Another major upset has been seen in the FIFA World Cup 2026. After Spain, Portugal also had to be satisfied with a draw. Cope Verde, participating in the tournament for the first time, prevented Spain from winning. Now Congo, playing the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, held Portugal to a 1-1 draw. Argentina’s Lionel Messi gave his team a great start in the Mahakumbh of football by scoring a hat-trick, but like him, Cristiano Ronaldo, who is participating in this tournament for the sixth time, could not show any such feat and his team Portugal had to play an unexpected draw against Congo.
Joao Neves gave Portugal an early lead in the sixth minute. The midfielder scored with a header from Pedro Neto’s cross. However, in stoppage time of the first half, Yoane Wissa scored a header from Arthur Masuaku’s cross to give Congo an equaliser. This was the first World Cup goal in Congo’s history. Congo had previously participated in the 1974 World Cup but had lost all three of its matches.
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Ronaldo disappointed
Portugal is considered a strong contender for the title. All eyes are on Ronaldo but he disappointed in his first match. He got a chance to score on two occasions. But he could not take advantage of it. Ronaldo could not make a shot from the right side in the 68th and 73rd minutes. On both occasions he shook his head in disappointment. Apart from Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes had a chance to give Portugal the lead in the 90th minute but his shot also went out from the right side. Portugal took the lead in the 55th minute with Joao Cancelo’s bicycle kick but it was ruled offside.
Also read: Most goals in FIFA World Cup, where does Lionel Messi stand after hat-trick?
England’s winning start
With the help of two goals from Harry Kane, England made a winning start by defeating Croatia 4-2. Kane converted the penalty into a goal in the 12th minute. After this he scored his second goal in the 42nd minute. Martin Baturina (36th) and Peter Moses scored in the first half to keep Croatia in the contest.
Musa scored his goal in the last moments of injury time of the first half. However, Jude Bellingham (47th) gave England a decisive lead just two minutes into the second half. Marcus Rashford further strengthened the lead in the 85th minute. The semi-final of the 2018 World Cup was played between these two teams, in which Croatia won but the England team proved to be better here.
Harry Kane made this record
England captain Harry Kane has taken his number of goals in the FIFA World Cup to 10. With this, he has equaled Gary Lineker, who held the record of scoring most World Cup goals for England. Lineker participated in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.
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