The superstars, the GOAT, the upsets and the bangers - on a sporting basis this World Cup has started off with a bang !

I covered some of the controversies in the last World Cup report, but they just keep on growing. Iran’s national team was forced to leave the US right after their game against Marco Stamenic’s New Zealand. All other teams are allowed to stay and recover in the same city after a game, but the Iranian aren’t. US politics are heavily affecting the football in the World Cup, and FIFA is letting it happen. With that, let’s look at the highlights of the World Cup's first round and then what to look forward to in Round 2.

⚽️ The Superstars:
Mbappé, Haaland and Kane all scored a brace each as their nation’s won their respective games. Mbappé climbed to (temporarily) shared third place of all time World Cup scoring with 14 goals (Gerd Müller has 14, R9 15 and Klose leads with 16). Harry Kane sits 4 goals behind, and is now one goal away from becoming England’s all time World Cup top scorer, dethroning Gary Lineker.
It’s of course very fitting that Haaland now has 2 goals after his World Cup debut.

The superstars are here and living up to their names, but they are still outshone by one man -

⚽️ The GOAT:
Lionel Messi will turn 39 in a week. This little man’s brilliance continues to shock everyone, despite him generally being hailed as the greatest of all time. He was the best player on the pitch vs Algeria and his hat-trick makes him the tied top World Cup scorer of all time. After watching that performance, I genuinely start wondering if he isn’t STILL the best player in the world, it’s just that he is hiding it by playing in the MLS.

⚽️ The upsets:

Two African nations have denied the 3 points to Europe’s powerhouses after heroic performances. The Spain vs Cape Verde game was incredible (Group H). Cape Verde has a population of around half a million, that is half of all registered footballers in Spain. The game ended 0-0. It was the Cape Verdean goalkeeper, Josimar José Évora “Vozinho” Diaz, who became the real hero. He had seven saves, some of them being really impressive, and became a brick wall as Cape Verde survived the Spain onslaught. Spain manager, De La Fuente, chose a bold starting lineup, with no real wingers, and was punished for it. The Spanish kept possession (74%) but looked a bit toothless going forward, but Yamal, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo only saw around 10-20 minutes of play.

It was a similar story when DR Congo played out a 1-1 draw vs Portugal (Group K). The Portuguese controlled the game but only managed 0.69xg and looked awful when it came to actually getting into dangerous areas. 41 year old Cristiano Ronaldo is honestly a liability to this team and is ruining the attacking flow, showcased by him stealing an incredible opportunity from Bruno Fernandes. Roberto Martinez’ men have a lot of work to do, and the Spaniard has been getting a lot of scrutiny.

But the more fun part is DR Congo winning their first point ever at a FIFA World Cup. DR Congo is currently embroiled in military and political turmoil with armed groups fighting over territories and natural resources in the eastern part of the country. This is causing 8 million people to be displaced and health care access is collapsing. Hopefully this team’s great performance can lend some strength to a people that really needs it. On a footballing note, DR Congo’s defence looked really solid, something they have taken with them from the qualifiers. They should not be taken lightly going into round 2.

Saudi Arabia also managed to draw 1-1 vs Uruguay. Uruguay looked really poor in the first half but very solid in the 2nd. Uruguay’s squad isn’t the strongest, so I view the other two games as bigger upsets, but this group (group H) is wide open with all teams sitting on 1 point. It’s very likely Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia will qualify to the next round with a win.

Qatar scoring an equalizer in the 94th minute and managing a 1-1 draw vs Switzerland was arguably even more shocking than the Saudi Arabian’s triumph, but it has quickly been glossed over by Switzerland beating Bosnia 4-1 and Qatar getting destroyed 6-0 vs Canada.

Australia’s win over Türkiye was also very impressive, and I covered it in the last World Cup report.

⚽️ The bangers:

Morocco vs Brazil (1-1) had some real quality and both teams could become really tough to face in this tournament. Netherlands vs Japan (2-2) was also really entertaining, I covered it in the last report. Ivory Coast vs Ecuador (1-0) was also a very fun game, with offensive football going both ways. Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig) is a real wonder kid and I think he will continue to show himself to the world in this tournament.

Iran vs New Zealand (2-2) is just the type of game that the World Cup is unique in creating. Two random teams with so much going on, and the game is a banger. Marco Stamenić can be pleased with his teams performance, but no 3 points leaves real doubts regards the chance of progressing now.

England vs Croatia (4-2) lived up to the hype. The English looked really good going forward, but a bit shaky in defense. The Croats are always tough to beat in World Cups, but they looked worse than usual yesterday. Harry Kane was the real standout as he continues his Ballon d’or campaign.

⚽️ What to look forward to:

The 2nd round also has some bangers, with the USA vs Australia (Today 8 PM) being the first one I will highlight. The US looked really good vs Paraguay, with their offense shining. Cameron Burgess and the Soceroos meanwhile were defensively incredible versus Türkiye, so this clash will be super interesting and very important for who will come out on top in the group.

Sweden vs Netherlands (Saturday June 20th 6 PM), this game if of course the one I look forward to the most. Sweden sit top of the group after thrashing Tunisia 5-1, but the performance wasn’t as good as the scoreline would suggest. The Dutch are really good and I would be extremely pleased with a draw. This game could really decide group F.

Germany vs Ivory Coast (Saturday June 20th 9 PM) is a sneaky banger. The Ivorians are really good and fun to watch but Germany started strong with a 7-1 win over Curaçao. That Saturday evening is looking really entertaining.

Uruguay vs Cape Verde (Sunday June 21st 11 PM) and Norway vs Senegal (Tuesday June 23rd 1 AM) round out my favorite games ahead of this round. Both are very important for the results of their respective groups, and the games can become really intriguing.

Then of course we also see Scotland v Morocco later too.

That’s it for my report on the first round, the controversies, superstars and dark horses are ever growing and it feels like the World Cup has truly arrived. I’ll see you all next week!

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⚽️ —> The Indy of course

Photographs : Swansea Independent,