England starts with a flourish
England opened with a convincing 4-2 win over Croatia, the team that knocked the Three Lions out of the 2018 World Cup. Harry Kane scored his ninth and 10th World Cup goals in the first half. Jude Bellingham found the net within the first two minutes of the second half, and Marcus Rashford, back in the national team after missing Euro 2024, added the goal that sealed the result.
Bellingham's form could be England's X-factor through the tournament. With games still to come against Panama and Ghana, England looks positioned to cruise to first place in Group L.
Germany looks convincing
After failing to make the knockout rounds in each of the past two World Cups, Germany entered this summer with lots of questions. Would Kai Havertz be enough as the team's best striking option? Would Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz rediscover their form?
So far, so good. Yes, it was a game against Curaçao, but Germany's 7-1 victory is the most convincing win of the World Cup's 24 games. Havertz scored twice, Musiala scored and Wirtz added an assist in the rout. Games against Cote d'Ivoire and Ecuador will be much bigger tests over the next 10 days, but it would take an epic collapse for Germany to not get to the knockout rounds in 2026. And if Germany ends the group stage with nine points, it might go from team full of uncertainties to a sleeper contender to make the World Cup final.
African sides push toward the knockout rounds
Early results suggest African soccer may be rebounding in a major way at this World Cup. Five African teams have already scored points, and three others still hold realistic Round of 32 hopes. Morocco tied Brazil in its opener. Cote d'Ivoire beat Ecuador and already has a foot in the knockout rounds. Egypt drew 1-1 with Belgium and was an own goal away from three points. DR Congo scored its first ever World Cup goal in a 1-1 tie with Portugal. Cape Verde held Spain scoreless in a draw.
Senegal still has a path forward and may need at least a draw with Norway, plus a win over Iraq, to advance. Algeria sits at minus-3 in goal differential after a 3-0 loss to Argentina but still has games against Austria and Jordan left to play.
Messi still leads Argentina
Lionel Messi, 38, scored his first ever World Cup hat trick in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria, with all three goals coming in different ways. That opener gave Argentina's bid for back-to-back World Cups a strong start. Messi may have escaped a potential red card in the first half, a moment that was at least worth a yellow and was not reviewed.
Messi looks likely to challenge Miroslav Klose's all time World Cup scoring record over Argentina's next two group games. After playing every minute of Argentina's 2022 World Cup run, he was substituted with just over 10 minutes remaining. With Group J shaping up to allow multi goal leads, coach Lionel Scaloni may be able to rest Messi further during the group stage before the knockout rounds.
