France stayed atop the 2026 World Cup best teams after a 3-0 win over Iraq on day 14, and Kylian Mbappe scored twice again to keep the move at the top of The Athletic’s rankings. The result also sent France into the knockouts, with one more group game left to settle first place.
Mbappe and Olise drive France
Mbappe’s two goals gave him back-to-back matches with a brace, while Michael Olise supplied two assists from his No 10 role. France turned that into a clean result and kept its ranking edge on a day when the opening phase began to tighten.
Deschamps will miss the game against Norway after the death of his mother, and he is expected to return for the knockouts. France still has a direct path to the group top spot on Friday, and the performance against Iraq gave the team a second straight match with a decisive finishing edge.
Day 14 reshapes Group E
Six nations played their final group matches on day 14, and the day closed with Qatar and the Czech Republic eliminated. Morocco, Canada, Switzerland and South Africa secured their places in the knockouts, tightening the list of teams still chasing the eight best third-placed teams.
Germany also moved through after beating the Ivory Coast 2-1, with Deniz Undav scoring twice off the bench. That progression came at the top of Group E, and it added another team to the group of sides that can now shift from survival mode to the knockout bracket.
Brazil and Scotland
Brazil’s 3-0 win over Scotland carried its own complication. Scotland are left hoping to advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams despite the loss, which leaves Steve Clark’s side waiting on the rest of the opening phase while Brazil keeps its momentum after Vinicius Junior scored twice.
Vinicius Junior has four goals at this World Cup, and Brazil’s result sat alongside France’s as part of the day’s cleaner margins. The re-ranking is not just about who won; it is about who kept winning, who scored in bursts, and who turned a group match into a path into knockouts.
Can Scotland still qualify as one of the eight best third-placed teams after the 3-0 loss to Brazil? That is the next pressure point in a day that already removed two teams and pushed four others into the knockouts.
