DR Congo fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga Photograph: Eloisa Sanchez/Reuters As the World Cup enters the knockout rounds, we take a look at the creativity and emotion shown by fans in the group stage By Steven Bloor The 2026 World Cup has set a new all-time attendance record for the men’s tournament, surpassing the previous record of 3,587,538 set during the 1994 World Cup – and the group stages have only just ended.
As ever, fans have brought colour and fun to the tournament – from Mexico’s duck mascot to Norway’s Viking rowers, with plenty more in between.
Here are a selection of our favourite images of fans at the matches and at watch parties across the globe.
Group A (below): Czechia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea Group B (below): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland Group C (below): Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland Group D (below): Australia, Paraguay, Turkey, United States Group E (below): Côte d’Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Germany Group F (below): Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Tunisia Group G (below): Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand Group H (below): Cape Verda, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Uruguay Group I (below): France, Iraq, Norway, Senegal Group J (below): Algeria, Austria, Argentina, Jordan Group K (below): Colombia, DR Congo, Portugal, Uzebkistan Group L (below): Croatia, England, Ghana, Panama Photographs: AP; AFP/Getty Images; EPA; Fifa/Getty Images; Getty Images; Reuters Explore more on these topicsWorld Cup 2026 World Cup Photography features Share Reuse this content
