What we learned after the first round of World Cup 2026 games

 

Messi's still got it

Lionel Messi's World Cup odyssey appeared to reach its perfect climax in Qatar four years ago when he lifted the trophy. Or so we thought.

As his 39th birthday approaches, Argentina’s captain could not resist one last crack at football's biggest prize and he produced a memorable hat-trick in Kansas City.

Messi's goals against Algeria – two thunderous strikes and a poacher's finish – took him level with Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup record of 16 goals. France forward Kylian Mbappé is two goals behind.

"In the end, it's just a statistic and nothing more," a delighted Messi said.

No set of numbers can adequately sum up Messi's genius, but they help tell the story of a man who continues to dazzle on the global stage. 

Against Austria on Monday, he has the chance to claim the record outright, further strengthening his case as the greatest player the game has ever seen.

 

Toothless Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage in Portugal's opening match against the Democratic Republic of Congo after three of football's biggest stars lit up the first round of matches.

Mbappé, England’s Harry Kane and Norway’s Erling Haaland both scored twice as the race for the Golden Boot got off to a flying start, though Messi outshone them all with a hat-trick. 

Saudi-based Ronaldo, however, was largely a bystander in the first match of his sixth World Cup as Portugal laboured to a 1-1 draw in Houston.

The 41-year-old's 25 touches were his fewest in a game at a major tournament for Portugal when playing the full match. Ronaldo, who is closing in on 1,000 career goals for club and country, has now gone 10 consecutive games at major tournaments without finding the net.

Coach Roberto Martínez faces an unenviable decision over whether to drop a player who has enjoyed one of the most remarkable careers in the history of the game.

 

Cape Verde make case for 48-team tournament

Cape Verde goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias, better known as Vozinha, breaking down in tears as he was embraced by his team-mates was one of the defining images of the opening round as the archipelago of just over 500,000 people shut down European champions Spain in a goalless draw.

La Roja were expected to stroll to victory in Atlanta but came up against the inspired 40-year-old keeper and a nation determined to make a mark on their World Cup debut.

In doing so Cape Verde also landed a blow to critics of the expanded 48-team tournament, including UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin who claimed the format would lead to "completely uninteresting" matches.

Vozinha's heroics made him an instant social media sensation. From having 50,000 Instagram followers before the match, he now has nearly 13 million.

Colombia fly the flag for region as others stutter

Colombia winger Luis Díaz pulling the strings in Mexico City was the highlight of an otherwise testing opening round for South America's powerhouse nations – Los Cafeteros claimed early control of Group K with a commanding 3–1 victory over debutants Uzbekistan.  

The performance from Díaz, who hit the post and set up Daniel Muñoz's opener before securing the win himself, provided a stark contrast to the frustrations experienced by the continent's traditional giants. 

Five-time champions Brazil looked undercooked in a tight 1–1 draw by a resilient Morocco, while Uruguay similarly struggled to find a cutting edge against Saudi Arabia and could only manage a score draw.

With Paraguay slipping to a heavy 4-1 defeat against the United States and Ecuador losing their opener in injury time after a late Côte d'Ivoire winner, the South American outlook isn’t great aside from Argentina.

British teams bag wins

England launched their World Cup bid with a rollercoaster 4-2 win against Croatia on Wednesday in an enthralling Group L game at the Texas home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team. 

Kane scored twice before goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford made the game safe as England began their bid to end a 60-year wait for a major trophy. 

England’s win was a second boost for Britain after Scotland’s 1-0 win last Saturday over Haiti. A tight game was decided by John McGinn’s goal, which was enjoyed by a boisterous 64,000-capacity crowd at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, near Boston.

The tough Massachusetts city has become a beloved second home for many travelling Scots ahead of the team’s second match against Morocco, with more than 50,000 fans now thought to be in Boston for the game.

Scotland's famously good-natured travelling supporters – affectionately known as “The Tartan Army” for their kilts – were a welcome feature of many major tournaments towards the end of the last century, but this is the first World Cup the side have qualified for since 1998.

It looks like the Tartan Army is determined not to miss out on the fun this time around.

Full stadiums despite costly tickets

The sight of Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, which hosted the Super Bowl this year, packed to near-capacity for the meeting of Austria and Jordan on Tuesday – perhaps not the most glamorous fixture – proved that high ticket prices are not putting off spectators at this World Cup.

FIFA said the official attendance of 68,527 was part of the total 281,223 fans who passed through the turnstiles on Tuesday, surpassing the previous World Cup record for a single day of 277,070, established on June 28, 1994.

 

Referees rein in the red cards

Only four red cards were shown at each of the last two World Cups, in 2018 and 2022, in a notable decrease from previous tournaments.

It looked like we might be on course for a free-for-all flurry of sendings-off this time when three players were dismissed in the opening game as 10-man co-hosts Mexico beat nine-man South Africa 2-0.

But it appears that performance from Brazilian official Wilton Sampaio has led to FIFA encouraging referees to be more prudent about reaching for the red.

Not a single player was sent off in the next 23 games. 

 

– TIMES/AFP