Turkey have been eliminated from the World Cup after losing to Paraguay, failing to advance past the group stage after only two games. Day nine also brought a fresh re-ranking of all 48 World Cup teams. France remain at the top after a 3-1 opening win over Senegal. Kylian Mbappe scored his second long-range goal at the tournament against Senegal, surpassing Olivier Giroud as France's all-time top scorer. Bradley Barcola scored France's second goal after coming off the bench, demonstrating the team's depth.
At 38 years old, Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup hat-trick. Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of France legend Zinedine Zidane, may have been limited on two of the three goals and was reportedly playing with a fractured jaw. Argentina are facing questions about the staying power of their aging squad in a longer-than-ever tournament.
England stay third behind the 2022 World Cup finalists after a 4-2 win over Croatia. Harry Kane scored two goals, Jude Bellingham put England back in front after half-time, and Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score a fourth against a top-15-ranked opponent whose goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic had to bail Croatia out on several occasions.
Germany 7-1 against Curacao. Brazil defeated Haiti 3-0 as the side appears to be building team chemistry. Head coach Carlo Ancelotti replaced striker Igor Thiago with Matheus Cunha, who scored his first goal of the tournament within 23 minutes against Haiti and added his second in the 36th minute. Vinicius Jr. scored his second goal in as many games for Brazil against Haiti. Brazil and Morocco are in Group C.
Scotland competed bravely against a strong Moroccan team. The United States are experiencing growing belief in their potential to achieve something significant in the tournament. France are ranked first in the re-evaluation, with England third behind the 2022 World Cup finalists.
