Tunisia Joins Haiti and Türkiye in Shock Early Elimination
2026 World Cup Group Stage: Tunisia Joins Haiti and Türkiye in Shock Early Elimination
The group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America has turned into a nightmare for several ambitious nations. Following the conclusion of the second round of group matches, the number of teams mathematically eliminated before the final fixtures has risen to three. Following Haiti in Group C and Türkiye in Group D, Tunisia has become the latest team to crash out of the tournament without securing a single point.
Heartbreak for Türkiye: Historic Stats but Zero Points
Returning to the World Cup stage after a 24-year hiatus with high expectations, the Turkish National Team suffered a 2-0 defeat against Australia in their opening match. Entering their second fixture with a must-win mentality, the Crescent-Stars fell to a bitter 1-0 loss against Paraguay, bringing an abrupt end to their World Cup journey.
Despite the early exit, the team left behind an extraordinary statistical footprint. Türkiye registered a staggering 62 total shot attempts without scoring a single goal across both matches. This marks the highest number of shots taken in a two-game span without finding the back of the net in World Cup history since 1966. Dominating the pitch with 63% possession against Australia and a massive 79% against Paraguay, the Turkish side heads into their final group match with 0 points and 0 goals, leaving fans devastated.
Haiti and Tunisia Fail to Stand Ground
The Caribbean representatives, Haiti, were the very first team to be sent packing from the tournament. Competing in Group C, they suffered a narrow 1-1 opening loss to Scotland, followed by a heavy 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil, eliminating them from knockout contention with one game to spare.
A nearly identical script unfolded for Tunisia in Group F. After being dismantled 5-1 by Sweden in their opener, the African nation collapsed to a 4-0 defeat against Japan in their second test. Having conceded 9 goals and collected zero points in two matches, Tunisia officially became the third country to book an early ticket home.
New Format Leaves No Room for Error
In this newly expanded 48-team tournament format, the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, advance to the Round of 32. However, due to head-to-head tiebreakers and zero-point starts, the final group stage matches for Haiti, Türkiye, and Tunisia will now be nothing more than a matter of pride.