Marquee World Cup matches | Unmissable group stage action

Jonathan Victoria • 04 Jun 2026 Features

Plenty of excitement for the first round.

The start of World Cup 2026 is right around the corner and while the real action takes place in the knockout rounds, the group stage is also poised to provide some thrills that may come with an upset or two…

Group I holds the most group-of-death potential, but when it comes to the World Cup, no major team is safe from the scrappy underdog fight that comes from a smaller nation.

With 18 straight days of football to come, we’ve selected 12 must-see fixtures that are certain to produce sparks and thrills!