The Football ‘Kat: The 2026 World Cup: The Early Stories
After one set of fixtures has been completed (along with a handful of second matches), there are some early stories of intrigue from the World Cup. I told myself I wouldn’t get invested in it, but despite the lateness of many games, I have indeed been absorbed, to a degree at least, into the action, hence my initial thoughts.
Heavy Hitters… Sometimes
Not all of the traditional heavyweights of international football have gotten off to great starts. Brazil drew with Morroco, and Spain drew with Cape Verde, whilst Switzerland were stunned by a late equaliser from Qatar, and Portugal failed to overcome DR Congo. Elsewhere, the Dutch were held to a draw by Japan, and Saudi Arabia held Uraguay. It seems some teams assumed showing up would be enough to earn the points, a very dangerous assumption at any level of the sport, but especially so at a World Cup.
Of course, some of the so-called top sides have enjoyed positive opening performances. Germany beat Curacao 7-1, albeit much tougher tests await Germany, who failed to get beyond the group stages of the last two World Cups. France beat Senegal 3-1 and Mbappe, who is eying the all-time record for World Cup goals, looked sharp. Lionel Messi rolled back the years to score a hat-trick against Algeria, and go joint-top on the list of all-time World Cup goal scorers.
England put on what can best be described as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ performance in their opening game against Croatia, eventually triumphing 4-2, but not before twice letting the lead slip in the first half. Defensive questions remain about the Three Lions, though in the second half England played with intensity and might have scored more goals, if not for some good, brave goal-keeping.
Asian Teams Do Well
As mentioned, Japan – who deserve to be taken quite seriously – and Saudi Arabia, and also Qatar, held more established and more talented opponents in their opening games, whilst elsewhere, Australia picked up an arguably surprising win against Turkey. It was not a bad start from the continent, albeit Qatar have subsequently lost 6-0 to Canada in their next game, a result that might better reflect their quality.
Big Names Show Up… Mostly
Among the opening-game markers laid down by the fancied stars of this World Cup, there was Messi’s aforementioned hat-trick (though he was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off), Mbappe’s brace against Senegal, a good goal from Brazilian playmaker Vinicius Jr, and a brace from Harry Kane, all of which sent messages and warnings to other nations. The notable absentee from the early impressive showings was Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Whereas Messi continued to show his visionary, erm, vision, not to mention his ability to hit a beautiful, clean strike, Ronaldo looked a shell of the player who once had a genuine stake to the claim of greatest of all time. His gameplan against DR Congo was to slowly walk around in and near the opposing penalty area, and hope that his teammates would find him with the perfect pass to let him get off a good effort on goal. He barely did more than walk for the entire game.
At 41, he is one of the oldest players to take part in a World Cup (along with Messi, he is playing at his sixth tournament, a new record), and it seems even Ronaldo is not immune to the impact of age. The pace is no longer there, and it makes no sense to base a team strategy on ‘hoof it to Ronaldo and hope he can roll back the years’, yet this is what Portugal did.
The contrast could not have been starker between the two rivals for the title of GOAT.
The Hosts with the Most?
Whilst Mexico got off to a winning start against South Africa, Canada laboured to a draw against Bosnia, but the USA stole the show with a 4-1 thumping of Paraguay in their opening game. For years football has slowly grown in popularity in the States, and there is a quiet hope that a good run in the tournament will generate further interest in the game. The USA could, if they wanted to, develop a powerful grassroots movement, but whether that happens depends on how they progress from here.
Hydration Breaks
In some circumstances, the hydration breaks, taking place roughly halfway through each half, are certainly necessary. Some of the games at this World Cup are being played in hot conditions, and there have been worries over player health in those conditions.
On other occasions, the breaks have been seen as disruptive to the flow of the game, and not needed. The obviously reality behind these breaks is to satisfy US advertisers, who take advantage of the mandatory three-minute stop. On several occasions these breaks have been met by boos from the fans in the stadiums, who don’t appreciate them. A lot of fans are concerned as to whether this will become a regular part of football around the world. Here’s hoping it doesn’t.
It’s certainly been a fascinating tournament so far, but it seems the top teams can – and need to – step up a gear. Things will get even more interesting when that happens.
‘Kat Comments