World Cup 2026: Everything you missed overnight and what's coming up on Tuesday
Erling Haaland of Norway and teammates celebrate with fans. Pic: Patrick Smith - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Kylian Mbappe scored his second double of the tournament and Ousmane Dembele added a third as France eased into the last 32 with a 3-0 victory over Iraq on Monday in the first match of this World Cup beset by a lengthy weather stoppage.
Mbappe’s goals, on his 100th international appearance, came nearly three hours apart after thunderstorms in the region delayed the second-half kickoff by a shade under two hours.
“The first half was good,” said France manager Didier Deschamps. “In the second half, we picked up where we left off, bearing in mind that it wasn't easy given what happened, and we managed to put the game beyond reach. That's a very good thing.” Mbappe now sits on 16 all-time World Cup goals, pulling level with Germany's former record holder Miroslav Klose.
Dembele had faced criticism for what some regarded as a poor performance in France’s 3-1 opening win over Senegal.
“There's no issue,” Deschamps said. “Ousmane is confident in himself. He can sometimes get people talking, but I have complete faith in him. He's still finding his bearings because his role is different from the one he has at his club.” Iraq remain alive for one of the eight third-place spots.
They will probably need a win in their group finale against Senegal and help elsewhere. They could be without Aymen Hussein, who scored in their 4-1 opening defeat by Norway but came off in the 26th minute on Monday with an apparent injury.
“You have one moment of excellence from one of the best players in the world,” said Ali Al-Hamadi, who replaced Hussein.
“And then we have to go inside and wait for an hour and a half. You know, it's really difficult to come out and keep the same intensity against these great players. And in the end I think we made too many mistakes again," he added.
With the outcome never really in doubt, the weather provided most of the drama.
After referee Drew Fischer blew his halftime whistle as the storms were already beginning, the skies opened up further and spectators were told to seek shelter in the stadium concourses.
The players finally re-emerged for warm-ups about one hour and 40 minutes later and, even then, the restart was delayed further as stadium personnel used squeegees to shuttle standing water off the east side of the pitch.
Norway's players sat on the pitch and performed the "rowing" celebration made iconic by their fans during the World Cup after reaching the knockout stage with a nervy 3-2 win over Senegal.
At their first finals since 1998, red-clad Norwegian fans have been doing their Viking row in stadiums, on escalators and even in New York's Times Square, but it has never been more emotional or joyous than after the final whistle on Monday.
Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland, whose double helped secure the win, brought the squad together to perform the row in front of the fans but they had to wait for coach Stale Solbakken, who sprinted up the steps in the stand at the final whistle to kiss and hug his wife.
🚣♂️🚣♀️🚣🚣♂️🚣♀️🚣 #NORWAY pic.twitter.com/936aIwZKVe
— sev media (@sevvideos) June 23, 2026
With the squad sitting in rows resembling those of a Viking longboat and Solbakken squeezing into the middle behind Haaland, Odegaard began beating the drum to a joyous climax.
TV pictures showed fans back in Trondheim joining in as the celebration brought Norway supporters around the world together, but midfielder Patrick Berg revealed that he did not think the row was going to catch on.
"At the start, I think people doubted a little bit - like, is this something that's going to last or just something that's going to die off? But it's been a massive part of our World Cup so far," he told reporters.
"Doing it in New York is a really beautiful moment for us together. They started doing it back home in Oslo before we left for the World Cup, and now I think the whole world is aware of it ... I feel the energy that we create together with (the fans) is really important for us."
"It was incredibly fun," forward Alexander Sorloth said, beaming with pride after the game. "A lot more fun than I would have thought. When you hear the sound, it's magical."
Asked how far he and the Viking rowing might take him and his team at the World Cup, Sorloth was confident.
"We'll see, but if we reach our top level, it's a tournament and everything can happen, but if we reach our top level, we can go far," he said.
Algeria stormed back to beat Jordan 2-1 and eliminate the World Cup debutants with a match to spare on Monday thanks to second-half goals from substitute Nadhir Benbouali and Amine Gouiri.
Benbouali's header cancelled out Nizar Al-Rashdan's first-half opener and Gouiri poked home in a goalmouth scramble eight minutes from time to revive Algeria's campaign after their opening 3-0 loss to Argentina.
"I don't know if we showed our true face but we played a better game than against Argentina," forward Gouiri said.
"We conceded a goal but we had the mental resilience and we're gradually gaining strength, and this match will do us a lot of good."
The victory put Algeria level with Austria on three points in Group J, while ensuring defending champions Argentina will go through to the next round as group winners following their 2-0 win over the Austrians earlier on Monday.
Tearful Jordan keeper Yazeed Abu Laila said his team were unlucky.
"The goals we conceded weren't really down to tactics or anything like that. We had the game under control, but we missed our chances," he said. "As players, we have to look at the details and take responsibility.
"We blame ourselves and apologise to our fans."
Lionel Messi broke the World Cup goalscoring record as he scored twice in Argentina’s 2-0 Group J win over Austria.
A hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s opening game of the tournament had moved the 38-year-old level with Miroslav Klose’s mark of 16 goals.
During Monday’s game in Dallas, Messi missed an early opportunity to surpass that tally after firing wide from the penalty spot, but he broke the record towards the end of the first half with shot into the bottom corner past goalkeeper Alex Schlager.
Messi struck again in stoppage time to bag his 18th World Cup goal and secure back-to-back wins for Argentina ahead of their final group match against Jordan in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Neymar could make his first appearance at this year's World Cup in Brazil's match against Scotland on Wednesday, with Carlo Ancelotti weighing whether the forward is fit enough to return after a calf injury that has kept him out of the finals so far.
The 34-year-old, recalled by Ancelotti after almost three years away from the national side, has yet to play at the tournament after suffering the injury more than five weeks ago.
His absence from Brazil's opening two group matches against Morocco and Haiti only sharpened the intrigue around a player whose career has lurched from dazzling promise to a medical file thick enough to alarm even the most optimistic supporter.
Neymar last played for Brazil in 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier.
Since then, he has been sidelined for more than 650 days by a string of injuries sustained during spells playing in Saudi Arabia and Brazil, where he returned to boyhood club Santos last year in an attempt to revive his career.
Instead, his comeback has been stop-start, with further injuries and fresh controversies interrupting his search for rhythm and sharpness.
This year he has scored six goals and provided four assists in 15 matches, while being carefully managed and never playing more than four consecutive games since returning from knee surgery in February.
His inclusion in Ancelotti's squad sparked fierce debate in Brazil, largely because nobody seemed entirely sure when he would be fit -- or what version of Neymar would emerge if he was.
Portugal had plenty of the ball in their World Cup opener but little bite and Roberto Martinez's side return to Houston needing a sharper attacking display against Uzbekistan after a frustrating 1-1 draw with Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to Opta, Portugal completed 783 passes against the Africans, fewer only than Spain's 800, and topped the possession chart with 75%.
Yet all that control produced seven shots and only one on target — Joao Neves's sixth-minute header.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who played the full match in the opener and came in for criticism, remains central to Portugal's story at 41.
"Cristiano is an example because of his career, because of the hunger he still has at his age," winger Francisco Conceicao said. "For us and for the new generation, he's a role model."
England and Ghana can both reach for the World Cup knockout rounds on Tuesday when two teams glowing from opening wins collide in Boston in a Group L clash that should offer a clearer measure of their tournament credentials.
England arrive with a swagger after a 4-2 victory over Croatia that showcased Thomas Tuchel’s attacking ambition, but also exposed enough defensive fragility to keep expectations in check. Ghana, disciplined and dangerous in a 1-0 win over Panama, have the chance to turn a promising start into a statement.
Under veteran coach Carlos Queiroz, Ghana have built their success on organisation and quick transitions, and they possess enough pace and physicality to trouble England if given space on the counter-attack.
Ghana are once again dreaming of a place in the knockout rounds, and a win over England would secure qualification and rank among the country's greatest World Cup achievements.
"To suffer and play, we have to suffer, there is no other way," Queiroz said. "We must be ready to make sacrifices. You have to be ready to pay the price because a win in this World Cup is very expensive. But the boys are ready to pay that price."
Group L: Panama vs Croatia, Foxborough, 12am
Neither side can really afford to lose with qualification for the knockout rounds potentially on the line, depending on the result of the day's other Group L fixture.
Panama looked solid in the first half of their World Cup opener in Toronto against Ghana as they dominated possession and seemed certain to score a breakthrough goal but instead lost their defensive focus and went on to suffer a stinging 1-0 loss after Ghana's Caleb Yirenkyi scored in the fifth minute of extra time.
"The result is painful, but that is because we deserved better," Panama manager Thomas Christiansen said after a game in which his team had 11 attempts on goal.
Croatia lost 4-2 to England at Dallas Stadium, a result that coach Zlatko Dalic said left his side with no room for error.
"It's very important for us to be at the right level after this defeat," said Dalic. "We do not have the right to any more mistakes."
Dalic was also scathing of his team's "disastrous" efforts at defending set pieces after two of England's goals followed corners.
Colombia will look to build on a winning start to their World Cup campaign when they face DR Congo, with Nestor Lorenzo's side wary of an opponent who frustrated Portugal in their opener.
The South Americans began Group K with a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan, though the scoreline masked a difficult second half in which their opponents exposed vulnerabilities that they will be keen to address.
The pressure will again fall on Bayern Munich forward Luis Diaz, who delivered a goal and an assist against Uzbekistan and was named player of the match after spearheading Colombia's attack.
Lorenzo will also hope for a greater influence from captain James Rodriguez, who played a quieter role in the opening victory as Colombia often relied on Diaz's pace and direct running to break down their opponents.
DR Congo arrive with confidence after earning a surprise 1-1 draw against Portugal in their first World Cup match for more than half a century, having last appeared at the tournament as Zaire in 1974.
"Congo play more in transition, with long balls and quick breaks. It's going to be a very difficult match for us," Lorenzo warned.
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