Here’s a look at the viral moments and on-field controversies as well as the biggest players, best performances, goals and more. Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026Cristiano Ronaldo joined the party, Lionel Messi set a new record, Iran once again displayed their fighting spirit and Turkiye were shown the door.The second round of the 2026 World Cup group stage had a fair amount of drama.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listAl Jazeera breaks down the key moments:Better late than never: Ronaldo strikes for PortugalUnlike other high-profile strikers at the tournament who came out all guns blazing from the get-go, Ronaldo needed some time to open his account. But his two goals in Portugal’s 5-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan on Tuesday were enough to silence the critics as the 41-year-old became the first player in history to score in six World Cups.Messi is saving his best for lastAge is just a number for Messi, who is celebrating his 39th birthday on Wednesday. His apparent last dance is bringing out the best in him as the Argentinian has set a new record for the most World Cup goals at 18 – a figure that is sure to increase with La Albiceleste now the number one favourites to add back-to-back World Cups to their trophy cabinet.Is Messi “Mr Argentina”? It’s hard to argue otherwise with all five of the team’s goals scored by him. That also makes him the leading Golden Boot contender with one goal more than France’s Kylian Mbappe. At this point in the tournament, Messi is the 2026 World Cup’s Golden Boot leader [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]Triple treat: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland score on same day, againFIFA has come under criticism for a series of issues this tournament, but one thing it’s got spot on is the scheduling of Argentina, France and Norway games on the same day. For the second time in a row, fans were treated to back-to-back goals galore on Monday as Messi started the party with a brace before Mbappe did the same, and Erling Haaland topped it off with another double. Advertisement Norway’s ‘Viking row’ goes viralBack at the World Cup after 28 years, …
