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Cape Verde inscribed their name into FIFA World Cup history on Friday, becoming the smallest nation ever to reach the tournament’s knockout stage after holding Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw in their final Group H clash in Houston.

The island nation, with a population of just over 600,000, secured qualification from Group H after finishing unbeaten, collecting three points from three draws against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.

We are small,” said Vozinha, Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper who embodied the grit of his nation. “But we have big hearts and we are fighters.”

The tournament debutants pulled off one of the World Cup’s biggest surprises by playing pre-tournament favorites Spain to a scoreless draw in its opener.

They followed that up by scoring their first goals of the World Cup in a 2-2 tie against Uruguay.

With Friday’s draw, they finish undefeated on three points and take second place in Group H behind 2010 winners Spain and a point ahead of two-time World Cup champions Uruguay.

Cape Verde will face defending champions Argentina next up in a round-of-32 matchup in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 3.

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France maintained their perfect start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a commanding 4-1 victory over Norway on Friday, thanks to a first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembélé that sealed top spot in Group I.

The French winger struck in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes, with two of his goals set up by captain Kylian Mbappé and the third assisted by Aurélien Tchouaméni. Désiré Doué added a fourth deep into stoppage time to complete another dominant display by Didier Deschamps’ side.

Norway briefly threatened a comeback when Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back in the 21st minute after being set up by Andreas Schjelderup. However, the Scandinavians struggled to break down the French defence for the remainder of the contest despite enjoying more possession after the interval.

France, who had already secured qualification before kick-off, completed the group stage with three wins from three, underlining their credentials as one of the favourites for the World Cup title. Mbappé once again played a key role, providing two assists before being substituted late in the game.

The result ensured Norway also progressed to the Round of 32 despite the defeat, having already booked qualification with victories in their opening two matches.

France will now head into the knockout stage with maximum points and growing momentum, while Norway will look to regroup before their Round of 32 clash after suffering their first defeat of the tournament.

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Senegal boosted their chances of reaching the knockout stage of the World Cup with a 5-0 victory against 10-man Iraq.

The Lions of Teranga finished third in Group I with three points to climb to fifth among third-placed teams, but they will still need results elsewhere to go their way to secure a place in the last 32.

Senegal played a near-perfect game in Toronto as they looked to bounce back from defeats by France and Norway, and the result pushed Scotland down to ninth in the table of third-placed sides, with eight to advance to the next round.

Fast-starting Senegal opened the scoring after only four minutes. Abdoulaye Seck’s header from a corner took a decisive deflection off Sunderland midfielder Habib Diarra on its way past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.

Iraq’s problems were compounded nine minutes later when referee Anthony Taylor sent off defender Rebin Sulaka for pulling down Sadio Mane at the edge of the penalty area, deeming it a denial of a goalscoring opportunity after a video assistant referee review.

Mane tested Basil from the resulting free-kick, but Pape Thiaw’s side, who needed goals to improve their goal difference and thereby their chances of progressing to the next stage, failed to register another shot on target in the first half.

But they capitalised on former Manchester United midfielder Zidane Iqbal giving away possession at the edge of the box as Lamine Camara cut the ball back for Ismaila Sarr to apply a simple finish to make it 2-0 in the 56th minute.

Their lead was extended three minutes later as Pape Gueye curled a left-foot strike into the top corner – his first involvement after coming on moments earlier.

Villarreal defensive midfielder Gueye added his second goal with another thunderous effort in the 71st minute before fellow substitute Iliman Ndiaye sealed the 5-0 win, which they would hope will be enough to send them through to the knockout stage.