World Cup Update
Thursday 18 June, 2026The first-round matches of the World Cup 2026 are now complete as the global showcase tournament gathers momentum.
England ultimately saw off Croatia in a cracker last night whilst Portugal was held to a draw by DR Congo.
Statistically, the chances of a draw in a soccer match are around 25%, though it obviously varies depending on the teams involved so could be slightly higher or lower.
That said, blindly taking the draw in every match has been a profitable play in this competition, thus far. There have been some surprising stalemates – Cape Verde Islands holding heavy favourites, Spain, and Saudi Arabia resisting Uruguay.
In terms of outright upsets, the win by Australia over Türkiye is the most unexpected to date. There are bound to be other startling outcomes due to unusual tactical matchups, the pressure of expectation and as the physical demands of travel/playing in the heat kick in.
Already, there has been some great strikes - Mbappe’s long range blast is right up there as a spectacular moment, helping France to a 3-1 victory over Senegal. Must say, France were impressive – they just have so much individual quality on display.
Argentina looked razor-sharp when whipping Algeria. Hat-tricker, Messi, may now be 39 years old, yet he remains a world class soccer icon.
Predictably, Germany had a thumping win over an out-of- their- depth, Curacao, not that too much should be read into that mismatch result.
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Fingers crossed Bafana Bafana put in a drastically improved performance when they take on Czech Republic tonight.
They were disappointing against Mexico in the opener, going into the game with the wrong tactical set up (without their best attackers) and never getting into a proper flow and will, hopefully redeem themselves.
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Brazil was underwhelming and look a shadow of former great sides. Maybe that is a hasty and harsh judgement, but they will need to shine up on what they showed when drawing with Morocco if they are to be genuine trophy contenders.
And players to have made a big impact? Well, some of the established big names like Haaland are already making their presence felt in the box as Norway cleverly plays to his strength in the strike zone.
And a threatening, Balonjun for the USA stamped his mark versus Paraguay, showing attributes as a striker of rare skill.
Not only does the World Cup confirm the status of established stars, but lesser-known participants quickly forge heroic profiles. Think of 40-year-old Cape Verde goalie, Vozinha having a great game in keeping out mighty Euro champions, Spain.
He has rapidly surged from having 50 000 followers on Instagram to now over 10 million, after wildly popular Brazilian streamer, Caze drew attention to both his intriguing back story and awesome performance, appealing to viewers;
“Normally we ask for subscribers. We are not going to ask for subscribers today, we are going to ask for followers. For Vozinha. He is stopping Spain. He is shocking the world. He is the standout player of the first half. Why not show him some love?”
Indeed, why not? Just one of the fascinating human-interest stories to emerge from this captivating competition.
Enjoy Round 2 of the Group games in the World Cup…
With good wishes from The Goal Guru.
