After 104 matches, more than 300 goals scored and over 6,240 minutes of football played, the 2026 World Cup has come to an end. We will all remember the most exciting and dramatic moments: Mbappé’s record of 22 goals scored at World Cups, Messi’s two hat-tricks, numerous controversial refereeing decisions and Norway’s epic run.

Of course, there were many more surprises and beautiful moments along the way, but that is a story for another article. What we will focus on in this piece are the teams that failed to meet the expectations set before the tournament began — whether they underperformed in terms of results or tactically. The list follows the order of the groups at this World Cup, which means we begin with Group A.

1) South Korea

A team placed in Group A, South Korea were widely expected by many analysts and fans to progress to the knockout stage. They were drawn alongside one of the hosts, Mexico, 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa, and Czechia, who reached the tournament through the European play-offs. South Korea qualified for the World Cup as winners of their qualifying group with 22 points, finishing ahead of second-placed Jordan, who had 16. The average age of the “Asian Tigers” squad was 27.46, placing them 25th among all teams at the tournament. Their most valuable player remained national legend Son Heung-min, who currently plays for Los Angeles FC. Korea finished their World Cup campaign third in the group with three points, earned in their opening 2-1 win over Czechia.

After that came the match against hosts Mexico, where a mistake by goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu cost them in a 1-0 defeat. The decisive match against South Africa followed, where a win would have almost certainly taken Korea through. Instead, the “Tigers” lost 1-0, with Bafana Bafana scoring from their only real chance of the game. South Korea eventually finished 10th in the ranking of third-placed teams and were eliminated from the tournament.

Korea were certainly not helped by the scandal involving the players and Korean journalists, after an alleged recording leaked in which members of the Korean media were heard mocking national team star Son. As a result, the players reportedly decided to boycott the media. This promising team should have done more — and, in truth, had to do more. Most of the squad were at or near the peak of their careers and form, and that should have been used to far greater effect. Son has most likely played his final World Cup, which makes this failure even more painful. It is especially disappointing considering that Korea reached the knockout stage in 2022 and competed strongly in 2018 despite being drawn into much tougher groups featuring teams such as Portugal, Germany and Uruguay.

At this tournament, South Korea produced only 32 shots, scored just three goals and recorded an expected goals tally of 3.38, placing them in the lower part of the overall attacking rankings. The final act of their collapse came on 28 June, when head coach Hong Myung-bo resigned. South Korea are a national team with talent and the ability to play fast, attractive football. However, at this World Cup, they lacked the bravery and tactical preparation needed to achieve a bigger result.

2) Turkey

Tipped by many as one of the dark horses of the tournament, Turkey arrived at the World Cup through the European play-offs, where they defeated Kosovo in the final knockout match. The Crescent-Stars had last appeared at a World Cup in 2002, when they finished third. For that reason, the entire Turkish nation was excited and had high expectations ahead of their team’s return to the global stage. Turkey were placed in Group D alongside hosts the United States, Australia and Paraguay, who were making their return to the World Cup. They opened their campaign against Australia, producing an incredible 30 shots on goal, but they failed to make them count and eventually lost the match 2-0.

The same pattern of creating plenty of chances but failing to finish them continued in the next match against Paraguay. The South American side took advantage of the only real opportunity they managed to create against the Turkish goal and took an early lead. Turkey, just like in the previous match, once again registered 30 shots, but without any reward. With that defeat, Turkey became the first national team to be eliminated from the tournament.

Their final match, effectively a dead rubber, came against hosts the United States, where the result was no longer important for either side. In the end, Turkey won the game and picked up their only points of the tournament. Turkey were held back by inexperience and a lack of efficiency in front of goal — problems that often come from not playing regularly at major tournaments. In the end, they disappointed a large part of the football public, and it remains a shame that they failed to take advantage of the opportunities that were there for them.

3) Tunisia

The “African Eagles” arrived at the World Cup after finishing top of their qualifying group with an impressive 28 points. Tunisia were placed in Group F alongside 2010 World Cup finalists the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden, who reached the tournament through the play-offs thanks to their Nations League results. The Eagles had every right to believe they could progress from the group. Sweden arrived at the tournament after collecting only two points in qualifying and reached the World Cup through the play-offs after a penalty shootout. The Netherlands and Japan, meanwhile, were teams with greater international pedigree, but Tunisia have often shown that they are capable of surprising bigger nations at World Cups.

What happened was the complete opposite. Tunisia finished with zero points and a goal difference of -10, placing them among the weakest teams at the tournament. They scored only two goals, with centre-back Omar Rekik and striker Hazem Mastouri finding the net in defeats against Sweden and the Netherlands. Tunisia also became the first national team to sack their head coach during the tournament, following their opening defeat to Sweden. Sabri Lamouchi was dismissed, while Hervé Renard, a proven name in African football, was appointed as the new manager. In the end, however, the result was what it was. After the final match against the Netherlands, experienced defender Ali Abdi pointed to problems within the team and the federation itself, expressing dissatisfaction and concern about the future of Tunisian football. It was precisely the defensive side of the game that proved to be Tunisia’s biggest weakness. Disorganisation and too many individual mistakes are issues they must eliminate from their game.

One of the few positives Tunisia can take from this World Cup is Hannibal Mejbri, the young Burnley midfielder who produced a very solid tournament. It is now up to Tunisia to capitalize on finding talents like him and build the right balance between young and experienced players — one that can help this national team secure future appearances at the World Cup.

4) Uruguay

One of the biggest disappointments of the tournament was Uruguay. A team with a strong footballing identity, a world-class midfield and several players competing at the highest level in Europe, La Celeste arrived at the World Cup with expectations of at least reaching the knockout stage. Instead, they left the tournament after the group phase. Uruguay were placed in Group H alongside Spain, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. On paper, it was a demanding group, but still one in which Marcelo Bielsa’s side were expected to progress. With players such as Federico Valverde, Ronald Araújo, Darwin Núñez, Manuel Ugarte and Rodrigo Bentancur, Uruguay had enough quality to compete with anyone in the group.

Their tournament started with a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia — a result that immediately put pressure on the team. Uruguay had more individual quality, but they lacked rhythm, control and sharpness in the final third. The same problems continued in the second match against Cape Verde. In a game they simply had to win, Uruguay twice found themselves in trouble and eventually drew 2-2 against one of the tournament’s biggest underdog stories. That result meant that everything came down to the final group match against Spain. Uruguay needed a positive result, but once again failed to produce enough in attack. A narrow 1-0 defeat against La Roja confirmed their elimination and turned a promising campaign into one of the most frustrating stories of the World Cup.

The biggest issue for Uruguay was not a lack of talent, but a lack of efficiency and balance. Bielsa’s team often looked intense and aggressive, but not always composed. They struggled to turn possession and pressure into clear chances, while defensively they were too vulnerable in key moments. For a team built around physicality, pressing and vertical football, Uruguay too often looked predictable. This was supposed to be the tournament where Uruguay’s new generation confirmed itself on the biggest stage. Instead, it became another reminder that names alone are not enough. Valverde, Araújo, Ugarte and Núñez still give La Celeste a strong foundation for the future, but this World Cup will be remembered as a missed opportunityon ne in which Uruguay had the quality to do much more, but never truly found their identity.

5) Portugal

Portugal were not a complete failure at this World Cup, but for a squad of their quality, a round-of-16 exit can only be seen as a disappointment. Roberto Martínez’s side arrived at the tournament with one of the deepest squads in world football, full of technical quality, experience and attacking options. With players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão, Vitinha, João Cancelo and Diogo Costa, expectations were naturally much higher than simply reaching the second knockout round.

Portugal were placed in Group K alongside Colombia, DR Congo and Uzbekistan. On paper, it was a group they were expected to control, yet their performances were never fully convincing. They progressed as runners-up, but the feeling around the team was that they had not found their best rhythm. Too often, Portugal looked like a team with plenty of individual quality but without a clear attacking identity. Their round-of-32 match against Croatia gave them a brief moment of relief. Portugal won 2-1 in a dramatic match, with Gonçalo Ramos scoring a stoppage-time winner to send them into the last 16. However, even that victory showed many of their problems. They had moments of quality, but also long periods where they lacked control and allowed Croatia to stay in the game.

Those issues became even more visible against Spain in the round of 16. In one of the biggest matches of the knockout stage, Portugal lost 1-0 and once again struggled to create enough clear chances. Against a technically superior and tactically more balanced Spanish side, Portugal looked disconnected, predictable and too dependent on individual moments. The biggest disappointment was that Portugal never truly managed to bring all of their attacking talent together. On paper, they had enough creativity, pace and experience to challenge almost anyone. In reality, their tournament was defined by inconsistency, slow attacking play and a lack of sharpness in the final third.

Read more: How Spain ended Portugal’s hope of going into the next round

This was also almost certainly Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup, which makes the exit even more symbolic. Portugal have a generation talented enough to compete for major trophies, but this tournament felt like a missed opportunity. The quality was there, the names were there, but the performances never reached the level required for a serious title run.