World Cup 2026: Messi notches again as group stage ends in dramatic fashion

Just like that, the group stage is over. Blink and you’d miss it. If your blink lasts over two weeks.

Even those who were critical of the bloated 48-team format would have to say the tournament has been good so far, though.

Colombia-Portugal, the glamour tie of the entire round, proved that goals do not always make a game. Their 0-0 draw, played in oppressive Miami heat and in front of a canary yellow crowd, was far more entertaining than the earlier Group K snoozefests.

Colombia had the better chances, and if Davinson Sanchez wore a smaller shoe size his late header might not have been ruled out for offside, but they will still feel they won 0-0, seeing as they topped the group. Portugal were disappointing and Roberto Martinez is once again left with ‘The Ronaldo Dilemma’ before their next game (Martinez will almost definitely keep starting him).

In the other Group K game, Uzbekistan took an early lead against DR Congo, but were reeled back in by the Leopards, who progressed in third-place, winning 3-1.

Lionel Messi did not start in Argentina’s dead rubber against Jordan; clearly resting so that he can take on Pico Lopes at full strength next week. He came on for a half-hour and scored a free-kick in a 3-1 win.

In 1982, West Germany and Austria were accused of colluding to achieve a 1-0 result that saw both sides progress from their group ahead of Algeria, in a game known as the “Disgrace of Gijón”.

Last night, it was Algeria and Austria who would both benefit by drawing and in the second half it seemed like a gentleman’s agreement had taken place. Then Algeria looked to have taken their long-awaited revenge with a late goal, but Austria got a 96th-minute leveller to save themselves and dump Iran out of the tournament.

In the earlier kickoffs, England looked fairly unconvincing in a 2-0 win against Panama. It took them an hour to break down the Central Americans, but Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored to set up a knockout clash with DR Congo.

Elsewhere in Group L, Croatia’s aged side beat Ghana 2-1, as the Black Stars’ manager Carlos Queiroz furthered his reputation for negativity by masterminding another miserable performance. Ghana face Colombia next, while Croatia take on Portugal; maybe they could recruit Ronaldo into their auld lads’ club.

Results:

Group L – Panama 0 England 2 (Bellingham 62, Kane 67)

Group L – Croatia 2 (Sucic 31, Vlasic 83) Ghana 1 (Luckassen 73)

Group K – Colombia 0 Portugal 0

Group K – DR Congo 3 (Wissa 68, 90+1, Mayele 78) Uzbekistan 1 (Shomurodov 10)

Group J – Algeria 3 (Belghali 45, Mahrez 60, 90+3) Austria 3 (Arnautović 28, Sabitzer 55, Kalajdzic 90+6)

Group J – Jordan 1 (Al-Taamari 55) Argentina 3 (Lo Celso 19, Martínez 31, Messi 80)

Goal of the day: Algeria’s Rafik Belghali did really well to beat a couple of men and lash a strike into the Austrian net, but the ball bouncing off the corner flag to stay in play makes this an even more satisfying and chaotic goal. This goal helped Algeria through to the next round, where they will play Switzerland.

Moment of the day: DR Congo making the knockouts for the first time was special, but it got trumped at the last minute by Austria’s late equaliser to stay in the World Cup. Austria’s number one Peter Crouch tribute act, Sasa Kalajdzic, wrote himself into his country’s footballing lore with a clinical header to rescue their tournament and send them through to play Spain in the second round.

Picture of the day: Bangladesh have never qualified for the World Cup, but football fans in the country have refused to be stuck for a team to support. There’s already been incredible images from watch parties for Argentina and Brazil, and here the commitment to La Albiceleste has become a part of public life in Dhaka.

Question of the day: In Ireland’s group at the 1994 World Cup, all four teams ended up with four points and zero goal difference, with three teams progressing. Who were the team that missed out and how was it decided? (Answer below)

Coming up today:

Round of 32 – South Africa v Canada (8pm Irish time, RTÉ 2 & UTV)

Elsewhere in sport: In rugby, Ireland’s U20s came up just short in their World Championship opener against England, despite having plenty of chances to clinch a win.

The second pair of All-Ireland football quarter-finals take place in Croke Park today. Malachy Clerkin speaks to Brian Fenton ahead of Dublin’s clash with Galway, while Gordon Manning studies the clash between neighbours Louth and Monaghan.

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