478
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has won a men’s record 226 caps, while Colombia icons David Ospina and James Rodriguez have won 130 and 122, respectively. The trio could all share the field on 27 June.
79
Brazil will take on Haiti on 19 June. At the time of the Final Draw, the Seleção were 79 places higher than their Caribbean counterparts on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking – the highest discrepancy between two sides grouped together on the global ladder. The biggest previous gap between two sides came at South Africa 2010, when the South Americans, then ranked first in the world, took on a 105th-placed Korea DPR.
55
Erling Haaland’s Norway will meet Kylian Mbappe’s France in Group I. The otherworldly forwards have each netted a staggering 55 goals for their respective sides. Haaland is Norway’s all-time top marksman, while Mbappe needs three more to topple Olivier Giroud.
40
There will be a 40-year age gap between Curaçao coach Dick Advocaat and Germany’s Julien Nagelsmann when the pair meet on 14 June. The 78-year-old Dutchman is set to become the oldest coach at the finals, smashing Otto Rehhagel’s record. The German was aged 71 years and 317 days when he saw his Greece side lose to Argentina in their final South Africa 2010 match.
20
The group stage will produce 20 matches never previously played before. Four-time champions Germany’s battle with Curaçao and reigning title holders Argentina’s bout with Jordan are among them.
12
If Italy advance from UEFA Play-Off A to reach Group B, all 12 sections will contain at least one team who have previously contested a World Cup semi-final. Group C, Group H, Group J and Group L all have two sides to have managed it, while Korea Republic in Group A and USA in Group D have done so once apiece.
5
Brazil and Scotland will meet for the fifth time in the group stage. It will become the joint most-played fixture at this stage, alongside Argentina versus Nigeria.
4
If Italy, who hosted the World Cup in 1934 and 1990, win UEFA Play-Off A, then all four teams in Group B will have hosted the tournament. Canada will co-host this event, Qatar did the same in 2022, with Switzerland doing so in 1954. The last time that happened was in 2018, as Sweden, Mexico, Korea Republic and Germany came head-to-head in Group F.
4
Four teams heading to the finals will face the side they’ve claimed their biggest World Cup victory against. Morocco defeated Scotland 3-0 in 1998 and they will lock horns again in Group C. Co-hosts USA sunk Paraguay 3-0 at the inaugural finals in 1930, and are set to open their tournament against the South Americans. Japan’s 2-0 win over Tunisia at their home finals in 2002 is their joint-biggest victory, with the pair set to do battle in Group F. England, meanwhile, thrashed Panama 6-1 in 2018, with the Three Lions closing out Group L versus Thomas Christiansen’s side.
3
Brazil, Morocco and Scotland all shared a group in 1998, and will do so again in North America. In France, Brazil progressed in pole position en route to the final, with Norway in second and Morocco in third. Scotland, who haven’t returned to the finals since, finished bottom.
Group C, incidentally, is also the pool with the most combined World Cup participations with 41. Including 2026, Brazil have appeared a record 23 times, Scotland nine, Morocco seven, and Haiti twice.
1
Just like in 2010, Mexico will open the World Cup with a match against South Africa. It’s the first time the opening fixture has been repeated from the 19 previous tournaments which started with a one-game matchday.
