As the first round of games at the World Cup comes to an end, which teams have come out looking like winning contenders, and which teams’ stock has slid?
France
Though they had a slightly slow start to their game against Senegal in New York, the French second half was them at their scintillating best. Michael Olise tore the Senegal defence to shreds, and Kylian Mbappe was at his clinical best. Their attacking riches are such that even their substitutes would leave any defense shaking with fear. Rayan Cherki and Bradley Barcola both came on and drove at the Senegal defense, the latter of the two scoring a lovely chipped goal over a sprawled Edouard Mendy. There will certainly be much stronger tests to come, but comfortably beating the (contested) African champions is most definitely a marker laid.
England
That was one of England’s best performances in an opening game of a World Cup for a long, long time. Not since 2002 has England beaten a team ranked in the top 15 in the world in the World Cup. Despite a chaotic first half, in which England were twice pegged back by Croatia, the second half was heavy metal football.
High-pressing, high-intensity, and plenty of attempts on goal, England may be slightly disappointed to have only scored four. Harry Kane got off to a blistering start with two goals, and Jude Bellingham quieted any doubt over his starting role with a goal just after the break. There will be some questions over the defense, having conceded two goals, but it was as good a start as England really could have hoped for.
Argentina
Lionel Messi. Is there really anything else to say? Much like four years ago, the rest of the team is seemingly willing to die for the man and worship the ground that he walks on. That means even now, with Messi nearly 39, he still has ample space and opportunity to create the same magic he has for two decades. Whether this slightly aged team will be able to handle a team of a higher level is still to be seen, but there’s no suggestion that they would be anything but a formidable opponent to anyone that they come up against.
Spain
A draw against the tiny island nation of Cape Verde in their debut World Cup is certainly not what European Champions Spain would have been hoping for when they saw their group announced. Nursing injuries to both stars Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, they started with a slightly weakened attack, and it showed. Although they were able to create chances, nothing was particularly clear-cut, and they were unconvincing in breaking down a stubborn defense. It’s more than likely that this will just be a blip and Spain will move forward far more convincingly, but it was not the start they hoped for.
Portugal
Portugal looked an incredibly exciting team coming into the tournament, with a midfield pivot of Champions League winners Joao Neves and Vitinha, and Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes; they looked really formidable. Except for one glaring issue: a 41-year-old, aged star up front by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Much like Messi, Ronaldo has been the star of this Portugal team for two decades; however, unlike Messi, he has now become a labouring appendage up front that blocks space and stifles attacks. Even if his teammates wanted to die for him, he no longer has the mercurial ability he once did to drag his team forward. It feels as though, much like the last World Cup, this is all going to come to a head where Ronaldo is either dropped or Portugal unceremoniously crashes out.
Brazil
Brazil didn’t really enter this tournament as favourites, but even so, their poor display in their opener against Morocco has dampened much of the excitement that was surrounding them anyway. A seriously slow midfield was nearly overrun in the first 20 minutes, and the attack flattered to deceive. Of course, Vinicius Jr. did score a stunning goal and looked characteristically dangerous, but realistically other players will need to step up massively if they have any chance of progressing far in the tournament.
It’s only the first round of games, so any wrinkles can surely be ironed out, and any fast starts could easily come to a stuttering halt. But there’s so little time to make changes in a World Cup, and once a narrative starts rolling, it can be very hard to stop. We will see over the next week if these patterns continue.
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