GROUP STAGE · THE STORY IN NUMBERS

World Cup 2026 — Group Stage Recap

QUICK ANSWER

How did the World Cup 2026 group stage finish?

The 2026 World Cup group stage produced 215 goals across 72 matches (2.99 per game), with 9 upsets. Kylian Mbappé leads the golden-boot race on 6. Onside's model called 83% of favourites correctly — every prediction graded in public. See every graded call.
Matches played
72
Goals scored
215
2.99 per game
Upsets
9
favourite beaten
Model accuracy
83%
graded in public
THE MODEL'S REPORT CARD

How the AI did — graded in public

Favourite accuracy
83%
72 graded matches · Brier 0.535
Biggest correct call
Haiti 01 Scotland
Model backed SCO — called it. ✅
Biggest miss (upset)
South Africa 10 South Korea
We backed KOR — it didn't happen. ❌ We show the misses too.
GOLDEN BOOT RACE
  1. 1Kylian MbappéFRA6
  2. 2Lionel MessiARG6
  3. 3Erling HaalandNOR5
  4. 4Harry KaneENG5
  5. 5Ousmane DembéléFRA4
  6. 6Ismaïla SarrSEN4
Full golden-boot board →
BIGGEST RESULT
Germany 71 Curaçao
A 6-goal margin — the heaviest of the group stage.
FINAL TABLES

All 12 groups — who went through

Group APWDLGFGAGDPts
1MexicoQ330060+69
2South AfricaQ311123-14
3South Korea310223-13
4Czechia301226-41
Q = qualified for the Round of 32 (top 2 + best third-placed).
See the knockout bracket →Knockout predictions →The model's receipts →
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