World Cup 2026 Week One: Groups A to D Shirts and Stories So Far

 

The 2026 World Cup has come to life, and the opening matchday across the first four groups delivered drama, statement wins and one genuinely historic night for British football. From Mexico getting the tournament under way at the Azteca to Scotland ending a 28-year wait in the best possible style, the first round of games gave us results, talking points and a first look at many of the tournament's most anticipated shirts on the pitch. Here is our roundup of Groups A to D so far, the stories and the kits that caught the eye.

The World Cup Is Under Way

After all the build-up, the football has finally started, and the expanded 48-team tournament has hit the ground running. The opening fixtures carried that unmistakable World Cup energy: packed stadiums, a global audience, and the sense of a whole summer of football stretching out ahead. With the top two from each group plus the eight best third-placed teams advancing to the new Round of 32, every result matters from the very first whistle, and the early games were played with real intensity.

For shirt enthusiasts, the opening matchday is always special: it is the first time the new kits are seen in their proper context, worn in competitive matches under the lights rather than in studio launch shots. Several of 2026's most talked-about designs made their tournament debuts across these four groups, and they looked every bit as good in action as they had on release. Here is how the football unfolded.

Group A: Mexico and Korea Strike First

Co-hosts Mexico had the honour of opening the entire tournament, and they made it count, beating South Africa 2-0 at the iconic Estadio Azteca to get the home nation up and running. It was a fitting start for one of the best-regarded home kits of the tournament, the vibrant green covered in Aztec-inspired patterning, worn at the only stadium ever to host three World Cup openers. The Mexican crowd got the win their occasion deserved.

In the group's other game, South Korea produced one of the more eye-catching results, coming from behind to beat Czechia 2-1. It was a fine start for a side wearing one of the standout shirts of the entire tournament, the red home kit with its hidden white tiger woven into the fabric. Korea's win, in one of 2026's most admired designs, made them early pace-setters alongside Mexico and gave Group A an open, competitive feel from the off.

Group B: Canada Held, Switzerland Frustrated

Co-hosts Canada opened their campaign at home but were held to a 1-1 draw by Bosnia and Herzegovina, a slightly frustrating start for a side wearing Nike's bold "True North" design with its centred maple leaf. The home crowd had hoped for a winning start, but a point on the board keeps Canada in touch in a group that looks genuinely open. The result was a reminder that at a World Cup, there are no easy games, even for the hosts.

Switzerland, one of the higher-ranked sides in the group, were also held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar in a result that flattered neither favourite. With both Canada and Switzerland dropping points, Group B is finely poised, and it means the second round of fixtures becomes important early. For the neutrals, an unpredictable group is no bad thing, and the early draws have set up an intriguing race for the knockout places.

Group C: Scotland's Historic Night

This was the story of the opening matchday for British fans. Scotland, at their first World Cup since 1998, marked their long-awaited return by beating Haiti 1-0, John McGinn striking in the 28th minute to finish off a rebound after Che Adams was denied. A disciplined, determined defensive performance saw Scotland hold on against a Haiti side enjoying their own first World Cup in 52 years, and the result sent the Tartan Army into raptures. Scotland sat top of Group C after the opening round, the perfect start to their campaign.

The group's marquee fixture saw Brazil held to a 1-1 draw by Morocco in an absorbing contest that felt more like a knockout tie. Morocco, the 2022 semi-finalists, took the lead through a clever Ismael Saibari finish before Vinicius Junior levelled with a clinical strike, and Brazil's goalkeeper Alisson had to be at his best late on to rescue a point. The draw means Scotland's opening-night win left them, remarkably, above Brazil in the early Group C table, a sentence few would have predicted before the tournament.

Group D: the USA Make a Statement

Co-hosts the United States produced the most emphatic result of the opening matchday, thrashing Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles to lay down a real marker. It was exactly the kind of statement performance a host nation wants, and it came in the USA's sharp distorted-stripes home shirt, the Nike design that USMNT players had a hand in creating. Under Mauricio Pochettino, the USA looked dangerous and full of attacking intent, and four goals on the opening day will have put the rest of the tournament on notice.

In the group's other game, Australia and Turkiye got their campaigns under way in a competitive encounter, with Australia striking on the counterattack through Nestory Irankunda. With the USA setting the early pace, Group D looks likely to come down to the battle for the places behind them. But the headline was the hosts: a four-goal opening statement that made the USA one of the stories of the first matchday and gave the home crowd plenty to shout about.

The USA result also carried a wider message about the host nations. There had been quiet uncertainty before the tournament about whether the three co-hosts would rise to the occasion or buckle under the pressure of a home World Cup, and the opening matchday answered emphatically for two of them: Mexico and the USA both started with the kind of authority hosts need, while Canada will hope their draw is just a slow start rather than a warning sign. Home advantage is a powerful thing at a World Cup, and on this early evidence, at least two of the host nations intend to use it.

The Shirts of Week One

On the evidence of the opening games, 2026's reputation as a vintage tournament for kit design looks well earned. South Korea's hidden-tiger home was a standout in action, Mexico's Aztec green looked superb on the grand stage of the Azteca, and the USA's distorted stripes carried their statement win in style. Scotland's classic navy, worn for their historic night, proved that an understated, heritage-faithful design can carry as much emotional weight as any bold concept when the moment is right.

It is worth remembering that the shirt of a tournament is often defined less by its design than by the moments it is worn for. Scotland's navy is, this morning, the shirt of one of the great nights in the nation's recent football history, and that is exactly the kind of significance no launch campaign can manufacture. As the tournament unfolds and certain shirts attach themselves to memorable results, our living 2026 World Cup kit tier list will keep tracking how the rankings shift.

Following the Tournament in a Shirt

Nothing makes a World Cup come alive like following it in a shirt, and the opening matchday has already thrown up plenty of nations worth backing. The simplest way to join in is to order the World Cup 2026 mystery box, which delivers one authentic shirt from any of the 48 competing nations at £49.99, with the nation kept a surprise until you open it, and every shirt authenticated before it ships. You might just be handed this tournament's breakout team.

MJK has shipped more than 100,000 boxes to date, and the global supply network spans 53 countries, with all 48 competing nations in the rotation. Around one in seven MJK customers who order during a tournament window tells us they ended up actively following a nation they had never paid attention to before, simply because that nation's shirt arrived in their box, which on the evidence of this opening weekend could be anyone from Scotland to South Korea. To choose a specific nation instead, the full World Cup 2026 shirt collection covers the tournament range.

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