A good omen for England?
England and Croatia played out the game of the tournament so far in Dallas, with Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions turning on the style in the second half to make a bold statement of their World Cup ambitions.
Often criticised for not pushing on after scoring under Gareth Southgate, there could be no such accusations levelled at England following the break last night as they overwhelmed a typically-dogged Croatian side.
Having twice surrendered a one-goal lead in the first half, Tuchel’s men well and truly went in for the kill – as reflected by their far superior expected goals (xG) total of 3.20 to Croatia’s 0.70.
England racked up six goals in their World Cup opener four years ago – but they’ve not won 4-2 at the finals since that day in 1966...
Portugal’s Ronaldo-shaped problem
Two key takeaways from DR Congo’s historic draw with Portugal: the Leopards are not just here to make up the numbers, and Cristiano Ronaldo is no Lionel Messi.
Making only their second appearance at the finals – their first in 52 years – DR Congo picked up their first World Cup point and notched their first World Cup goal, Yoane Wissa’s headed equaliser.
Sebastian Desabre’s team had chances to win the game too, and they’ll give themselves every chance of reaching the last 32 if they keep producing the kind of resolute rearguard action that limited their much-fancied opponents to 0.65 xG in Houston (to their own 0.87).
But Portugal’s bluntness was also a product of their own fading talisman. Joining Lionel Messi in playing at a sixth World Cup, 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo fell well short of his great contemporary’s hat-trick hitting exploits for Argentina, failing to impose himself on the contest and finishing without so much as a shot on target. Head coach Roberto Martinez’s predecessor Fernando Santos made the big call to drop his veteran captain in the last 16 of the last World Cup; might Martinez consider doing the same even earlier?
Diaz does the job for Colombia
Multiple goal involvements in a game have already become quite a feature of the 2026 World Cup, with Colombia’s Luis Diaz the latest player to join the list.
After missing out in 2022, Colombia returned to the biggest stage with a consummate 3-1 win over debutants Uzbekistan in which Diaz stole the show, setting up Daniel Munoz for his country’s first goal then scoring their second.
The former Liverpool man picked up where he left off after a superb season for Bayern Munich, becoming the 18th player in the first round of group matches to record two or more goal contributions.
Team of the Day
Which nation has looked most impressive so far?
It’s time to do it all again as eight teams play their second group games of the World Cup.
In Group A, Czechia and South Africa will both be looking to bounce back from opening-match defeats when they meet in Atlanta.
That’s followed by two games in Group B: Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina face off in Los Angeles before co-hosts Canada take on Qatar in Vancouver. The group’s first two matches both finished 1-1.
The final action of day eight comes from Guadalajara, where co-hosts Mexico will be looking to make it two wins from two against South Korea – who have their sights set on doing likewise.
Depleted South Africa chase Czech redemption
South Africa would have expected to be up against it playing the tournament opener against Mexico in the football coliseum that is the Azteca; they won’t have expected the chastening nature of their 2-0 defeat which they finished with nine men.
Bruised but not yet beaten, Hugo Broos’ side can get their hopes of a first-ever World Cup knockout appearance firmly back on track with victory over the Czechia – themselves disappointed after surrendering a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to South Korea.
History can motivate Canada to make more
Canada have already made history at their home tournament, picking up their first World Cup point at the seventh time of asking thanks to Cyle Larin’s equaliser against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The next challenge for Les Rouges is to record their first World Cup win – but Qatar are also aiming to do just that, buoyed from their maiden World Cup point courtesy of a last-gasp leveller against Switzerland.
Mexico counting on home advantage to seal progress early
Having made a dream start to their first home World Cup since 1986, Mexico could become the first team to book their place in the last 32.
If El Tri beat South Korea and South Africa draw with the Czech Republic, they will advance to the knockout stage for the ninth time in their last 10 World Cup appearances – after crashing out in the group stage four years ago.
