2026 World Cup: Japan and Morocco Demonstrate Their Class, While Belgium and Uruguay Have Yet to Find Their Rhythm

Sentul, Bogor – The competitive landscape of the 2026 World Cup has begun to take shape after most participating nations completed their first two group stage matches. Notably, public attention is not only focused on the pre-tournament top favourites, but also on teams that have performed far beyond initial expectations.

These latest tournament developments became the core topic on the ITSMe World Cup analysis podcast, hosted by Gilang Respaty and Yatna from ITSMe Studio, Sentul, Bogor. Joined by football observers Ronny Pangemanan and Haris Pardede (known as Bung Harpa), the discussion broke down the overperforming sides, alongside major football nations that are still struggling to find consistent form ahead of the knockout rounds.

Japan has emerged as one of the most impressive teams so far. The Blue Samurai opened their tournament with a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, before securing a dominant 4-0 victory over Tunisia. This win was achieved even without Takefusa Kubo, who is sidelined due to injury.

Kubo's absence has instead highlighted the impressive squad depth of Japan. Ayase Ueda scored a brace against Tunisia, while Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito each contributed a goal. Hajime Moriyasu's side once again demonstrated their trademarks: well-structured gameplay, strict discipline, and the ability to maintain performance standards even when rotating players.

The Netherlands also delivered a strong response following their opening draw with Japan. Oranje bounced back with a convincing 5-1 win over Sweden. According to the podcast guests, Sweden left themselves far too exposed defensively, which gave the Netherlands space to build their attacks and maximise the quality of their forward line.

In Group C, Morocco proved once again that their 2022 World Cup semi-final run was not a fluke. The Atlas Lions held Brazil to a 1-1 draw in their opening match, before securing a narrow 1-0 win against Scotland. Their core strengths remain unchanged: solid defence, tactical discipline, and sharp fast-transition attacking play.

While Brazil did bounce back with a 3-0 victory over Haiti, the performance of Carlo Ancelotti's side has not fully erased doubts over their credentials as genuine title contenders. Their final group stage match will remain critical to confirm their standings position.

Meanwhile, Mexico became one of the first teams to officially secure their knockout round ticket. As the host nation, El Tri put in efficient performances and successfully handled the heavy pressure of high public expectations. South Korea, despite suffering a narrow defeat, is still considered to have strong chances of qualifying alongside Mexico.

On the other end, Turkey stands as one of the tournament's biggest disappointments. Back-to-back defeats against Australia and Paraguay eliminated them early, despite being tipped as a potential dark horse before the tournament kicked off. Australia themselves earned praise for their disciplined defensive game plan and clinical execution on counter attacks.

Another surprise came from Cape Verde. The African nation earned draws against both Spain and Uruguay, two sides widely regarded as far superior on paper. This run of results has made Cape Verde one of the most inspiring stories of the group stage, proving that collective spirit can still overcome gaps in individual player quality.

Uruguay meanwhile remains a major uncertainty. Following draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, they face enormous pressure heading into their final group match against Spain. According to Ronny Pangemanan and Bung Harpa, Uruguay are yet to translate the individual quality of their players into consistent collective performances.

Belgium finds themselves in a very similar situation. The new generation of Belgian players have so far failed to match the standards of the country's Golden Generation from previous years. The Red Devils only managed draws against Egypt and Iran, leaving their qualification status far from secure.

Egypt instead captured public attention after claiming the first ever World Cup finals victory in their national history. The side nicknamed the Pharaohs came from behind to beat New Zealand 3-1, keeping their qualification chances for the knockout round alive.

Iran also received appreciation from the podcast guests for showing immense mental fortitude and high competitiveness, despite the numerous challenges that surrounded their journey to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Their draw against Belgium proved that Iran can still hold their own against traditionally higher-ranked nations.

As stated by Ronny Pangemanan and Bung Harpa, the first two group stage matches showed that the quality gap between national teams has narrowed significantly. Japan and Morocco became clear examples of how structured organisation, tactical discipline and collective strength can compete with, and even outperform, teams stacked with higher profile individual players.

With one final group stage match remaining, the battle for knockout round spots remains wide open. As it stands, Japan and Morocco are unquestionably the two standout teams that have captured the most attention so far, while Belgium, Uruguay and a number of other traditional football powers will still need to prove themselves before entering the decisive knockout phase of the 2026 World Cup.