EVERY FINALIST HAS PLAYED NOW, SO HOW IS THE WORLD CUP?
So, with the 2026 World Cup's first round of games over, what have we learnt?
Not a lot to be honest, as the opening salvos are never coups de grace. Lose the first match and you can still make it to the knockout stages.
For that reason there seemed to be some teams taking their foot off the pedal and settle for a point. Nine of the 24 matches were a match nul (draw) as they say in France, the highest since 2010.
We should not moan when goals are being scored. The American nets are tied a tad too tight to billow or bulge but at least they have been rattling. 75 goals have been scored, an average of 3.1 per match, the highest since Sweden 1958. So far, so good.
Lionel Messi, the best-known footballer in America right now, heads the Golden Boot race following his hat-trick against Algeria, but spare a thought for Turkey's Arda Guler, who tops the shooting charts but has yet to find the net.
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| Eight Shots But No Goals for Guler at the World Cup so far |
Talking of which, Vinicius Junior bagged one of the goals of the tournament against Morocco but also made nine unsuccessful dribbles, the worst return in the tournament thus far. It is not easy. Kylian Mbappé made nine too, only one of which bore fruit.
The major innovation of course is the hydration breaks, which make sense in humid Florida but not in 20C climate-controlled Houston. Still, there has to be one rule for all to avoid controversy and the heat and humidity in all but three stadia (Atlanta, Dallas and Houston) is a problem, as last season's FIFA Club World Cup proved.
The breaks seem to be working. The oppressive heat is not as big an issue so far as it was last summer or at USA '94. There have been some gripes about the grass however, and how the Trionda ball seems to be flying faster on rising shots and even how the air-con might be affecting its flight.
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| The Adidas Trionda is the official ball for the 2026 FIFA World Cup |
Despite the criminal ticket prices, the stadia have been largely full to the naked eye, although the reselling has created a lack of segregation, which hopefully will be fine and set an example for the rest of the world to follow. If not, then the American stadium authorities will have a culture shock or two to deal with.
UEFA teams are on top statistically with the most points per game but the Asian Confederation has probably impressed most with Japan holding the Netherlands, Australia and South Korea winning and Qatar and Saudi Arabia drawing against stronger opposition.
South America was expected to impress but Brazil and Uruguay drawing and Ecuador and Paraguay losing dampened hopes, before Argentina and Colombia registered rousing victories.
Two out of three host nations won (the USA and Mexico) while Canada drew, and it is always important to keep the hosts on board as long as possible. The Canucks probably have the toughest ask of the three in making it to the next round, but they are very much still in it.
As for the expansion to 48 teams, Cape Verde's heroic draw with Spain remains the stand-out result of the first round, the sort of score that makes lifetime memories for those involved. 40 year-old goalkeeper Vozinha had the game of his life and became a global star, if only for a while. That result alone may have validated the increase in teams, but Curaçao's seven-figure collapse to a moderate Germany may equally have cancelled it out.
Are the best 48 teams at the finals? No, according to FIFA's own rankings, which show 13 teams better than some who qualified.
Of the dozen qualifiers ranked below 48 in the FIFA World Rankings, only Ghana (73rd) won, beating 34th-ranked Panama. Five drew and six lost:
49th Qatar - drew 1-1 with Switzerland 19th
50th Uzbekistan - lost 3-1 to Colombia 13th
56th Tunisia - lost 5-1 to Sweden 38th
60th Saudi Arabia - drew 1-1 with Uruguay 16th
61st South Africa - lost 2-0 to Mexico 14th
63rd Bosnia & Herzegovina - drew 1-1 with Canada 30th
64th Jordan - lost 3-1 to Austria 24th
67th Cape Verde - drew 0-0 with Spain 2nd
73rd Ghana - won 1-0 v Panama 34th
82nd Curaçao - lost 7-1 to Germany 10th
84th Haiti - lost 0-1 to Scotland 42nd
85th New Zealand - drew 2-2 with Iran 20th
If anyone watching Tunisia shipping five goals and Curaçao conceding seven was wondering if better teams had been left at home, they might want to peruse this list of FIFA nations ranked above teams that did qualify for 2026:
12th Italy
21st Denmark
25th Nigeria
33rd Ukraine
36th Poland
37th Russia
39th Wales
40th Hungary
41st Serbia
44th Cameroon
46th Slovakia
47th Greece
48th Venezuela
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile