The knockout rounds of the World Cup are officially underway, but we want to go back a little bit to the group stage. What do you think would happen if the World Cup ended in the group stage?
If the 2026 FIFA World Cup ended at the group stage, who do you think would win the tournament and walk away with all the awards? If you’ve stopped to think about this at any point in the tournament, then you have come to the right place because we’ve had the same thought too.
Starting from the 3rd runner-up to the eventual winners, here is what we think would happen if the World Cup ended after the last group stage game.
Mexico – 4th Place
You might not agree, but if the World Cup ended in the group stage, Mexico would easily finish in fourth place, and there’s proof to back it up.
Mexico rode on the support of their home fans for most of their group stage games, and they put up impressive performances every time they played. They won all their group stage games, only two teams apart from Mexico did. They also didn’t concede a single goal.
You can even say they would go higher than 4th place, but in my opinion, I don’t think they go higher than 4th because Morocco beat them to finish 3rd.
Morocco – 3rd Place
Morocco were the best team in Group C, edging Brazil just a bit. The Atlas Lions of Morocco could’ve easily upset Brazil in their opening game. They dominated Brazil in that opening game and were unlucky not to get all three points.
In their remaining games, they were absolutely ruthless. They called themselves the “Brazil of Africa,” and honestly, they played like it. They were one of the best African sides in the group stage, and they could’ve easily finished 3rd.
Argentina – 2nd Place
Now, this would upset some people but either Messi’s Argentina finished first or second in this ranking and I do think they narrowly finished second.
With nine points from nine, Argentina were ruthless against their opponents in the group stage. Messi opened the floor with a hat-trick vs Algeria, and then a brace to see off Austria, and then a freekick off the bench to make it 3-1 against Jordan.
Argentina were rampant, but I sincerely won’t put them above France, who got nine out of nine points against even tougher opponents.
France – Wins The World Cup
Honestly, who stops this France side? Maybe Argentina, maybe not, but in the group stage, France were flexing their muscles against elite opponents.
France didn’t score fewer than three goals in any of their group stage games, and they played AFCON Champions Senegal, star-studded Norway and Iraq.
Mbappé was running the show, breaking records in each game. Olise and Dembele also got into the fun, making France’s attack very unpredictable. If anybody would win the World Cup, assuming it ended in the group stage, it would be France.
Awards
If the World Cup ended the group stage, the following awards would go to the following players.
Golden Boot:
Messi. With 6 goals in the group stage, he would be the highest goalscorer.
Golden Ball:
Messi. While you can make an argument for Mbappé and Olise, Messi still stands above them as the most valuable player of the tournament across all the group stage games.
Golden Glove:
Unai Simón. Three clean sheets across all three group stage games.
FIFA Young Player Award
Yan Diomande. The RB Leipzig forward lit up the group stages with a historic, record-breaking statistical profile. Across his three group appearances, he got 1 assist and became the only player this century to complete 10+ dribbles and create 10+ chances in his first three career World Cup matches.
