FIFA World Cup 2026 | General Questions on Debutants, Hosts and Japan

The debutants were Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Qatar had already appeared in 2022 and Iceland in 2018.

Canada's opener was a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 6-0 against Qatar came in their next match and was the Canada men's team's first win at a World Cup finals.

The United States beat Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles. Mexico opened against South Africa and Canada against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Japan and the Netherlands drew 2-2. Japan then beat Tunisia 4-0 in their next match.

Curaçao lost 1-7 to Germany. Against Ecuador, in a different match, they drew 0-0, with goalkeeper Eloy Room making 16 saves.

Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Spain — the only match the eventual champions failed to win at the tournament.

Cape Verde's goalkeeper Vozinha made seven saves. Eloy Room is Curaçao's goalkeeper and made 16 saves in a different match.

Cape Verde came through the group stage unbeaten and reached the knockout rounds, having drawn with the eventual champions Spain in their opening match.

Canada beat Qatar 6-0 on June 18, 2026 for their first win at a men's World Cup finals.

The first win came in the Canada men's team's eighth match at a finals overall. It does not mean they played eight matches at the 2026 tournament alone.

Jonathan David scored three in a historic first win for Canada. He did not score all six himself.

It was the 1,000th match in men's World Cup finals history, counting from 1930. It was not a match number within the 2026 tournament alone.

Japan won 4-0. A four-goal win without conceding was a significant result not just for Japan but as a men's World Cup record for an AFC side.

Daichi Kamada opened the scoring, Ayase Ueda scored twice and Junya Ito once. You can also check that the tally adds up to four.

Ueda became the first Japanese player to score twice in one men's World Cup match. Two goals is not a hat-trick.

Daichi Kamada opened the scoring in the 4th minute. The previous Japanese record was Shinji Kagawa's goal in the 6th minute against Colombia in 2018.

Japan had conceded in each of their previous ten men's World Cup matches. The clean sheet against Tunisia was their first since the Greece match in 2014.

Japan lost 1-2 to Brazil in the round of 32, the stage newly added for the 48-team format. Their opening group match against the Netherlands was a draw.

Sano opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Brazil then equalized through Casemiro and went ahead late on.

Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-1 in the 95th minute. Casemiro's goal in the 56th was the equalizer.