Why the Fifa World Cup has kicked off in style as the big stars step up

Saturday, 20 June 2026

ANALYSIS: There was just one person at the World Cup more satisfied than Lionel Messi this week.

Fifa boss Gianni Infantino could have allowed himself a smug smile when the first round of group matches were completed in the US, Mexico and Canada.

France, Argentina and England all had big wins, while Spain need to find their goalscoring boots.

The Post football writer Tony Smith won’t have changed his pre-tournament prediction of France winning it all, while liking their superstar striker Kylian Mbappe to pip Harry Kane for the Golden Boot.

The writer of this piece can keep some credibility by tipping Switzerland, the US, Mexico and Australia as little-mentioned surprise semifinal contenders.

Here’s the main reasons why the tournament has kicked off in style, with some downsides.

Good

The games: Concerns that increasing the number of teams by half to 48 would make for more ‘non-contests’, between the title contenders and the minnows, did not come to fruition.

Spain’s scoreless draw with Cape Verde was the greatest example, but there were many other matches where the underdogs lost little in comparison with the big names. That confirmed the belief that the ‘lesser nations’ have improved notably as players from around the world have been talent-spotted and given the opportunity to flourish in top-flight competitions.

There were some unexpected delights - South Korea versus Czechia, and Australia’s 2-0 win over Turkey - while wins to co-hosts the US and Mexico in convincing fashion will have encouraged ‘home’ fans.

However, we still had another 48 games to be played before the Round of 32, and viewer fatigue could set in.

Time difference: When you’ve spent decades setting alarms for the dead dark hours of a Sunday morning here to gain your live football fix, getting the opportunity to watch four World Cup games in a day without losing a moment’s sleep is glorious.

Reading the complaints from the viewers in the UK on social media makes it even sweeter, while TVNZ’s package has been excellent.

VAR: The implementation of the Video Assistant Review at the tournament seems to achieve what was hoped for when introduced, yet is rarely witnessed during English Premier League seasons.

Decisions are made quickly, and the system at least feels like it is used less frequently than what we’ve witnessed in the EPL. Many of the latter examples still failed to quell controversy and convince that they were fixing errors. At this tournament, they haven’t got them all correct, but week one went mostly without refereeing becoming a big storyline.

Shooting stars: Not just firing, but finding the net too.

The contest for the Golden Boot was expected to be contested between Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo; all global behemoths. Football often finds a way to defy expectations, but the first four mentioned scored nine times in matchweek one to set the Cup alight, with only the 41-year-old Portuguese statue going goal-less.

Oh, and NZ’s Eli Just is level with Mbappe, Kane and Haaland.

The All Whites: Many neutral observers rated their 2-2 draw with Iran in Los Angeles as the best of the initial 24 encounters.

Both sides knew three points for a win would give them a huge chance of qualifying from Group G, so we witnessed an all-action encounter from two teams who had been predicted to be defensive-minded.

It was also a sign of expectations from the Chris Wood-led New Zealand side that at their third appearance in the World Cup finals, the shared point after twice leading was somewhat of a disappointment despite the display.

Bad

Hydration breaks: We’d been warned about these also being a potential tournament blight, and this one has been proven unfortunately spot-on.

Player welfare is important, but the three-minute interventions have rarely been essential, while instigating them in climate-controlled closed stadiums is ludicrous.

It would have been a shock for Fifa to label them accurately pre-tournament as what they truly are - an opportunity to divide the game into four quarters to increase revenue, but the ‘ad breaks’ are here to stay for this tournament at the least.

Foreign treatment: Before the games began, Somali referee Omar Artan, was denied entry to the United States, with his country on a travel ban list introduced by President Donald Trump's administration.

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team’s treatment by Fifa makes them “the most oppressed” team at the tournament.

Vozinha, the goalkeeping star of Cape Verde’s goal-less draw against Spain, said visa issues stopped his mother from getting to the US to watch her son.

All this is happening while the visiting fans who were able to enter the US have joined the vast diaspora of immigrants in showing what actually makes the United States great.

Roberto Martinez: A coach who came to prominence with, erm, Wigan Athletic, and failed to gain honours with Belgium‘s ‘golden generation’ is now in charge of Portugal and seemingly insistent on playing Ronaldo up front, blunting the talents and mobility of Neves, Vitinha and Fernandes.

Meh

Commentators: An easy target for the grumpy and consistent complainers.

On the whole, they’ve been fine. Sure, we’ve had an American refer to the ‘end line’, but hey, the UK’s Martin Tyler is 80 years old and hence no longer at the peak of his powers and equally open to criticism.

Many football fans highly rate their own tactical analysis and, so long as the commentators get the players’ names right, that’ll do.