More pre-World Cup friendlies to dissect now as we review wins for Argentina, Brazil, Curacao and Turkiye.

The latter three teams and Egypt, who Brazil beat, were contesting their final kickabouts before the meaningful action gets underway, so there were some notable takeaways for Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 managers ahead of Round 1.

• READ MORE: World Cup friendly notes – part 1: De Cuyper a sub + $3.6m Gunn starts
• READ MORE: World Cup friendly notes – part 2: Raum a sub again + two Havertz returns

You can find Opta data from three of these friendlies (Opta didn’t cover the behind-closed-doors Curacao game) in our Members Area, via the links below:

BRAZIL 2-1 EGYPT

• Goals: Guimaraes, Endrick | Ziko
• Assist: Raphinha

• Firstly, formation is a big headache for Brazil at the moment. They genuinely don’t seem to know or have a favoured set-up, with even Ancelotti expressing concern over formation and the 4-2-4 he is persevering with. It’s also a case of trying to find the best positions for his star players and attempting to cram as many in as he can.
• Possession was pretty level but Brazil did comfortably better Egypt on big chances (5-1) and shots in the box (12-1).
• Alisson started in goal, behind a backline of Douglas Santos, Marquinhos, Ibanez and Wesley. Gabriel wasn’t in the squad after the recent Champions League final, hence Ibanez starting.
• Wesley got injured very early in the game, so he’s now a major doubt moving forward. The right-back will have a scan today. Danilo came in to cover Wesley at full-back early on.
• Casemiro, Bruno G and Paqueta all made the cut, although the consensus is that the latter is more at risk if and when the formation changes. Raphinha, Vini and also Thiago started this one. Again, it’s the latter that is way more at risk in terms of minutes.
• Paqueta and Thiago, whilst lively, didn’t help their cause. The latter missed a big chance.
• Raphinha claimed the assist for substitute Endrick‘s goal, created two chances (both of them Opta-defined ‘big’ ones) and had two shots on goal. Drifting into some central positions and playing on the same side as Vini, the Barcelona man was one of their best performers. Vini missed two big chances of his own.
• Henrique, Cunha and Endrick came on in the second half in the 4-2-4 and looked threatening. It’s a formation that could well come unstuck against the top teams, however, and we’ll likely see tweaks to it throughout the tournament.
• Egypt have been defensively sound of late but they did concede a high number of shots here. They at least held themselves well in possession.
• Shobeir looks to have secured the number one spot for now (some doubts still linger), but it was a strong backline of Fetouh, Fathy, Ibrahim and Hany. Central midfield was as expected, featuring Attia and Lasheen, while further forward we saw Trezeguet (left wing), Marmoush (up front), Ziko (number 10) and Hassan (right wing). Hassan is a placeholder for Salah, who came on in the second half. Ashour, who we’d expect in the 10, did come on after the break, although Ziko did his case no harm with a goal. Marmoush and Trezeguet did little, with Salah and Ashour not offering much either.

Venezuela 1-2 TURKIYE

• Goals: Yilmaz, Akhgun
• Assist: Guler

• Turkiye edged possession, and outdid Venezuela on big chances (2 v 1), shots (16 v 9), efforts in the box (10 v 2) and attempts on target (8 v 2).
• Cakir started the game and cemented his place between the sticks. Elmali started at left-back, with Kadioglu still not ready – which is a concern. Bardakci and Kabak were at centre-half, so no shocks there. Demiral will have to fight his way in. Celik was also at right-back.
• Yuksek and Kokcu lined up in central midfield, with Calhanoglu coming in for 20-ish minutes. It’s a bit concerning that he’s not played much game time, pre-World Cup.
• Yilmaz was on the left, rather than the opposite flank, as Yildiz continues to recover from his recent injury. Kahveci and Gul played in attack, too, although their presence in the starting XI going forward is doubtful. Guler also started and played an hour.
• The big one is that Akturkoglu is back. He featured up front for 30-ish minutes.
• Yilmaz, who will be crucial due to injuries elsewhere, was good. He scored and had four shots. Guler was very creative as usual: an assist and four key passes, but he also had two attempts on goal, one hitting the woodwork.
• Concerns linger over their key players and their readiness: Kadioglu, Akturkoglu (who is just back), Yildiz and Calhan.

ARGENTINA 2-0 Honduras

• Goals: La Martinez (pen), Simeone
• Assists: La Martinez

• It was comfortable for Argentina in their first friendly since April. They had 72% possession and 20 shots to Honduras’ four. The opposition didn’t have a single effort on target.
• Musso started in goal, as E Martinez had a small finger fracture and was apparently a cameraman during the game! How very Martinez of him…
• Tagliafico was at left-back, with Lisandro Martinez and Otamendi at centre-half. We could see rotation among the centre-backs due to the strength in depth in the coming days. Giay started ahead of Molina, who is training separately along with Paz.
• Barco and Palacios were in central midfield, ahead of Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez, who both featured in the second half. De Paul also only emerged after the interval, so it was Simeone and Lo Celso flanking Almada and Lautaro Martinez in attack.
• Messi got a full rest on the bench. Julian Alvarez was absent, amid suggestions that he has a ligament injury and not a sprain, but Scaloni swiftly put those rumours to bed after the game, saying the striker and Paz are fine.
• Simeone caught the eye with five key passes and three shots, while Lautaro Martinez scored a penalty in the absence of Messi and also registered an assist.
• While it was a decent performance considering the number of key players missing, fitness and managed minutes are a concern as we approach the tournament. Wednesday’s friendly against Iceland may assuage some of those fears.

CURACAO 4-0 Aruba

• Goals: J Bacuna, Antoinisse, Comenencia, Brenet

• There was not just a huge lack of data on this one but also conflicting line-up information, which was unusual.
• It was a good bounce back for Curacao after losing to Scotland but it was against Aruba, who are a very poor national side and ranked 189th in the world! Very little can be taken from this match, then.
• Set-piece man Juninho Bacuna, who has been crucial to the Curacao attack recently, was on the scoresheet.
• Recent showings against Scotland, Australia and China (not exactly international heavyweights themselves) are red flags, and Curacao will likely concede a lot of goals in the upcoming World Cup.