France and Senegal registered big wins on the 16th day of FIFA World Cup. With this win, France remained on top of their group while Senegal kept their hopes of reaching the knockouts alive. On the other hand, the competition continues between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia and Spain and Uruguay.
Spain took the lead
Spain took the lead in the Group H match against Uruguay. Alex Baena scored a goal for Spain in the first half and gave the team a 1-0 lead. Baena scored a goal in the 42nd minute of the match. Spain’s lead remained intact till the first half.
Equal match between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia
In another match of Group H, the match between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia continues. Both the teams could not score a single goal till the first half and the match was going on in a goalless draw.
Dembele’s hat-trick show
In the last matches of Group I of the FIFA World Cup 2026, France and Senegal performed strongly and registered spectacular victories. France defeated Norway 4-1 to top the group and secure their place in the last-32. Before the match, the match was being seen as a clash between Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland and France’s captain Kylian Mbappé, but the entire event was stolen by Ousmane Dembele. France’s star winger completed a brilliant hat-trick by scoring goals in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes of the first half and completely turned the tide of the match in favor of his team. Norway did try to make a comeback with a goal by Theo Aasgaard in the 21st minute, but France maintained its dominance throughout the match. Desire Douay scored the fourth goal in injury time (90+4′) to seal France’s 4-1 victory. With this win, France reached the next round by topping Group I.
Senegal rained goals
In the second match of the group, Senegal faced the challenge of not just winning, but winning by a big margin. The team adopted an aggressive approach from the beginning and Habib Diarra gave the lead by scoring a goal in the fourth minute. Iraq’s troubles increased further in the 13th minute when Rabin Sulaka was shown a red card and sent off the field. However, Senegal could only take a one-goal lead in the first half, but scored a flurry of goals in the second half. Ismaila Sar scored the second goal in the 56th minute. After this, Pape Gueye scored two brilliant goals in the 59th and 71st minutes, while Iliman Ndiaye scored the fifth goal in the 82nd minute to seal Iraq’s defeat. Senegal also significantly improved their goal difference with a huge 5-0 win and kept their hopes of reaching the knockouts alive.
compared to day 17
Six important matches will be played in the group stage of FIFA World Cup 2026 on Sunday. On this day, in Group L, there will be a match between Panama and England at 2:30 pm, while at the same time, Croatia and Ghana will face each other. In Group K, Colombia will face Portugal at 5 am, while the teams of DR Congo and Uzbekistan will also meet at the same time. After this, in Group J, the matches of Algeria vs Austria and Jordan vs Argentina will be played from 7:30 am. After these matches, the picture of knockout in many groups will become more clear and the group stage will come to an end.
FIFA World Cup 2026: Schedule for Day 17
| group | competition | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|
| L | Panama vs England | 2:30 am (June 28) |
| L | croatia vs ghana | 2:30 am (June 28) |
| K | colombia vs portugal | 5:00 am (June 28) |
| K | DR Congo vs Uzbekistan | 5:00 am (June 28) |
| J | algeria vs austria | 7:30 am (June 28) |
| J | jordan vs argentina | 7:30 am (June 28) |