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Portugal were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by minnows DR Congo in their first World Cup group game, with a Yoane Wissa effort cancelling out Joao Neves' opener. Cristiano Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure up front, while Bernardo Silva also had an afternoon to forget as Roberto Martinez's side failed to live up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Argentina's World Cup title defence began nervously before Lionel Messi reminded everyone he is Lionel Messi. The 38-year-old scored a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria before 69,045 fans at Kansas City Stadium. Messi's three-goal performance also moved him level with Miroslav Klose on 16 career World Cup goals, though Klose reached the mark in fewer matches.

Erling Haaland was the predictable protagonist as Norway picked up a crucial 4-1 victory over Iraq in their first World Cup match since 1998 on Tuesday. The Manchester City striker's first-half brace proved to be decisive, helping to ensure the dark horses made a winning start in Boston in the so-called 'Group of Death'.

They made hard work of it, but much-fancied France got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start as they eventually secured a 3-1 victory over Senegal in Group I. After a dire first-half display Les Bleus were transformed, with Kylian Mbappe - who had been particularly poor - delivering a brace either side of Bradley Barcola's fine finish to become his country's record goal-scorer.

Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to help Belgium avoid defeat in their World Cup opener, with the veteran striker playing a pivotal role in Mohamed Hany putting through his own net to earn the Red Devils a 1-1 draw with Egypt in Seattle. Rudi Garcia's men went into the Group G opener unbeaten in all competitions since March of last year but they looked set to slump to a shock defeat after Emam Ashour's terrific 19th-minute strike from outside the area.

Cape Verde pulled off the biggest shock of the 2026 World Cup so far by holding Spain to a 0-0 draw in Atalanta on Monday. The tournament debutants weren't given any chance whatsoever against the reigning European champions but 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha achieved instant cult status throughout the footballing world by making one save after another to keep La Roja at bay.

The Netherlands conceded a late equaliser as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in their opening game of the 2026 World Cup. Second-half strikes from Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville looked to have got the Oranje over the line, but they were pegged back on both occasions as Group F began in Dallas.

Germany made an early statement at the 2026 World Cup as they ran out 7-1 winners over tournament debutants Curacao. A brace from Kai Havertz and goals from Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav ensured a relatively straightforward introduction to Group E for Die Mannschaft, though they were given something of a shock when Curacao found the net midway through the first half.

Scotland waited 28 years for this. Haiti waited five decades. In a match between two sides desperate to make their World Cup return count, John McGinn provided the moment that mattered, turning a lucky bounce into the lone goal as the Tartan Army escaped Boston Stadium with a 1-0 win, Scotland’s first victory at the tournament since Italia ’90.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Vinicius Jr scored a wonderful goal to give life to an otherwise languid Brazil performance as the Selecao settled for a 1-1 draw with Morocco to open their World Cup campaign. Brazil started slowly and conceded first, but a moment of magic from their main man restored parity before the break. Both sides, it seems, will take the point with more manageable opposition to come.

It was a near-perfect World Cup opener for Mauricio Pochettino's side as they swept away their opponents in a way that will be remembered for a long, long time.

Cyle Larin came off the bench to spare Jonathan David's blushes by earning Canada a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina in their 2026 World Cup opener on Friday. The Canucks were the better side for the majority of the match but looked set to slump to a seventh consecutive finals defeat after Lovo Jukic headed in a near-post flick from Sead Kolasinac midway through the first half.

The Feyenoord man made the difference to give his nation a perfect start to the showpiece across Mexico, USA and Canada

The Asian powerhouse kicked off their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought win over Miroslav Koubek's men

Mexico made the perfect start to their 2026 World Cup campaign as the co-hosts ran out 2-0 winners over South Africa in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday. Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez ensured a routine victory for the Group A favourites in a game that featured three red cards in the second half.

England completed their World Cup preparations with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in their rain-delayed final warm-up friendly on Wednesday. It was a bruising encounter against a physical opponent, but Thomas Tuchel's men kept their cool to dominate in the sweltering Orlando heat courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins.

The USWNT ended their winless streak against Brazil in chaotic fashion, edging Tuesday’s match on an own goal after eight red cards and more than 10 yellows.

England will have to navigate the play-offs in order to reach the 2027 Women's World Cup, with Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Ukraine not enough to secure top spot in their qualifying group. The Lionesses went into the game knowing they needed a favour from Iceland against Spain, after La Roja thumped Sarina Wiegman's side on Friday, and they didn't get it, rendering their own victory meaningless in the chase for the sole automatic berth available.

Michael Olise scored three and France overcame a brief scare from Northern Ireland to wrap up their pre-World Cup friendlies with a comfortable 3-1 win. The Bayern Munich star was effective throughout and good value for his hat-trick as Les Bleus saw off the visitors without really getting out of second gear. It's hard to imagine a better result before France move to the U.S.

England have another warm-up game before kicking off their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17, but Harry Kane should clearly play no part at all in Wednesday's friendly against Costa Rice. The Three Lions captain is simply too important to Thomas Tuchel's team, as he underlined for the umpteenth time by scoring the only goal in Saturday's dreadfully dull 1-0 win over New Zealand.

Antonee Robinson scored a screamer and the USMNT showed plenty of fight, but defensive lapses proved costly in a 2-1 loss to Germany.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes showed why he's Portugal's most important player going into this summer's World Cup in North America by starring in a 2-1 friendly win over Chile in Lisbon on Saturday evening that featured a stupid red card for winger Rafael Leao and a worryingly ineffective display from Seleccao skipper Cristiano Ronaldo.

England are on the brink of having to navigate the play-off route in Women's World Cup qualifying after a 4-0 defeat to Spain, the Lionesses' worst result under Sarina Wiegman, put La Roja in pole position for the group's one automatic berth instead. England flew to Mallorca knowing that a draw would be enough to secure their spot at the tournament in Brazil next summer but goals from Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas and Claudia Pina saw them leapfrogged in the table by their hosts, with one game to go.

Mexico recovered from an early scare in Toluca to overwhelm Serbia, with Alvaro Fidalgo and Brian Gutierrez among the standouts as El Tri wrapped up their World Cup preparations in style.

Rayan Cherki scored a memorable goal, but a much-changed France side couldn't hold onto the lead as they dropped their first World Cup warmup game to the Ivory Coast, 2-1. Manager Didier Deschamps made plenty of changes, yet still named a strong side. Despite some bright moments, Les Bleus weren't able to piece together a complete performance - and were made to pay.

Christian Pulisic looked back to his best, Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun impressed, and the USMNT offered real reason for World Cup optimism against Senegal.

Khadija Shaw and Alex Greenwood starred as new Women's Super League champions Manchester City did the double on Sunday, thanks to a 4-0 win over Brighton in the FA Cup final. It took Andree Jeglertz's side some time to get going in the capital but once they did, they wasted little time, with two goals in the latter stages of the first half putting City into a commanding position that they never let slip.

Johan Vazquez scored and delivered Mexico's best performance as El Tri edged Australia 1-0 at the Rose Bowl. GOAL rates every player after an uneven display that offered Javier Aguirre valuable World Cup roster clues ahead of his final squad announcement.

Arsenal suffered penalty shootout heartbreak at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, as Gabriel Magalhaes skied the all-important spot-kick to hand the holders a second-consecutive European crown in Budapest. Kai Havertz had given the Gunners an early lead before Ousmane Dembele's second-half equaliser, and a staunch Arsenal defence took the showpiece to extra-time.