World Cup Surprises and Letdowns: African Nations Put Stamp on Group Stage, Germany, Uruguay and Turkiye Crash Out

By Brian Maurer

Photo courtesy of Cisco's Art/TopBin90

The 2026 World Cup knockout rounds are just two days in, and there have already been several results throughout the tournament that have kept the world buzzing. Surprises from teams and games you may not expect, as well as letdowns from several high-profile nations.

Here's a look at teams that have exceeded their expectations so far, as well as some shocking letdowns:

Surprises

Australia - The Australians came right out of the gate with a shocking 2-0 win against Turkiye in the opener, and their Group Stage was gravy from there. They gave up two goals to USA but kept another clean sheet against Paraguay to secure a surprising second spot in the group, taking advantage of Turkiye's disappointing Group Stage performances.

CAF Teams - Nine of the ten African nations qualified for the Round of 32 (eight remaining after South Africa lost to Canada on Sunday), making a statement for the growth of the game there. Cabo Verde have already made a ton of noise by making the knockout phase in their debut World Cup, and it looks like there is more to come from the African continent. After Morocco's impressive semifinal run in 2022, there are several opportunities for another Cinderella Story run to come from Africa in this World Cup. With Morocco beating the Netherlands last night, there is every reason to believe the African nation ready to make that deep run is the Moroccans running it back.

Ecuador - The Ecuadorians have a strong squad but were on the brink of elimination on the final day before pulling off a shock comeback against Germany. After their 2-1 victory, Ecuador will face host nation Mexico. The Ecuadorians are a strong team, so qualifying for the Round of 32 wasn't unexpected going into the World Cup, but needing a win against the Germans in the final round was a massive and unexpected result for a team that looked set for an early flight home.

Paraguay - I was planning on just keeping this to the Group Stage, but then Germany faced Paraguay's stingy defense yesterday, leading to a national holiday for Paraguayans today. After a gutsy performance against one of the top teams in Europe, it's impossible not to include them on this list, especially given the start they had in this tournament, losing to the USA 4-1 in the opening week.

Letdowns

Uruguay - Uruguay's exit was an absolute collapse in a favorable group which included Saudi Arabia and Cabo Verde; two teams you would expect the South Americans to favor playing. However, they failed to secure three points in either of those contests, which forced them into a must-win matchup against Spain. A goalkeeper gaffe against the Spanish summed up Uruguay's pitiful Group Stage. Even more salt was put in the wound for the players as the Uruguayan Football Association canceled the team's charter flight, forcing everyone to find their own commercial flights home.

South Korea - South Korea had what looked to be a favorable final Group Stage opponent in South Africa, who had struggled through two games. However, Korea was shut out for the second game in a row, and dropped out of the third-place qualifiers after several other teams like Paraguay and Ecuador earned results. The Koreans were so surprised by this late collapse that their President, Lee Jae Myung, announced an investigation into how this happened.

Turkiye - Turkiye were considered a close favorite with the USA to win Group D, but instead they lost to Australia and Paraguay, and were eliminated before the Third Round even started. Truly one of the most surprising performances in the Group Stage, given that several of their players play for some of the biggest clubs in the world. Turkiye finally showed their quality against a rotated US squad in a meaningless Round 3 game where the United States had already clinched the group.

Germany - As I mentioned earlier, the plan was to only include Group Stage exits here, but then Germany fell woefully short of their expectations yet again. The Germans have now failed to win a knockout round match since 2014, when they beat Argentina to hoist the World Cup trophy. Comparisons to Italy could be made in the future if Germany can't turn things around in the next cycle. One could say it is not similar, as the Italians have failed to qualify for three straight cycles, but either way, both European nations are falling well short of their Championship standards set by generations past.