World Cup round harvest. Messi competes with himself…and Ronaldo returns to silence

Arab drama and Dembele’s explosion at the end of the groups…and the biggest surprise goes to Germany

The World Cup brought down the curtain on the 2026 World Cup group stage with a dramatic night that brought everything together in a matter of hours. records broken, teams saying goodbye to the dream early and African achievements forcing themselves to lay the groundwork for the next step in major development stages.

Therefore, this round was not just the end of the first round, but rather a statement of what the World Cup has to offer in the rounds to come, as the round of 32 promises more surprises, competition and the quest to write new history, especially from the Arab teams and representatives from the African continent.

Great story. Messi is relentless

In the match against Jordan, Lionel Messi sat on the bench, and Argentina was already leading 2-0. He came on in the 70th minute, then in the 80th minute he took a direct free kick that tricked goalkeeper Zeid Abu Laila and went into the net. He wasn’t looking for numbers, but the numbers are, as always, looking for him.

For this purpose.

Messi became the first player in the history of the World Cup to score in 7 consecutive matches, an absolute record.

His total number in the World Cup is 19 goals. the all-time leading scorer is waiting for more.

He finished the group stage with 6 goals from 3 matches, becoming the 5th player in history to reach this mark in the preliminary round alone and the first since Russian Salenko in 1994.

Argentina finished the groups with 3 wins, and Cape Verde awaits them in the round of 32.

Also read: After his record achievement…the former Liverpool star. Winning the World Cup in Africa is a matter of time.

Dembele steals the spotlight

French star Ousmane Dembele scored the fastest hat-trick in the first half since the 1954 World Cup.

The Norway-France clash was billed as a match between Mbappe and Haaland, but Norway rested City star Odegaard and Sorlot, so the balloon went through the 2025 round in style, scoring three goals in just 25 minutes (7, 20, 32) to lead the Roosters (4-1).

Only Austria’s Erich Probst, in 24 minutes at the 1954 World Cup, had previously scored such a quick first-half hat-trick.

France finished the group stage with 9 points and 10 goals, including Mbappe (4) and Dembele (4).

Read also: Disastrous makeover…shameful charge threatens African star at World Cup

Arab teams. Qualification with a flavor of drama

On the most exciting night for the Arabs, Algeria needed a miracle against Austria. It led (1-0) and then (2-1) and qualification seemed to be on the way before Austria equalized twice with a second goal in the 90+6th minute. The match ended 3-3 and Algeria qualified in the best third place.

Riyad Mahrez scored in the 60th minute and 90+3 minutes to make a historic mark on a personal level at the last World Cup.

Desert Warriors set up a Round of 32 matchup with Switzerland.

Egypt. Qualification via VAR
In a spectacle Egypt had not witnessed for decades, the Pharaohs crashed out of the group stage for the first time in their history after the referee saved them in the dying moments to cancel out an Iran goal. A 1-1 draw was enough to advance.

Egypt will face Australia on July 3 in Arlington. Salah’s absence due to injury complicates matters, with the Egyptian FA confirming that his condition is not serious.

Morocco. They are the same number of points (7) behind second-placed Brazil and will face the Netherlands in Monterrey. A difficult equation awaits the Atlas Lions.

Saudi Arabia. out of the World Cup
In the third round, the Greens could not break the tie with Cape Verde (0-0) and were eliminated with two points in 3 games, again leaving the World Championship in the first round. A result that will raise serious questions about the course of Saudi football despite the huge investment.

Iraq. a bitter farewell
Senegal thrashed Iraq 5-0 in the farewell match, and Iraq’s World Cup team went out without a win after a long absence.

Jordan. Go out with honor
Jordan lost 1-3 to Argentina, but managed to score in both games and proved that it was not just a guest in the tournament.

Tunisia. big wound

The Eagles of Carthage left after presenting the worst World Cup in their history. no spirit, no results, a disastrous performance at all levels and technical chaos by appointing 3 match coaches. It ends with a 3-1 defeat against Holland and the future is surrounded by uncertainty on all sides.

Read also: Disastrous makeover…shameful charge threatens African star at World Cup

Open race. Who can overtake Messi?

Lionel Messi alone leads the Golden Boot race with 6 goals.

He is followed by Vinicius Junior, Mbappe, Dembele and Haaland in second place.

Then behind them are 10 players in third place with 3 goals each, the most notable of which are Denise Undav (Germany), Harry Kane (England), Ismael Sibari (Morocco), Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal).

The irony is that Holland did not feature against France to conserve energy for the next round, so Dembele seized the opportunity to move up the table with his historic hat-trick, keeping the race open, with the title; Who can surpass Messi?

Read also: “Because you’re still making history.” Ronaldo receives an exciting message

Big stars in the third round. Who shone and who disappointed?

Kylian Mbappe didn’t score against Norway but made two assists that set up two goals for Dembele. His total contribution in 3 games: 4 goals and 3 assists.

Holland missed the group stage as coach Solbakken rested him completely against France. Norway lost 1-4 and Haaland is saving his energy for the round of 32 against Ivory Coast. He has 4 goals and remains one of the most prominent candidates for the award.

On the other hand, Ronaldo returned to silence in the 3rd round and Portugal drew 0-0 with Colombia, entering the round of 32 from the runner-up spot. His tally remains at two goals in the tournament. Ronaldo came out of the first round with several records, the most important of which is that he is the only one to score in 6 World Cups and became his country’s all-time leading scorer in the World Cup, overtaking the legend Eusebio.

As for Harry Kane, he wrote his name in England’s records as he scored in a 2-0 win over Panama to become England’s first ever World Cup goalscorer with 11 goals, overtaking Gary Lineker. Bellingham’s presence in turn contributed to this match with a goal and an assist.

Read also: Video: Maybe they exploded? The destroyed stadium doubles the controversy surrounding the World Cup to be held in America.

Tour highlights and highlights

Ousmane Dembele scored the fastest first-half hat-trick in 72 years against Norway.

Messi is the first player to score in 7 consecutive World Cup matches.

Egypt made it past the World Cup group stage for the first time, which is worth noting.

9 African teams in the 32nd round. immortal record.

Cape Verde (Cape Verde) is the smallest country in terms of population (600 thousand people) among the qualifying tournaments of the second round, but the next test is the most difficult: Messi and Argentina.

Head coach Steve Clarke resigns shortly after Scotland’s exit after three group defeats.

Ecuador expected the biggest shock and surprise of the round, beating Germany 1-2 in a wake-up call to Nagelsmann’s team and Neuer’s friends.

Also read: More of Messi’s magic. 3 lessons learned from Argentina’s win over Jordan

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