Groups G, H and I all finish as Cape Verde qualify
Scotland on the brink. Ghana must beat Croatia by 3 clear goals and Austria beat Algeria by 2 clear goals for them to qualify. Possible but highly unlikely. Time to pack those bags.
In Group I, France duly confirmed top spot as they comfortably beat a much changed Norway XI 4-1. Both had already qualified. Senegal and Iraq were playing for 3rd place and a chance to join the top two in the Last 32. Iraq conceded early and were then reduced to 10 men after just 13 minutes. Senegal took full advantage by running out 5-0 winners, the highest number of goals ever scored by an African nation at a World Cup Finals tournament, to almost certainly make it through.
Group H saw Spain dump Uruguay out of the tournament after beating them 1-0. An error from veteran goalkeeper Muslera allowed Alex Baena’s shot to find the net when he really ought to have kept it out. A goalless draw may well have been enough for Uruguay. Defeat sees them out. In the other match Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia were playing for second place and qualification. Saudi Arabia needed to win but in a match of few chances the Saudi’s showed a surprising lack of intensity and the island African nation were able to secure the goalless draw that saw them finish runners up to Spain and qualify for the Last 32. They will play Argentina there so it doesn’t get any easier but a major achievement for one of the surprise teams so far.
Group G had not set the world alight previously and the Iran v Egypt match wasn’t a thriller either although Iran did have a last gasp goal disallowed for offside that would have given them victory and certain qualification. As it was they had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw allowing Egypt to qualify, Iran now waiting to see if they get through in 3rd place. They may. Belgium finally came to life as they finished with a 5-1 win over New Zealand which saw them win the group and consign the Kiwis to bottom place and a flight home.
World Cup Prediction Competition 2026
Norway 1 France 4; Senegal 5 Iraq 0; Uruguay 0 Spain 1; Cape Verde 0 Saudi Arabia 0; Belgium 5 New Zealand 1; Egypt 1 Iran 1
Groups G, H and I have now finished which means the points scored from everyone’s predicted final group tables for those groups have been added to overall points totals plus the respective group totals.
This also means we have more bonus prize winners. One of the reasons I like to add the bonus competitions is to increase the chances of there being more winners. Of course there has to be some overlap between being at the top overall and scoring well in each group which means people sitting in the top prize places overall will inevitably pick up some group prizes as well but today we have another 2 winners from outside the top prize places overall. Group G was won by Julia Servi with 46 points. Group H was shared by Jack & Cecilia and Zoe Trayling both with 30 points. Group I was won by Louis V with 53 points. Julia and Louis win £20 each. Jack & Cecilia and Zoe win £10 each. Congratulations to all.
Overall, there have been changes. Peter Sarfas does still lead but has been caught on 310 points by Jen Smith who has come through fast. Louis V has also climbed rapidly and now sits 3rd on 307 points. Rebecca Corbould and Alan Dadswell are joint 4th with 303, Vince Hemsley and Martin Oliver joint 6th on 302 and Stuart Corbould, Dean Russell and Jim Russell joint 8th on 301 to complete the prize places. Still incredibly tight behind those top places and things change quickly when the group position points kick in.
They can also change quickly once teams start to get
eliminated in the knockout phase. Remember, you can only score points on teams you have correctly predicted to reach the round being played.
Honourable mentions today go to Linda Jacobs and Adam Bozdag for both correctly predicting Belgium’s 5-1 win over New Zealand and Milly Henley, Andrew Stoker and Adam Wootton for all correctly foreseeing the goalless draw between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
Dishonourable mentions go to David Blount and Rod Jacobs for moaning about not getting any honourable mentions so far!
PLEASE INVITE ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART.
