Group J

Argentina had already qualified, made nine changes and still won comfortably, which tells you something about their depth. They beat World Cup debutants Jordan 3-1 in Dallas, with Lionel Messi coming off the…

Some dead rubbers refuse to read the script. Algeria and Austria, both already on course for the knockout rounds, served up a six-goal thriller in Kansas City that swung four times and was settled by a header…

Jordan arrived at their first World Cup as outsiders and very nearly left California with a famous result. This piece looks at the night the debutants led Algeria, ran out of legs in the second half, and went…

Lionel Messi went into Dallas level with Miroslav Klose and came out of it alone at the top of the World Cup's all-time scoring list. This piece looks at the night a 38-year-old missed a penalty, scored twice…

Twenty years after making his World Cup debut, Lionel Messi produced the most significant individual performance of the 2026 tournament's opening days - a hat-trick that moved him level with the all-time…

Austria came to San Francisco with 36 years of World Cup hurt to exorcise and a debutant opponent in Jordan who refused to play the role of easy victims. This piece unpacks how Ralf Rangnick's side wobbled,…