{"id":5247,"date":"2026-06-24T10:59:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T10:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/?p=5247"},"modified":"2026-06-24T10:59:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T10:59:40","slug":"world-cup-2026-ranking-the-best-matches-moments-goals-and-players-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/?p=5247","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2026: Ranking the best matches, moments, goals and players so far"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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1: Messi opener v Algeria<\/b><\/p>\n

Another list topped by the Argentina maestro. Collecting the ball 30 yards out, Messi advanced to the top of the D before whipping a beautiful left-footed shot into the top corner. <\/p>\n

2: Mbappe second v Senegal<\/b><\/p>\n

One touch to set himself, a quick glance up and then a thumping effort from 30 yards out past Edouard Mendy – some strike.<\/p>\n

3: Balogun second v Paraguay<\/b><\/p>\n

Folarin Balogun showed pace, power and then composure to take a touch inside the covering defender before bending the ball into the top corner with his left foot. <\/p>\n

4: Reyna’s fourth v Paraguay<\/b><\/p>\n

Late in the game, the Paraguay defence backed off and USA midfielder Gio Reyna took full advantage, moving into the penalty box before nonchalantly curling the ball into the far corner with the outside of his right boot.<\/p>\n

5: Ayari’s opener against Tunisia<\/b><\/p>\n

Yasin Ayari set Sweden on their way to a comprehensive win<\/a> with a rasping shot from 25 yards that arrowed into the corner.<\/p>\n

6: Vinicius Jr’s equalizer against Morocco<\/b><\/p>\n

With Brazil labouring, a moment of brilliance brought them level. Vinicius Jr collected the ball on the left side of the box, cut back on to his right foot and bent an unstoppable shot into the far corner.<\/p>\n

7: Mahmic’s volley against Switzerland for Bosnia<\/b><\/p>\n

A moment to remember for Ermin Mahmic as he lashed a volley into the Switzerland net after a corner was only punched out to the edge of the box. Not a bad way to score your first international goal.<\/p>\n

8: Olwan’s goal for Jordan v Austria<\/b><\/p>\n

With the defence backing off, Ali Olwan ran from the halfway line to the penalty area before expertly curling the ball in off the post to give Jordan their first World Cup goal.<\/p>\n

9: Munoz’s flicked volley against Uzbekistan<\/b><\/p>\n

Colombia got up and running with this brilliant Daniel Munoz effort. Having timed his run to perfection, the Crystal Palace wing-back stretched to meet Luis Diaz’s deep cross and lift a volley past the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

10: Nmecha’s combination with Wirtz for goal v Curacao<\/b><\/p>\n

Felix Nmecha fired Germany in front after playing a lovely one-two with Florian Wirtz. The pass meant Nmecha didn’t have to break stride before curling the ball around a Curacao defender into the bottom corner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1: Messi opener v Algeria Another list topped by the Argentina maestro. Collecting the ball 30 yards out, Messi advanced…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racingsport.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}