The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first edition of the global football showpiece co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, kicked off this week with a packed slate of opening matches that featured returning superstars, historic debuts, stunning underdog performances and unexpected off-field controversy.
Tuesday’s headline fixtures bring the most anticipated names in global football back to the world’s biggest stage, starting with 2022 champions Argentina, who face off against Algeria in Kansas City. Four years after delivering what is widely regarded as the most dramatic World Cup final in history, a 3-3 draw that Argentina won on penalties against France in Doha, the South American side enters the 2026 tournament with its iconic captain Lionel Messi poised to make history as the first player to compete in six World Cup finals.
Questions have swirled around Messi’s fitness after he picked up a hamstring injury during a Major League Soccer match with his club Inter Miami in late May, but Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni offered an encouraging update ahead of the team’s opening match. The 38-year-old Argentine legend “looks good”, Scaloni told reporters at his pre-match press conference, noting that Messi’s impact extends far beyond the Argentina dressing room, capturing the attention of football fans across the globe.
“Everyone wants to see him out on the pitch, not just Argentines, because of the impact he has on people,” Scaloni said. “He has always been crucial for us, and now he will be even more so. He looks good.”
Messi has already proven he is match-fit after coming off the bench to score in a pre-tournament warm-up fixture against Iceland last week, and his Argentina teammate Nicolas Otamendi said the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s relentless competitive drive lifts the entire squad. “He’s a competitive animal,” the centre-back said. “He forces you to keep trying; he doesn’t let you relax.”
In a rematch of the 2022 final’s two protagonists, France kicks off its 2026 World Cup campaign against Senegal in New Jersey on Tuesday, boasting one of the most dangerous attacking lines in the tournament led by Kylian Mbappe, 2023 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and dynamic winger Michael Olise. For Les Bleus, the opening match carries extra historical weight: the 2002 World Cup saw the then-reigning defending champions suffer a shocking opening-day defeat to Senegal that saw them crash out in the group stage, a result France is desperate to avoid repeating this time around.
France head coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged the stakes of the first group stage fixture but urged his side to keep the match in perspective. “The first match is very important, but it’s not decisive. Starting with a win in a four-team group is ideal and always the objective,” Deschamps said Monday. He added a warning, however, that the emotion and hype of World Cup football can impact even the most experienced players: “But the one thing we can’t measure or quantify is the emotional aspect. Some players might tense up with the atmosphere around the match.”
France enters the tournament with an impressive recent track record, having reached four World Cup finals in the last seven tournaments, lifting the trophy twice and dropping two other final decisions on penalties.
One of the most anticipated debuts of this tournament comes Tuesday, when Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland takes the field for his first ever World Cup finals match, leading Norway against Iraq. Norway has not qualified for the World Cup since 1998, making this year’s appearance a long-awaited return for the European nation. Haaland enters the tournament in red-hot form, having just finished his third Premier League top scorer campaign in four seasons with Manchester City, and holds a staggering 55 goals in 50 caps for the Norwegian national side.
Norway head coach Stale Solbakken, who was a midfielder in the 1998 Norwegian World Cup squad, said he expects Haaland to be a difference-maker at the tournament. “Hopefully he’ll have a very big impact,” Solbakken said.
Iraq, led by Australian head coach Graham Arnold, is not heading to North America just to make up the numbers, with Arnold saying his side is targeting a massive upset. “We’ve got to perform to our best and try to shock the world,” Arnold said. “Qualification is not enough. I want more. We’ve only got everything to win and not to lose.”
Before Tuesday’s high-profile fixtures, Monday’s opening round of matches already delivered plenty of surprises and drama. Pre-tournament title favourite Spain was held to a shock goalless draw by Cape Verde, a tiny island nation making its World Cup debut this year. Even the introduction of 16-year-old Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal as a second-half substitute failed to break the deadlock or spark a Spanish winning goal.
In Los Angeles, Iran and New Zealand played out a 2-2 draw, but the match was overshadowed by off-field chaos for the Iranian side, which is competing at the 2026 tournament under the cloud of ongoing diplomatic tensions between Iran and co-host the United States. After the match, Iranian players were unexpectedly ordered to travel back to Mexico immediately, with head coach Amir Ghalenoei calling Iran the “most oppressed team in the World Cup.” Iranian state media later clarified that winger Mehdi Torabi had been issued a single-entry U.S. visa instead of the multiple-entry visa granted to the rest of the squad, leading to the last-minute travel order. It is the latest logistical headache for Iran, which was forced to move its pre-tournament training base from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico just weeks before the tournament kicked off. Tens of thousands of Iranian diaspora members based in California were in attendance for the match.
Two other opening matches on Monday delivered late equalisers for established sides against underdog opponents. In Seattle, Egypt jumped to a first-half lead through Emam Ashour against Belgium, and looked set to hold on for an upset win until veteran Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku came off the bench in the second half. Lukaku’s physical presence in the penalty box forced Egypt defender Mohamed Hany to turn the ball into his own net, earning Belgium a 1-1 draw and a single point. In Group H, Uruguay also had to fight back from an early deficit to snatch a draw against Saudi Arabia.