Day 15 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 produced another exciting round of matches as Spain and France secured important victories to finish strongly in their respective groups, while tournament debutants Cape Verde continued their remarkable campaign by qualifying for the Round of 32. France maintained their perfect record in Group I with an emphatic victory over Norway, Senegal kept their knockout hopes alive with a dominant performance against Iraq, and Spain edged Uruguay to secure top spot in Group H. Cape Verde, meanwhile, completed one of the biggest stories of the tournament by progressing unbeaten from the group stage.
France produced one of their best performances of the competition with a commanding 4-1 victory over Norway. Ousmane Dembele starred with a first-half hat-trick, scoring in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes to put the match beyond doubt before France added another goal to complete the comfortable win. Norway rested several first-team players, including Erling Haaland, and struggled to cope with France’s attacking quality. The result ensured France finished top of Group I with a perfect record from all three group-stage matches.
In the other Group I fixture, Senegal boosted their chances of reaching the knockout rounds with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Iraq. Habib Diarra opened the scoring before Iraq were reduced to 10 men after Rebin Sulaka received a red card following a VAR review for a challenge on Sadio Mane. Although Senegal initially found it difficult to break down the Iraqi defence, they dominated the second half as Ismaila Sarr became Senegal’s all-time leading World Cup scorer before substitute Pape Gueye scored twice to complete the biggest World Cup victory in the nation’s history.
Group H witnessed another chapter in Cape Verde’s fairytale journey as the World Cup debutants held Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw and secured qualification for the Round of 32. Ranked 67th in the world before the tournament, Cape Verde finished second in the group behind Spain after remaining unbeaten across all three group-stage matches. The island nation, with a population of just over 500,000, will now face defending champions Argentina in the knockout stage, extending one of the most memorable underdog stories of the competition.
Spain also confirmed their place in the knockout rounds with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Uruguay. Alex Baena scored the decisive goal in the 42nd minute after Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera failed to deal with his effort inside the penalty area. Muslera’s mistake proved costly, and the veteran goalkeeper was substituted at half-time after another disappointing outing. The defeat ended Uruguay’s campaign without a single victory in the group stage, while Spain finished as Group H winners with seven points and advanced to face the second-placed team from Group J.
The latest round of fixtures further shaped the knockout bracket, with France and Spain entering the Round of 32 as group winners and Cape Verde emerging as one of the tournament’s surprise packages. Senegal’s convincing victory kept their qualification hopes alive, while Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Norway and Iraq were left to reflect on disappointing campaigns. With the knockout stage approaching, several of the tournament’s leading contenders have begun to hit top form, while Cape Verde’s historic run has added another compelling storyline to the FIFA World Cup 2026.