, he was in the right place to get a deflection on the ball and leave Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil with little chance of making the save.

A tough start for Iraq got even worse in the 13th minute, when defender Rebin Sulaka received a red card. Holding Senegal to just one goal in the first half was a positive result all things considered.

The proverbial dam broke, however, after Jalal Hassan replaced Basil at halftime. Sarr and Gueye scored in quick succession.

Gueye notched a brace for good measure and Ndiaye capped off the outburst in the 82nd minute.

With a third-place finish in the group, Senegal could potentially punch its ticket to the round of 32.