Group A

The first match of the tournament was held between Qatar and Ecuador in Group A. Ecuador had a disallowed goal in the opening minutes,^[151] but eventually won 20 with two goals from Enner Valencia.^[152] Qatar became the first host nation to lose their opening match at a World Cup. Many Qatar natives were seen leaving the game before the end, with ESPN ing that two-thirds of the attendance had left.^[156]^[157] The other starting match in group A was won by the Netherlands 20 over Senegal. Cody Gakpo scored the opening goal in the 84th minute and Davy Klaassen added a second in stoppage time.^[158] Senegal faced Qatar in the third match of the group; Boulaye Dia capitalised on a slip by Boualem Khoukhi to put Senegal 10 ahead. Famara Diédhiou scored a second with a header, before Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar's first-ever goal at a World Cup to reduce the deficit back to one. Senegal eventually won the match 31 after an 84th-minute goal by Bamba Dieng. With this result, Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from the tournament, as well as becoming the first host nation to ever be knocked out of the tournament after two games.^[159] Gakpo scored his second goal of the tournament as the Netherlands led Ecuador; however, Valencia scored an equaliser in the 49th minute.^[160] The Netherlands won 20 against Qatar following goals by Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong to win the group, while Qatar attained the distinction of being the first home nation to lose all three group matches.^[161] Senegal faced Ecuador to determine the second knockout round qualifier. At the end of the first half, Ismaïla Sarr scored a penalty kick to put Senegal ahead. In the 67th minute, Moisés Caicedo scored an equaliser, but shortly after, Kalidou Koulibaly gave Senegal the victory. The win was enough to qualify Senegal as the runners-up of Group A.^[162]

Mehdi Taremi scored in the second half after which England defender Harry Maguire was also removed for a concussion.^[163] Timothy Weah, of the United States, scored a first-half goal against Wales; however, the match finished as a draw after a penalty kick was won and scored by Gareth Bale.^[164] Iran defeated Wales 20 following a red card to Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey after he committed a foul outside of his penalty area. Substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored the first goal eight minutes into stoppage time, followed by Ramin Rezaeian scoring three minutes later.^[165] England and the United States played to a 00 draw, with only four shots on target between them.^[166] Eand won the group following a 30 win over Wales with a goal by Phil Foden and two by Rashford.^[167] Christian Pulisic scored the winning goal as the United States defeated Iran 10 to qualify for the round of 16.

Argentina took an early lead against Saudi Arabia after Lionel Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick after ten minutes; however, second-half goals by Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari won the match 21 for Saudi Arabia,^[169] a result described as "the biggest upset in the history of the World Cup."^[170]^[171] The match between Mexico and Poland ended as a goalless 00 draw after Guillermo Ochoa saved Robert Lewandowski's penalty kick attempt.^[172] Lewandowski scored his first career World Cup goal in a 20 win over Saudi Arabia four days later.^[173]^[174] Argentina defeated Mexico 20, with Lionel Messi scoring the opener and later assisting teammate Enzo Fernández who scored his first international goal.^[175]^[176] Argentina won their last game as they played Poland with goals by Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez which was enough to win the group;^[177] Poland qualified for the knockout stage on goal difference.^[178]

The match between Denmark and Tunisia ended as a goalless draw; both teams had goals disallowed by offside calls.^[179] Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen made his first major international appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest at the UEFA Euro 2020.^[179] Defending champions France went a goal behind to Australia, after a Craig Goodwin goal within ten minutes. France, however, scored four goals, by Adrien Rabiot, by Kylian Mbappé, and two by Olivier Giroud to win 41.^[180] The goals tied Giroud with Thierry Henry as France's all-time top goalscorer.^[180] Mitchell Duke scored the only goal as Australia won against Tunisia. This was their first World Cup win since 2010.^[181]^[182] Mbappé scored a brace as France defeated Denmark 21. This was enough for France to qualify for the knockout round the first time since Brazil in 2006 that the defending champions progressed through the opening round.^[183]^[181] Mathew Leckie scored the only goal as Australia defeated Denmark 10, qualifying for the knockout round as runners-up with the win.^[184] Wahbi Khazri scored for Tunisia against France in the 58th minute. Although Antoine Griezmann equalised in stoppage time it was overturned for offside. Tunisia finished third in the group, as they required a draw in the Denmark and Australia game.^[185]

Group E began with Japan facing 2014 champions Germany. After an early penalty kick was converted by Germany's İlkay Gündoğan, Japan scored two second-half goals by Ritsu Dōan and Takuma Asano in a 21 upset win.^[186] In the second group match, Spain defeated Costa Rica 70. First-half goals by Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, and Ferran Torres were followed by goals by Gavi, Carlos Soler, Alvaro Morata, and a second by Torres.^[187]^[188] This was the largest defeat in a World Cup since Portugal's victory over North Korea in the 2010 event by the same scoreline.^[189] Costa Rica defeated Japan 10, with Keysher Fuller scoring with Costa Rica's first shot on target of the tournament.^[190] Germany and Spain drew 11, with Álvaro Morata scoring for Spain and Niclas Füllkrug scoring for Germany.^[191]^[192]^[193] Morata scored the opening goal for Spain against Japan as they controlled the first half of the match.^[194] Japan equalised on Ritsu Doan before a second goal by Kaoru Mitoma was heavily investigated by VAR for the ball being out of play. The goal was awarded, and Japan won the group following a 21 win.^[195] Serge Gnabry scored on ten minutes for Germany against Costa Rica and they led until half-time. Germany required a win, and for Japan to not win their match, or for both teams to win their matches by a combined goal difference of at least 9 goals, to qualify. In the second half, goals by Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Vargas gave Costa Rica a 21 lead, which would have qualified them into the knockout stages ahead of Spain. Germany scored three further goals—two by Kai Havertz and a goal by Niclas Fullkrug, ending in a 42 win for Germany—which was not enough to qualify them for the final stages.^[196] Japan won the group ahead of Spain.^[197]

Group F's first match was a goalless draw between Morocco and Croatia.^[198] Canada had a penalty kick in the first half of their match against Belgium which was saved by Thibaut Courtois. Belgium won the match by a single goal by Michy Batshuayi.^[199] Belgium manager Roberto Martínez confirmed after the game that he believed Canada to have been the better team.^[200] Belgium lost 20 to Morocco, despite Morocco having a long-range direct free kick goal by Hakim Ziyech overturned for an offside on another player in the lead up to the goal. Two second-half goals from Zakaria Aboukhlal and Romain Saïss helped the Morocco win their first World Cup match since 1998.^[201]^[202] The match sparked riots in Belgium, with residents fires and fireworks being set off.^[203] Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first World Cup goal to give Canada the lead over Croatia. Goals by Marko Livaja, Lovro Majer, and two by Andrej Kramarić for Croatia completed a 41 victory.^[204] Morocco scored two early goals through Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri in their game against Canada and qualified following a 21 victory. Canada's only goal was an own goal by Nayef Aguerd.^[205] Croatia and Belgium played a goalless draw which eliminated Belgium, whose team was ranked second in the world, from the tournament.^[206]

Breel Embolo scored the only goal in Switzerland's 10 defeat of Cameroon.^[207] Richarlison scored two goals as Brazil won against Serbia, with star player Neymar receiving an ankle injury.^[208] Cameroon's Jean-Charles Castelletto scored the opening goal against Serbia, but they were quickly behind as Serbia scored three goals by Strahinja Pavlović, Sergej Milinković-Savić, and Aleksandar Mitrović either side of half time. Cameroon, however, scored goals through Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, completing a 33 draw.^[209] An 83rd-minute winner by Casemiro for Brazil over Switzerland was enough for them to qualify for the knockout stage.^[210] Having already qualified, Brazil were unable to win their final group game, as they were defeated by Cameroon 10 following a goal by Vincent Aboubakar. He was later sent off for removing his shirt in celebrating the goal.^[211] Cameroon, however, did not qualify, as Switzerland defeated Serbia 32.^[212

Uruguay and South Korea played to a goalless draw.^[213] A goalless first half between Portugal and Ghana preceded a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo to give Portugal the lead. In scoring the goal, Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups. Ghana responded with a goal by André Ayew before goals by João Félix, and Rafael Leão by Portugal put them 31 ahead. Osman Bukari scored in the 89th minute to trail by a single goal, while Iñaki Williams had a chance to equalise for Ghana ten minutes into stoppage time, but slipped before shooting. The match finished 32 to Portugal.^[214] Ghanaian Mohammed Salisu opened the scoring against South Korea, with Mohammed Kudus following it up. In the second half, Cho Gue-sung scored a brace for South Korea, levelling the score. Mohammed Kudus scored again in the 68th minute, winning the match 32 for Ghana.^[215] Portugal defeated Uruguay 20 with two goals from Bruno Fernandes, advancing them to the knockout stage.^[216] The game's first goal appeared to have been headed in by Ronaldo, but the ball just missed his head. A controversial penalty decision was called late in the game, with a suspected handball from José María Giménez.^[217]^[218] Portugal led South Korea through Ricardo Horta after 10 minutes. However, goals by Kim Young-gwon and Hwang Hee-chan won the match 21 for South Korea.^[219] Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored two goals as Uruguay defeated Ghana 20.^[220] However, with South Korea winning, Uruguay required another goal to progress as they finished third on goals scored.^[221] Several Uruguay players left the pitch after the game surrounding the referees and followed them off the pitch.^[222]^[223]^[224]

Group A