World Cup 2026 live updates: Spain, Cape Verde advance, Uruguay eliminated

When former Peace Corps volunteer Jill Tucker went to a party to cheer for Cape Verde, where she had worked as a teacher, she discovered the man who organized the event had been one of her students more than 30 years ago. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson speaks with Tucker and Ivan Silva about their reunion.

Cape Verde World Cup watch party reunites teacher and student after decades

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Dailon Livramento #19 and Vozinha #1 of Cabo Verde celebrate after the 0-0. Francois Nel / Getty Images

That's the final whistle and the game is over at nil-nil!

In the final minute of stoppage time Cape Verde missed an agonizing last second shot but still claimed a point!

But the fairy tale for Cape Verde continues, as they're on into the knockouts!!!

One of this tournament’s favorite underdogs, they’ve clinched the second place spot in the group H standings and will go on to the round of 32. 

Cape Verde came onto the international stage with a thrilling show — shocking the world with its 0-0 draw against Spain, where Vozinha was catapulted into sports stardom for stonewalling the Spanish, and on to its 2-2 stalemate with Uruguay. 

It’s been a tough tournament for Saudi Arabia, which lost 4-0 Spain and had a 1-1 draw with Uruguay. 

 Alfredo Estrella / AFP via Getty Images

Spain won 1-0, winning the group while Uruguay is exiting the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive time.

Agustín Canobbio received a red card for his reckless challenge in stoppage time. Uruguay's time in the World Cup is just about over.

In the 85th minute, Uruguay's Nicolás de la Cruz took a blast from distance that Spanish keeper Unai Simón handled easily. Just moments later, Spain had a chance to seal the win when striker Ferran Torres' shot hit the crossbar.

In the 74th minute, Cape Verde is hungry for a goal!

Cape Verde ran the ball downfield, it cuts right to midfielder Laros Duarte who was just subbed on three minutes prior. Duarte rockets it from the right of the box and Mohammed Al-Owais leaps forward to block it.

Incredibly close call in the 67th minute!

Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat fires right-footed shot from the right of the box that soars to the left upper corner of the goal. Vozinha jumps for it, doesn't get a grip and it bounces on the grass. But he recovers and catches it.

At the second half hydration break, Uruguay needs a goal or else its World Cup is over. They are losing 1-0 to Spain and Cape Verde is tied with Saudi Arabia, 0-0. If the results hold, Uruguay will finish in third place with just two points.

Big chance for Jamiro Monteiro in the 48th minute with a shot at the center of the box, but it's saved by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais

Firas al-Buraikan of Saudi Arabia in action during the match between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia today.  Hakan Akgun / Anadolu via Getty Images

Just one minute later, Wagner Pina fires a left-footed shot from outside the box and it soars just over the top left corner of the goal.

We've started the second half with Spain leading 1-0. Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was substituted at halftime and replaced with Sergio Rochet. Muslera's mistake on fielding Baena's shot in the first half is the difference in the game, so far.

We're back for the second half!

Both teams will no doubt bring on the fire as Saudi Arabia could clinch the second place spot in the standings if they beat Cape Verde tonight...

If the current scores in both ongoing games hold, Cape Verde will bump up to 3 points if this match ends in a draw, and will proceed to knockouts as second place in the Group H standings. Spain would win the group with 7 points.

Uruguay and Saudi Arabia would exit the tournament.

This could be a historic win for Cape Verde, a tiny nation with a population of just 530,000, as it forges a path in its first-ever World Cup. 

It's been a bit of a messy first half, which started with two rapid yellow cards.

There's been some stumbling plays, thwarted by tripping and dramatic falls. But the heat picked up in stoppage time with plays on both sides of the field.

Cape Verde's been leading the offense, with several opportunities dancing around the Saudi net, but without precision.

The island nation leads with 53% possession, both teams have had one shot on goal, and Cape Verde leads with 174 accurate passes compared to Saudi’s 155. 

Cape Verde's goalkeeper Josimar "Vozinha" Dias hasn't seen much action this game, but just now was pressed.

Saudi Arabia's Abdulelah Al-Amri fired a shot downfield where it was met by Mohamed Kano's header. Vozinha caught it from the center of the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Ryan Pierse / FIFA via Getty Images

Manuel Ugarte was taken off the pitch on a stretcher in the game's 44th minute.

Spain's Álex Baena blasted a shot that Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera misplayed, only getting a piece of it as it skipped toward the net. The ball then bounced one more time before crossing the line for the game's first score.

Hassan Al -Tambakti was just checked out by medics and in the 31st minute is being put on a stretcher and taken off field. He appeared to be hopping earlier with an injury.

He's being replaced by Ali Lajami.

Joe Prince-Wright shares his takeaways from France's defeat of Norway to wrap up the group stage and what to expect from each team in the knockout rounds.

Cape Verde's Willy Semedo fired a left-footed shot that seemed headed for the right goal post, but it was stopped with an audible smack by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais in the 21st minute.

Saudi Arabia's Salem Al-Dawsari just had a clear shot from the left of the box. He fires and is blocked by Cape Verde's Wagner Pina who rushes in at the last second to block the shot.

Spain has been in control of the match thus far, maintaining 65% of possession and taking five corners as we enter the first half hydration break. But the time on the ball hasn't yielded too many chances as Spain has only registered one shot.

Another yellow for Cape Verde's Wagner Pina for a foul.

Saudi Arabia's Saud Abdulhamid gets a yellow card for a foul in the fourth minute after jumping and crashing into Cape Verde's João Paulo Fernandes.

Here's our starting line-ups!

It's officially kick-off for Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia at Houston Stadium!

Lots of blue and Cape Verde flags waving from the stands.

Spain will feature teen sensation Lamine Yamal in its starting lineup. The rest of their starters include: Unai Simón as goalkeeper, Marc Cucurella, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, Marcos Llorente, Rodri, Pedri, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, Álex Baena and Yamal.

Uruguay is starting: Fernando Muslera as goalkeeper, Guillermo Varela, Sebastián Cáceres, Mathías Olivera, Juan Manuel Sanabria, Manuel Ugarte, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde, Agustín Canobbio, Darwin Núñez and Maximiliano Araújo.

Cape Verde is warming up for its third group stage game. With two draws on its back, it has a chance to move up in Group H with a win. 

The nation currently has 2 points, as does Uruguay. If Uruguay loses or draws its match and Cape Verde wins, it can win the second spot in the group standings. 

Goalkeeper Vozinha #1 of Cabo Verde warms up before the match between Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia at Houston Stadium on June 26, 2026 in Houston, Texas.  Omar Vega / Getty Images

Laros Duarte #15 of Cabo Verde warming up.  Omar Vega / Getty Images

Attendance for this summer’s World Cup has already surpassed the record 3,587,538 set by the 1994 World Cup, which was hosted in the U.S., according to FIFA.

As of yesterday, 3.6 million people had gathered in the first two weeks since this year’s elongated tournament began across Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, the organization said. After the two simultaneous matches of Germany vs. Ecuador and Ivory Coast vs. Curaçao, the new record was set at 3,605,357.

That number will only grow until the tournament concludes July 19 in New Jersey.

Iraq coach Graham Arnold said the country should be proud of how its team played at the World Cup following their elimination from the tournament after a 5-0 loss to Senegal today.

Arnold said his side performed well against high-profile players from France, Norway and Senegal, whom they usually only see on television, saying, “Everyone in Iraq should be proud of the fact that we made it here and we performed very well in two out of the three games.”

Miami has ramped up security measures ahead of the hotly anticipated Colombia-Portugal match of the World Cup. Authorities are trying to avoid a repeat of the chaos at the Copa América in 2024, which saw fans rushing stadiums, leading to massive crowds and dangerous conditions. 

Miami ramps up security ahead of Colombia-Portugal World Cup match

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Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick preview Uruguay vs. Spain in Group H play, where Lamine Yamal and company should be able to win the match and capture the group.

Only 8 of the 12 third-place finishers from the group stage will get to advance to the knockout round. Senegal looks to be in good shape, after its 5-0 win today over Iraq. It now has 3 points and a plus-2 goal differential, thanks to that blowout win.

Nevertheless, Senegal will have to wait to see how some of the other games shake out, to see if that standing is good enough to advance. The Athletic's statistical model currently gives Senegal a 96% chance of advancing.

France already has one of the great strikers and World Cup players in the sport in Kylian Mbappé.

On Friday, however, it was his teammate Ousmane Dembélé who shined in a 4-1 win over Norway. Dembélé scored an incredibly fast hat trick, needing under 32 minutes to record three goals.

His performance was perhaps a message to the rest of the field. After losing a thrilling match in the 2022 World Cup Final, between Dembélé and Mbappé, France absolutely still has the firepower to go all the way in 2026.

The French forward failed to find the net in today’s match, so he still trails Argentine Lionel Messi’s career World Cup goal count by two. NBC News is tracking the two stars’ World Cup strikes.

Do yourself a favor and scroll down through this live blog and watch the replays of all the Senegal goals, especially the last three in the second half. Entering this game, Senegal needed to win, and win big, in order to keep its World Cup dreams alive. And that's exactly what it did today.

Papa Gueye #26 of Senegal celebrates his goal with teammates during the match between Senegal and Iraq today. Michael Miller / ISI Photos via Getty Images

Iraq helped Senegal cause by receiving a red card in the 13th minute, which meant Senegal played the majority of the game with a man advantage. Senegal scored four unanswered goals from that point onward.

Senegal hasn't quite clinched a spot in the knockout round just yet. But its chances are looking very good, especially after this five-goal win.

France dominates a match in which it largely played its starters while Norway relied on backups.

Both teams will advance to the knockout stage, but France will do so as the winner of Group I.

We were nearly two minutes away from the end of this match but France added to its lead before getting out of here.

Désiré Doué headed in a goal after receiving a cross from the left side of the pitch. It’s now 4-1 France.

That's according to the Fox Sports broadcast. Wow, what an achievement. Senegal has been pouring in the goals in the second half, playing against a Iraq team that only has 10 men on the field due to an early red card.

He comes off in the 87th minute, which is impressive considering France entered having already clinched a spot in the next round. We’ll see Mbappé in the knockout stage.

Senegal needed a lot of goals to advance to the knockout stage, and it's getting them. Another incredible individual effort, this time from Ndiaye, led to its 5th goal of the day in the 82nd minute.

Well, not everything is going Senegal's way. Mané was dribbling down the left side and appeared to miss-hit the ball, but it still floated toward the goal. The Iraq goalkeeper didn't make a play on it, as the ball hit the post and bounced away. Mané didn't appear to intend to do that, but it almost went in anyway.

Both sides have already clinched a spot in the knockout stage.

Senegal leads 4-0 now, after Gueye scored on another magnificent left-footed strike in the 71st minute. Remember, he came on as a substitute in the second half. He's made a huge impact, obviously, and given Senegal a boost of energy.

That's Senegal's third goal in about 15 minutes.

Norway just had its best chance of the second half so far, courtesy of a run down the right side of the box from Oscar Bobb. But Bobb’s left-footed shot didn’t quite have the juice, and Maignan made a sweet save to keep this a 3-1 lead for France.

How many more goals can Senegal score in the final 20 or so minutes?

The action has slowed considerably in the second half, as both sides have seemingly accepted what feels like the inevitable result of this match. France still leads 3-1.

Pape Gueye just came on moments ago as a substitution. He just made a terrific left-footed strike to give Senegal a 3-0 lead in the 59th minute. That will certainly help improve its chances of advancing to the knockout round.

Ismaïla Sarr nets a goal in the 56th minute. Senegal needs to keep the goals coming to increase its chances of advancing. Maybe that score will open the floodgates.

A few minutes into the second half, Mané raised his hand and called for the call as he went into the box on the backside of the Iraq defense. His teammate sent in a pass, but Mané apeared to mis-hit the ball and it went sailing out of play harmlessly.

Senegal has pressured Iraq, which is again playing down a man, but hasn't had many quality chances on net.

Norway’s Jørgen Strand Larsen couldn’t convert a penalty kick after a very slow and hesitant run-up. He was staring at the right side of the net before kicking a very weak shot in that exact direction.

It was a relatively easy save for France’s Mike Maignan.

Basil made a few nice plays in the first half to keep Iraq in this game. Jalal Hassan has come on to take his place. We'll see if Senegal can take advantage and add to its 1-0 lead. It needs to keep scoring to improve its chances of advancing.

Bad tackle by Theo Hernández in the box.

Can Senegal score more goals with Iraq playing with only 10 players?

France leads 3-1, and if the score holds, it will win Group I.

Senegal needs to win, and perhaps win big, to stand a chance to advance in this tournament. Senegal got an early goal from Habib Diarra, and from the 13th minute onward, has been playing with a man-advantage after Iraq was shown a red card. But Senegal hasn't been able to pile on the goals.

Ahmed Basil #22 of Iraq catch the ball during the match between Senegal and Iraq today. Joosep Martinson / FIFA via Getty Images

Senegal leads Iraq in possession (58% vs. 42%) and expected goals (1.08 vs. 0.12), and Sadio Mané and his teammates keep pressing. Senegal has taken 10 shots, but only two of them have been on goal. We'll see if Senegal can score more in the second half. Its World Cup fate might depend on it.

Norway's star forward Erling Haaland hasn’t played today, but fans expecting to see a high-scoring display haven’t been let down, as Ousmane Dembélé scored three goals in a riveting first half.

It will be interesting to see how much Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé play in the second half, and if Norway’s defense will be gassed after expending so much energy to start this match.

Let’s see if either side can sneak in another goal before halftime.

Lots of that is due to a lengthy review on the call that issued Iraq a red card.

Mendy is missing this game due to a knee injury. He made some great saves during Senegal's first two games against France and Norway. Both of those matches could've gotten out of hand without his play.

Mory Diaw started in goal today for Senegal in Mendy's place. Keep an eye on him throughout the game, on a day when Senegal needs a win to keep its World Cup hopes alive.

Ousmane Dembélé is on fire right now. After receiving a pass in the right side of the box, Dembélé very patiently made his way to his left before burying yet another left-footed strike into the goal.

It’s now 3-1 France with under 15 minutes to go until stoppage time in the first half.

Even with no Erling Haaland, this has been a fun match so far. France has largely dominated, controlling 68% of possession and creating a whopping seven shots on goal.

But after all that, it’s still only a 2-1 lead for France after the Thelo Aasgaard goal for Norway.

Off the kickoff following the second Dembélé goal, Norway’s Thelo Aasgaard took advantage of a seemingly sleepy France defense and scored to make this a 2-1 game as we approach the hydration break.

Once again, Mbappé hit Dembélé with a perfect pass, and this time Dembélé cut back toward the top of the box before unleashing a left-footed strike into the back of the net.

Seck just fouled an Iraqi player as they made a break toward the goal. That foul might've saved a great scoring chance.

Off a perfect lob form Fredrik Aursnes, Jørgen Strand Larsen took a powerful shot from the center of the box that only barely missed high of the goal.

As Sadio Mané sprinted upfield toward the Iraq box, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Iraq's Rebin Sulaka reached out and pulled on his uniform to slow him down. After a lengthy replay review, the referee ruled that Sulaka should be given a red card. Now Iraq will have to play the rest of the game with 10 players.

On the ensuing free kick, Mané nearly scored a goal. But the Iraq goalkeeper made an incredible diving save to keep the score 1-0.

Olise had a right-footer from the top of the box in the opening 10 minutes that required a skilled save from goalkeeper Egil Selvik.

Just now, he had another chance after a run into the left side of the box, but he couldn’t get enough power on a shot amid a sea of defenders.

Pretty rough challenge from Berg, who had both his arms around the shoulders of Michael Olise.

France has been dominating this match early, and now it has a goal less than 10 minutes into the first half.

Off a fantastic pass from Kylian Mbappé from the opposite side of the pitch, Ousmane Dembélé unleashed a quick flurry of dribble moves into the right side of the box before burying a goal.

Off a corner kick, Abdoulaye Seck headed the ball toward the goal. The ball bounced into the net, and Habib Diarra was credited with the goal. He must've deflected it on its way into the net. That gives Senegal a crucial 1-0 lead in a must-win game. Just the start that Senegal needed.

Not only does Senegal need a win, it needs to score a bunch of goals in order to help its chances of advancing to the knockout round.

Not even 30 seconds into this match France superstar Kylian Mbappé nearly scored, firing a shot from the right side of the box that bounced off the crossbar. It was a tough angle, though.

Senegal needs a win to finish third in Group I and still hold out hope for advancing. If the game ends in a draw, both teams are eliminated.

Both sides have clinched spots in the knockout round, but the winner of Group I is up for grabs.

NBC News is tracking the French star and the Argentine legend through their teams’ remaining matches.

Here are the starting 11s for France and Norway. Erling Haaland is not starting for Norway, which has already clinched a spot in the knockout stage.

France’s starters:

Norway’s starters:

Senegal has had a disappointing tournament thus far. It lost its opening match 3-1 to France, and its second game 3-2 to Norway, losing both times to transcendent scoring talents in France's Kylian Mbappé and Norway's Erling Haaland, who each scored two goals apiece against Senegal.

Senegal needs a win against Iraq today to secure three points, but even then, it wouldn't be guaranteed a spot in the knockout round. Senegal would then finish third in its group, and only 8 of the 12 third-place teams will advance.

Vaughn Dalzell and Drew Dinsick look at USA's odds for the stage of elimination, analyzing how far Mauricio Pochettino's squad can go.

Midway through the second half, tied with Germany, its World Cup hopes dwindling, Ecuador lined up for a corner kick. Pedro Vite looped the ball into the box, where Kevin Rodriguez headed the ball onward toward the goal. The legendary German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer seemed well-positioned to catch the ball. But Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata stuck up his left foot, just in front of Neuer, and poked the ball into the net.

The crowd let out a deafening roar, and Plata ran to the corner of the field, in front of a sea of yellow-clad fans, where he was mobbed by his teammates, the substitutes leaving the bench to join in, too. On the sideline, Ecuador manager Sebastián Beccacece left his post and ran to the front of the stands, where he reached up and hugged his family.

With France and Norway having both clinched a spot in the knockout stage, both sides may rest some players for their upcoming match.

One player who may start on the bench is Norway’s Erling Haaland, according to a report from France’s L'Équipe.

Shortly after beating Senegal, Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland said he didn’t care about Norway’s final Group I game against France because his team had already qualified for the knockouts.

But the rest of the world most certainly does, as the Manchester City forward will face off against legendary French striker Kylian Mbappé.

The European goal machines — who both command a weekly salary north of $600,000 — have started the tournament with a bang.

Mbappé has scored four goals in two games to push his World Cup total to 16, two behind Lionel Messi’s record for most all time, while Haaland has scored twice each in wins over Senegal and Iraq.

Taylor Twellman joins "The Dan Patrick Show" to review USA's loss to Turkey and their chances against a "defend-first" Bosnia-Herzegovina side in the knockout round. They also assess Christian Pulisic's return.

The United States only wanted to get through its final World Cup group stage match Thursday night without an injury or a red card, while Turkey was playing for a face-saving victory to end a dismal tournament.

Both teams got what they wanted most out of their meaningless meeting before the Americans head on to the knockout stage — and coach Mauricio Pochettino was annoyed by any suggestion that the Americans’ last-gasp, 3-2 defeat said anything negative about the state of his team.

“For you not say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad,” Pochettino told reporters.

“What we need to remember is we won first place in this group,” Pochettino added while speaking in Spanish and English. “We ended up being No. 1, and we managed all the pressure and the expectations quite well. We had other priorities. We wanted to win. We did want the victory, but there are other things we needed to balance out, and that’s how I made the decisions. ... Making history is winning the World Cup, not just winning the group. It’s a little bit petty, if you will. You’re thinking just a little bit too small.”

Norwegian soccer fans are going viral for invading the U.S. with their “Viking row” after qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. The trend first emerged in March as Norway was preparing for the World Cup and has quickly become the country’s trademark national celebration.

Norway fans invade the U.S. with viral ‘Viking row’

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Ecuador President Daniel Noboa declared today a national holiday after the country’s soccer team reached the knockout phase of the World Cup with a shock 2-1 win over Germany.

“Thanks to the players and the coach who, despite the criticism, the insults, and the tough moments they went through, managed to recover and give this immense joy to the entire country.” Noboa said in a post on X.

Ecuador needed a victory in their final Group E match yesterday following a defeat by the Ivory Coast and a draw with Curacao.