A chaotic 4-2 comeback from Thomas Tuchel's England, Roberto Martinez frustrating Portugal against DR Congo, and a dramatic 95th-minute winner in Toronto. Day 7 was pure madness!
Welcome back to FUT IN REVIEW | World Cup Daily #17. After a week of trying to sync up their schedules, Shaq and James Tolando finally team up on the microphones to dissect the closing games of the opening round of fixtures at the World Cup 2026.
We break down all the matches, tactical blunders, and standout performers unfiltered:
The Ronaldo Pressure Cooker: After Messi, Mbappé, and Haaland all fired braces or hat-tricks, the pressure was completely on Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead, Portugal looked stagnant in a frustrating 1-1 draw against DR Congo. We slam Roberto Martinez’s rigid tactics and discuss whether Ronaldo is clogging up the pitch or if his manager lacks the cajones to bench him.
Tuchel’s Half-Time Rescue: England looked like "same old England" after going 2-1 down to Croatia at halftime. But Thomas Tuchel's speech completely broke the shackles. We praise Jude Bellingham for taking the game by the scruff of the neck, debate if John Stones should be dropped for Mark Guéhi, and look at Marcus Rashford's explosive performance off the bench.
The Heartbreak of Toronto: Panama completely dominated Ghana for 90 minutes, only to concede a brutal 95th-minute winner to Yerenky after pushing their keeper into attack. Is this the most cruel game in World Cup history?
Colombia Survives: Luis Díaz was absolute purring as Colombia cruised against Uzbekistan, before surviving a heavy second-half wake-up call to secure a 3-1 win.
The Definitive Power Rankings: Now that every team has played exactly one match, Shaq and James give their honest, brutal ratings out of 10 for the tournament's traditional Top 8 (Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, France, England, Portugal, and the Netherlands). Warning: John is not going to be happy with where the Dutch rank!
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