Mark Doyle

Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as France progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a laboured 1-0 win over an aggressive and cynical Paraguay side on Saturday evening. The South Americans, who upset Germany in the previous round, were always expected to make for awkward and uncompromising opponents for the tournament favourites but it was nonetheless surprising just how much Didier Deschamps' stellar forward line struggled to create chances in Philadelphia.

The real World Cup is finally under way! After a group phase almost completely devoid of jeopardy because of the tournament's farcical format, the first batch of knockout games treated us to some long overdue drama, with Germany and Netherlands among the big names to fall in the round of 32. A couple more heavyweights could have been kayoed too, though.

It's fair to say that France's forward line has taken the 2026 World Cup by storm. After winning all three of their group games, Les Bleus defeated Sweden 3-0 in the round of 32 to become the tournament's top scorers at the time of writing, with 13 goals. Unsurprisingly, Kylian Mbappe has accounted for the majority of those goals, with the Real Madrid superstar striking six times in four outings so far.

For some football fans, the summer is the part of the calendar that they look forward to the most - and that's not just because it's filled by a World Cup every four years! Rather, it's because the end of the season means only one thing: It's time for transfers! The 2026 window is once again proving to be busy, with some huge names making big-money moves before deadline day on September 1.

When Portugal play Croatia on Thursday, Cristiano Ronaldo will attempt to do something he's never managed before: score a goal in the knockout stage of the World Cup. The Portuguese is one of the finest forwards the game has ever seen and, against Uzbekistan last week, became the first man to score in six different editions of the game's most prestigious tournament, which is testament to his remarkable longevity and work ethic.

Germany were sensationally dumped out of the 2026 World Cup on Monday evening after losing 4-3 on penalties to Paraguay after a 1-1 draw in Foxborough. Julian Nagelsmann's side had 75 percent possession and three times as many shots as their South American opponents (21-7), while they also thought they'd won a bad-tampered round-of-32 tie when Jonathan Tah headed home Nathaniel Brown's corner in extra-time.

Casemiro and Gabriel Martinelli got the goals as Brazil came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in Houston to progress to the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup. The five-time champions appeared to be heading for an embarrassingly early exit after falling behind to a terrific first-half strike from Kaishu Sano, who found the bottom corner of Alisson Becker's net with a low shot after pouncing on a misplaced pass from Danilo.

The group stage of the 2026 World Cup came to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday, as Austria scored a 96th-minute equaliser against Algeria to qualify for the knockout stage while simultaneously eliminating Iran, who had been set to progress as one of the tournament's third-placed finishers. Elsewhere, Lionel Messi came off the bench to help Argentina maintain their 100 percent winning record with a 3-1 victory over Jordan and, in doing so, the No.10 extended his record-breaking goals tally at the finals to 19.

The fact that Lionel Messi already has five goals at the 2026 World Cup is obviously a great thing for Argentina. The worry, though, is that none of his team-mates have even managed to score one. Admittedly, relying on Messi was always part of the plan. As striking legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Fox Sports, "Messi isn't just Argentina's best player. He's Argentina's system."

There was still more than half an hour to play in Toronto, but Germany's fans had seen enough. With their team trailing 1-0 to Ivory Coast, and struggling terribly to break down The Elephants, they began chanting Deniz Undav's name. In their eyes, it was clearly time for Germany's super-sub - and Julian Nagelsmann agreed. In the 60th minute of an absorbing World Cup Group E encounter, the coach threw on Undav, Nadiem Amiri and Jamie Leweling. Less than eight minutes later, Amiri whipped over a delightful cross from the right wing that Undav volleyed home emphatically.

At an event in Belo Horizonte last week, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a joke at the expense of Neymar, whom he described as a "work-from-home player". Unsurprisingly, it didn't go over well. Neymar's inclusion in the Selecao is no laughing matter in Brazil. The rights and wrongs of Carlo Ancelotti calling up a half-fit has-been have been the subject of heated debate for months now.

Kylian Mbappe bagged his second consecutive brace as France made it two wins from two at the 2026 World Cup by beating Iraq 3-0 on Monday evening. After watching Lionel Messi score twice against Austria earlier in the evening, Mbappe did likewise during a storm-delayed Group I encounter in Philadelphia, meaning he remains one goal behind his former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate in this year's Golden Boot race, and two off the Argentine's overall tournament tally of 18.

Lionel Messi became the World Cup's all-time leading scorer, and then added another goal for good measure, as Argentina beat Austria 2-0 in a bad-tempered game in Dallas to maintain their winning start to their title defence. The greatest player of all time should have broken Miroslav Klose's record after just eight minutes of play, when the Albiceleste were awarded a penalty for a Stefan Posch foul on Lautaro Martinez, but Messi dragged his spot-kick wide.

There's no sporting event bigger than the World Cup. It's the pinnacle of professional football, where global superstars are born, dreams die and legends live forever. Sometimes, with just one goal, one pass, one tackle, one block or one save, a previously little-known player can become a national hero, a name eternally etched in the memory of a country's collective consciousness.

Deniz Undav scored twice off the bench as Germany came from behind to beat Ivory Coast to an absorbing World Cup Group E encounter in Toronto on Saturday evening. The four-time champions began brightly, with Kai Havertz looking likely up front, but The Elephants were a constant threat on the break and took the lead after half an hour when a dangerous cross from the impressive Yan Diomande led to Franck Kessie slotting home from close range.

Netherlands belatedly announced themselves as serious World Cup contenders by hammering Sweden 5-1 in Houston on Saturday evening. The Dutch had performed only in patches in their opening-round draw with Japan and coach Ronald Koeman was criticised for his perceived conservatism. However, his team produced a devastating attack display to dismantle a Sweden side that had kicked off their campaign with a 5-1 win of their own, over Tunisia.

Mohamed Salah's end-of-season exit left Liverpool with a major problem - and Yan Diomande looks like the best possible solution. Unfortunately for the Reds, they're likely to have as much trouble signing the teenage sensation this summer as Ecuador's defenders had trying to keep up with him in Philadelphia on Sunday. In a way, Diomande's dazzling display on his World Cup debut was a positive for Liverpool, as it illustrated precisely why they believe he could have a transformative effect on an attack that struggled so badly last season.

Just over a month before the start of the World Cup, Ayyoub Bouaddi had yet to decide where his international future lay. Would the France Under-21 midfielder continue representing the nation of his birth? Or accept an offer to represent his parents' homeland, Morocco? In the end, after much deliberation, he went with the latter, and it's already looking like the correct call.