More pre-World Cup friendlies to dissect now as we review the games involving Argentina, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, DR Congo and Iraq.
All five of these teams 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.
You can find Opta data from three of these friendlies (Opta didn’t cover the Iraq game) in our Members Area, via the links below:
ARGENTINA 3-0 Iceland
- Goals: Barco, Messi (pen), Almada
- Assist: De Paul
- A strong performance from Argentina: three goals, a clean sheet, 2.48 xG, 63% possession, 15 attempts on goal and five big chances. They did, however, ship 1.48 xGC and two big chances to Iceland.
- Rulli started in goal but E Martinez should come straight in when his finger recovers.
- Medina started at left-back, as Tagliafico was rested with fatigue. Li Martinez and Otamendi started at centre-half but Molina wasn’t risked from the bench, so Giay started again instead.
- Palacios, Lo Celso and Barco were joined by Simeone again, so lots of regulars were missing in midfield. Enzo, Mac Allister and De Paul came on in the second half.
- Paz actually started the game, and was eventually replaced after 58 minutes. Almada came on for the final 30+ mins. This clearly wasn’t the first team, as Lautaro and Messi only emerged as substitutes. Alvarez didn’t feature from the bench.
- It’s been a well-managed squad before the World Cup, with regards to gametime. It’s good to see Paz and Messi get minutes, along with Molina and Alvarez making the bench. They had all been recent fitness concerns.
- Paz had four attempts on goal, while Mac Allister was busy off the bench: three shots, one effort hitting the woodwork, one big chance missed and one big chance created. Lautaro hit the woodwork, too, and missed a big chance. Almada and Messi (from the spot) both scored from the bench but didn’t do much outside of that.
SENEGAL 0-0 SAUDI ARABIA
- A mixed bag for Senegal. Whilst they dominated possession (59% to 41%), and had more corners (3 v 1), they produced no big chances at all, created less xG (0.41 v 1.13) and had fewer shots (7 v 9).
- The backline was as expected: Mendy in goal behind a rearguard of Diouf, M Sarr, Niakhate and Diatta. Jakobs replaced Diouf at half-time and there maybe could be some rotation coming up in that position. Koulibaly is back, and played minutes towards the end of the game. He should be fit to start, to replace M Sarr.
- Ciss and Camara played central midfield, so Senegal were weakened there with P Sarr and Gana Gueye featuring off the bench. Diarra was the only key starter in midfield.
- Mane and I Ndiaye were on the flanks as expected but C Ndiaye was up front, rather than Jackson. The former Chelsea man came on, received two yellow cards and got sent off after minutes of being on the pitch! I Sarr featured for around 30 minutes and should start usually.
- Mane hit the post and created a key pass but both Ndiayes struggled to make an impact. Sarr failed to do much from the bench, outside of his shot on target.
- Senegal didn’t start with key players, who probably would have made a difference, so it’s difficult to gauge this performance.
- We saw rotation from Saudi Arabia again, which is no surprise.
- Al-Owais came in to play in goal and should start. Al-Harbi, Al-Tambakti, Al-Amri and Abdulhamid started, and that appears to be their first-team backline now.
- N Al-Dawsari played midfield as expected, while Al-Khaibari joined him and Kanno did feature. There is some lingering doubt in midfield.
- S Al-Dawsari was, of course, on the left, with Al-Shamat on the right. Al-Ghannam did feature, though. Al-Buraikan, of course, led the attack.
- S Al-Dawsari starred as usual, with two big chances created. Al-Juwayr had three shots on goal, missed a big chance and made one key pass.
DR CONGO 1-2 Chile
- Goal: Kayembe
- Assist: Cipenga
- DR Congo lost but did outshoot their opponents (10 v 6). Neither side produced a big chance, so that’s now just one big chance created for the Leopards in the last two matches.
- It was a back four for DR Congo, different from the back five they tried out previously.
- Mpasi started in goal as we’d expect, while Wan-Bissaka, Mbemba, Tuanzebe and Kayembe were ahead of them. Masuaku may replace Kayembe for Round 1, but there is some doubt there, especially as Kayembe scored.
- Sadiki, Moutoussamy and Mukau started in midfield, which wasn’t a surprise.
- Mbuku started on the left wing, Bongonda on the right and Wissa led the attack.
- Key players Elia and Bakambu both came on in the second half.
- Mbuku and Bongonga both had one attempt on goal, but Wissa couldn’t make an impact at all. Bakambu had a shot on target and created a key pass; he should be starting, really.
- DR Congo still seem to be trying to find their best attack. They didn’t have Wissa in the recent AFCON campaign, so he’s thrown a spanner in the works.
IRAQ 0-2 Venezuela
- Iraq were dominated in terms of possession (42% – 58%) but the game was level for attempts on goal (10 v 10) and both nations had five shots on target.
- Iraq arguably got lucky against Spain’s B team last time out, and that luck finally ran out. The 70-minute red card for Ali Yossif didn’t help them, either, but they were already 2-0 down by that point. Hassan got a run-out after being replaced by Basil in goal last time out.
- Only right-back H Ali kept his place from the draw v Spain, so lots of rotation from them at the back. This was a mostly B-team backline, which maybe explains their display in defence.
- Central midfield was also rotated. Striker Hussein came in for this one but the rest of the attack weren’t regulars. Key players came on in the second half, but Ali Jasim was fully rested.
- The result can perhaps be explained by the lack of key players in from the start, mixed with the red card. But that’s quite a lot of rotation with the World Cup closing in; it’s difficult to see how much this friendly helped them.
