The harvest of the World Cup stage. history bows to Messi and Ronaldo… and an exclusive look at Salah and an unknown goalkeeper

The second round of the 2026 World Cup group stage imposed itself as a period of great transformation as signs of real competition began to emerge and some early expectations fell under the pressure of results.

While stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lamine Yamal, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe continued to grab the limelight, other teams managed to boost their stocks ahead of the knockout stages, while the traditional powers faced tough questions after a less-than-anticipated start.