World Cup Overview: All Four Matches Ended in Draws, Setting a Record, with Two Major Upsets; Six Asian Teams Remain Unbeaten While Four South American Sides Failed to Win

On June 16th Beijing time, the World Cup finished the opening round of Group G and Group H, with all four matches resulting in draws. Both Uruguay and Spain suffered surprising point losses, and neither Iran nor Belgium managed to win as expected.

[Group G: Belgium 1-1 Egypt, Iran 2-2 New Zealand]

In the first contest of Group G, Egypt struck first in the 19th minute. Salah provided an assist, and Ashour unleashed a surprise shot that beat Courtois in goal.

Trailing by a goal, Belgium launched a fierce counterattack. In the 66th minute, Lukaku, who had been on the pitch for just 22 seconds as a substitute, made a sliding effort that caused Egyptian defender Hany to score an own goal, eventually earning Belgium a point.

In the other match later on, Iran and New Zealand engaged in a goal fest. In the 7th minute, Chris Wood chested the ball sideways, and Just smashed a shot past the Iranian goalkeeper. In the 32nd minute, Rezaeian latched onto a ball and poked it home to level the score.

After the break, in the 55th minute, Wood again assisted Just, who scored his second goal to put New Zealand back in front. In the 64th minute, Rezaeian delivered a precise cross, and Mohebbi headed the ball in, helping Iran equalize once more.

After the first round, all four teams in Group G have one point each. New Zealand leads temporarily on goal difference. Iran received a yellow card in the 89th minute, placing them behind New Zealand. Belgium and Egypt rank third and fourth in the group, respectively.

[Group H: Spain 0-0 Cape Verde, Uruguay 1-1 Saudi Arabia]

In the first match of Group H, Spain fired 27 shots but were held to a 0-0 draw by debutants Cape Verde. The 40-year-old Cape Verdean goalkeeper Vozinha made seven saves, helping his team secure a point in their World Cup debut.

In the other Group H match later on, Saudi Arabia took the lead in the 41st minute after Muslera failed to hold a shot, allowing Amri to tap in the rebound.

In the second half, Uruguay fought back hard and equalized in the 80th minute through Maxi Araujo's follow-up shot, ending the game at 1-1.

After the first round, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia sit higher due to goal difference, with Uruguay topping the group on disciplinary points (fewer yellow cards).

In the comparison between Spain and Cape Verde, both have the same disciplinary record (one yellow each), but Spain ranks third in the group thanks to a higher FIFA ranking, ahead of Cape Verde.

[Interesting Stats of the Day]

1. All four matches today ended in draws. This is the first time in World Cup history that every game on a single matchday in the group stage finished as a draw.

2. Among the six Asian teams that have played so far, they have recorded 2 wins and 4 draws, remaining unbeaten. Asian teams average 1.67 points per match, the highest among all six confederations, ahead of Europe in second place (1.4 points).

3. With Oceania's representative New Zealand drawing against Iran, all confederations have now earned points in the first round of the World Cup group stage.

4. As a traditional football powerhouse, the four South American sides that have played so far have 2 draws and 2 losses, failing to win any match. They average 0.5 points per game, the lowest among all six confederations.

5. African teams have recorded 1 win, 3 draws, and 2 losses in their first six matches, earning 6 points. This ties the best opening performance for African teams in a World Cup since the 2002 Korea/Japan tournament.

6. Saudi goalkeeper Owais made 9 saves against Uruguay, the highest number of saves by any goalkeeper in a single match at the 2026 World Cup so far. Over the past three World Cups, only Croatia's Livakovic (11 saves against Brazil in the previous tournament) has surpassed this mark.

7. Spain, ranked 2nd in the world, were held to a draw by Cape Verde, ranked 67th. This is the largest ranking gap in a World Cup match where the higher-ranked team failed to win.

8. Cape Verde committed only one foul during the entire match against Spain, the fewest fouls by any team in a World Cup game since 1966.

9. Egypt have now gone eight World Cup matches without a win, trailing only Honduras (nine). New Zealand, after being held by Iran, follow closely with seven winless games.

10. The 26-year-old striker of Chinese descent, Just, scored twice against Iran, becoming the first New Zealand player to net a brace in a single World Cup match.