The opening round is done, and now the tournament really gets going. Groups E through H take the field June 14 and 15, and they pack in some genuinely fun storylines: Germany chasing a deep run, Spain looking ruthless, Japan and the Netherlands trading punches, and a couple of debutants with nothing to lose.
For XT Exchange users, every one of those match days is also a fresh slate of potential prediction markets on XPredict, where Yes/No shares settle at $1.00 or $0.00. Here is the rundown of all four groups, the fixtures that matter, and how the results might ripple through the markets. As always, check what is actually live on XPredict before you trade anything.

New to this? The idea is refreshingly simple:
Want the full walkthrough? See the Group A–D opening-day article.
The four groups in this batch were locked in at the December 5, 2025 final draw. Here is the lay of the land, with approximate November 2025 FIFA rankings for context:
| Group | Teams (with FIFA rank) |
|---|---|
| E | Germany (9), Ecuador (23), Côte d’Ivoire (42), Curaçao (82) |
| F | Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia |
| G | Belgium, Egypt, IR Iran, New Zealand |
| H | Spain (2), Uruguay, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia |
One thing to keep in the back of your mind for every group below: the 48-team format means the top two go through automatically, and the eight best third-place teams tag along too. Translation: a single bad result rarely ends anyone’s tournament, and that changes how the markets behave.
Germany rolls in as a four-time world champion and the clear favorite, but this group has more texture than the rankings suggest. Ecuador is a stubborn, well-organized side, Côte d’Ivoire is back on the big stage, and Curaçao is here for its first World Cup ever, the lowest-ranked team in the entire draw and absolutely nobody’s idea of a quiet guest.
The fixtures set up nicely. Germany opens against Curaçao (June 14) while Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador square off the same day in what might be the real fight for second. Then comes the one with history: Ecuador vs Germany on June 25. The last time these two met at a World Cup, Germany won 3–0 in the 2006 group stage, so Ecuador will fancy a measure of revenge with a knockout spot potentially on the line.
In the markets: because third place can still advance, watch how steady the advancement prices stay even after a loss. A team can drop a game and barely move, which is a very different rhythm from the old win-or-go-home math. Expect markets for match outcomes, the group winner, and individual team advancement, subject to what is live.
This might be the most evenly matched group of the bunch. The Netherlands brings the pedigree, Japan brings arguably the most consistent recent tournament form of any side here, and Sweden and Tunisia are both perfectly capable of wrecking someone’s plans. No runaway favorite, no gimme fixtures.
It starts with a bang: Netherlands vs Japan on June 14 is a legitimate marquee opener, with Sweden vs Tunisia alongside it. The group then winds through Netherlands vs Sweden and closes with Tunisia vs Netherlands and Japan vs Sweden on June 25, the kind of final-day setup where everything can still be in play.
In the markets: groups without a clear favorite tend to produce the liveliest price action. When several teams are priced close together to advance, a single result can send shares swinging. Look for match-outcome, group-winner, and team advancement markets where prices may stay bunched until someone breaks clear.
Belgium is the headline act in Group G, but Egypt and IR Iran both have the experience to make life difficult, and New Zealand would love to play spoiler. These middle-group games can slip under the radar, right up until one result flips the whole table.
The schedule runs Belgium vs Egypt and IR Iran vs New Zealand on June 15, then Belgium vs IR Iran on June 21, and wraps with New Zealand vs Belgium and Egypt vs IR Iran on June 26. Plenty of room for a twist.
It helps to think in scenarios:
In the markets: outcome and advancement markets where one surprise can cascade across several contracts at once.
Spain arrives as the reigning European champion and one of the genuine tournament favorites, so the more interesting question is usually who grabs second. Uruguay has the grit and the know-how, while Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia will look to make the most of every chance.
Spain opens against Cabo Verde on June 15, with Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay the same day. The closing fixtures, Uruguay vs Spain and Cabo Verde vs Saudi Arabia on June 26, could decide second place and the third-place math in one evening.
And by the time Group H plays, that third-place math is everything:
In the markets: the group winner, the race for second, and advancement markets, plus how Spain’s expected dominance reprices everything beneath it.
No result lives in a vacuum. As these groups play out, the broader markets on XPredict can move right along with them:
Watching one goal move five different prices is honestly one of the most educational parts of following prediction markets.
The basic flow looks like this:
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