Nine men short, one goal up, and ninety minutes to survive. Paraguay had a plan at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on June 20, 2026. Losing Miguel Almiron to a red card in first-half stoppage time was not part of it. Paraguay beat Turkey 1-0 in their 2026 World Cup Group D match at Levi’s … Read more
Cunha Clicked, Vinicius Finished It and Brazil Are Through in 2026 Three goals, all before half-time, and a Raphinha injury to dampen the mood slightly. That is the Brazil story from Philadelphia on June 20, 2026, and it is mostly a good one. Brazil beat Haiti 3-0 at Lincoln Financial Field in a 2026 World … Read more
0.65 xG. From 75 percent possession. That is Portugal’s first-half-and-full-match combined attacking return against a team ranked 63 places below them in the world, and it tells you everything the scoreline is too polite to say. Portugal drew 1-1 with Congo DR in their Group K opener at NRG Stadium in Houston on June 17, … Read more
Sixteen goals. Two World Cups apart. One number that now belongs to both Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi. Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 17, 2026, in their Group J opener at the World Cup. Messi scored all three goals himself, in the 17th, 60th, and 76th minutes, … Read more
Twenty-nine minutes. That is how long Erling Haaland waited to score his first ever World Cup goal, and by full time he had two of them plus a small role in two more. Norway beat Iraq 4-1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on June 17, 2026, in their Group I opener at the World … Read more
For 65 minutes, France looked like a team still finding its rhythm. Then Kylian Mbappe decided the wait was over, and by full time he had rewritten a piece of his country’s history along the way. France beat Senegal 3-1 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on June 17, 2026, in their Group … Read more
Twice behind. Twice level. Iran did not get the win, but they refused to lose twice over. Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 16, 2026, in their Group G opener at the World Cup. Elijah Just scored twice for New Zealand, in the 7th and 54th minutes, … Read more
Ten saves. One goal conceded. A point that, by the numbers, Saudi Arabia had no business taking home. Saudi Arabia drew 1-1 with Uruguay at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on June 16, 2026, in their Group H opener at the World Cup. Abdulelah Al-Amri put Saudi Arabia ahead in the 41st minute, … Read more
Twenty-three seconds. That is how long Romelu Lukaku needed on the pitch to change this match, and he did not even touch the ball. Belgium drew 1-1 with Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, on June 16, 2026, in their Group G opener at the World Cup. Emam Ashour put Egypt ahead in the … Read more
Twenty-seven shots. Seven on target. Zero goals. Spain managed to lose this match without actually losing it. Spain drew 0-0 with Cape Verde at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 15, 2026, in their Group H opener at the World Cup. The European champions finished with 2.10 expected goals to Cape Verde’s 0.20, a … Read more