6/24/2026

With the second round of group play at this years World Cup lets take a look at some of the things that stood out.

Although we have watched most of the matches, we have not seen them all so no doubt we may have missed a play or two that deserves recognition.

The Hosts All Win in the 2nd round

Mexico advances and wins group A with 1-0 win over South Korea on a 50th minute goal. Massive save by Raul Rangel in the 87th to secure the win.

Canada blasts Qatar 6-0 behind a Jonathan David hat trick. Qatar went down to 10 men after a 33rd minute red card and finished the match with 9 after another red in the 53rd.

ESN’s Story on the US win over Australia

Speedy Goals

Quick strikes lead to wins for Morocco and Paraguay. Morocco scored 71 seconds into their match and Paraguay scored in a blistering 65 seconds. Both teams won 1-0.

Setting, Breaking and Tying Records

Messi moved 2 goals ahead of Miroslav Klose(Germany) to become the all time leading goal scorer in World Cup history after his brace against Austria. Messi got a hat trick in Argentina’s first match and just missed another when his 9th minute PK went wide right.

Netherlands extended their World Cup unbeaten streak to record 14 matches with 5-1 win over Sweden. The Oranje also scored their 100th goal in World Cup play.

1000th match in World Cup history played between Japan and Tunisia. Japan wins 4-1 and is the 1st ever Asian team to score 4 goals in a World Cup match.

Curacao keeper Eloy Room tied Tim Howard (USA) for most saves in one match with 15 in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador. Curacao earned their first ever point in the World Cup.

Blue Sharks Turning Heads

Cape Verde gets a 2-2 draw with Uruguay. The Blue Sharks 2nd draw of the tournament to stay unbeaten in its inaugural World Cup appearance. After a 1st round tie with Spain can Cape Verde advance to the knock-outs?

Early Favorites Get a Boost

Spain bounces back from opening draw with Cape Verde and gets a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

France gets 3-0 win over Iraq behind Kylian Mbappe’s 2 goals. Keeping him in the race for the golden boot. Mbappe is tied for 2nd all time in World Cup goals with 16.

The Young Phenom

Norway’s 25 year old striker Erling Haaland added 2 goals in a 3-2 win over Senegal. Haaland has scored 59 goals in 52 international appearances and is now Norway’s all time leading goal scorer at the World Cup with 4 and still counting.

The 40 and Up Club

Portugal got 2 goals from Cristiano Ronaldo ( The oldest field player at 41) against Uzbekistan. Croatia’s Luka Modric (40) and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Eden Dzeko (40) have made an impact for their teams but haven’t been able to find the back of the net.  Scotland’s Craig Gordon (The oldest player on any roster at 43) and Mexico’s Memo Ochoa (40) still looking for their first action in goal at this year’s tournament. 

Group L Sets up Dramatic Finish

England held to a 0-0 draw with Ghana and Croatia got a 1-0 win over Panama. Ghana and Croatia play a crucial group L match while England takes on eliminated Panama to close out the group stage.

Group Stage Casualties

Haiti is the first team eliminated from the World Cup after a 3-0 loss to Brazil. In total 5 teams have been eliminated from the World Cup with 1 match left to play. Haiti, Türkiye, Tunisia, Jordan, and Panama.

Race for the Golden Boot Heating Up 

5 goals
Lionel Messi (Argentina) leads the way 

4 goals
Kylian Mbappe (France)- Won the Golden Boot in Qatar with 8 goals
Erling Haaland (Norway) 

3 goals
Jonathan David (Canada)
Deniz Undav (Germany)

2 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Maxi Araújo (Uruguay), Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain), Ayase Ueda (Japan), Daichi Kamada (Japan), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Brian Brobbey (Netherlands), Vinícius Júnior (Brazil), Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Ismael Saibari (Morocco), Johan Manzambi (Switzerland), Harry Kane (England), Elijah Just (New Zealand), Yasin Ayari (Sweden), Kai Havertz (Germany), Folarin Balogun (USA) 

Teams Goal Leaders

9 goals
Germany

7 goals
Norway, Canada, Netherlands

6 goals
Japan, Sweden, USA, Portugal, France

5 goals
Argentina and Switzerland

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