Stars Shine in First Week of World Cup

P Coll
Jun 18
4 min read

The USA Starts with a Bang

The United States men's national team had an amazing start to the tournament. On 12 June, they beat Paraguay 4-1 at Los Angeles Stadium. This was the most goals the USA had ever scored in a single World Cup match.

The star of the game was striker Folarin Balogun, who scored two goals. He plays for AS Monaco in France. After the match, Balogun was calm about his debut. He said he tried to find something good to watch on Netflix when he got back to the team hotel, but he couldn't find anything!

Defender Chris Richards was also impressive. He successfully completed 83 passes - the most by any player in a World Cup match since 1966. However, there was one worry: star player Christian Pulisic left the field at half-time with a leg injury.

Messi Makes History — Again

On 16 June, Argentina played their first match against Algeria in Kansas City. Before the game, many people asked: Is Lionel Messi, who is now 38 years old, still good enough? He gave a very clear answer.

Messi scored three goals — his first-ever hat trick at a World Cup. Argentina won 3-0. With these three goals, Messi now has 16 World Cup goals in total. This equals the all-time record, which was held by Germany's Miroslav Klose.

This was also Messi's 200th game for Argentina, and his sixth World Cup. Nobody has ever played in six World Cups before. After the match, Messi spoke about the emotional night: "I went through some difficult days, but I'm grateful to my teammates because they were always by my side."

Scotland Returns After 28 Years

Scotland's last World Cup was in 1998. That is 28 years ago. Many Scottish fans had waited their whole lives to see their team at a World Cup again.

On 14 June, Scotland played their first game against Haiti. It was not a beautiful match, but it was a winning one. John McGinn scored in the 28th minute with a shot that hit a defender and went into the net. Scotland won 1-0.

This was Scotland's first World Cup win since 1990. Scotland's next games are against Brazil and Morocco — much harder opponents. But for now, the Scottish fans, known as the "Tartan Army", were celebrating in Miami.

The Stars Come Out on One Amazing Day

16 June was a very special day for football fans. Three of the world's best players all scored in the same afternoon and evening.

First, Kylian Mbappé scored twice for France in their 3-1 win over Senegal. His second goal was a long shot from outside the penalty area. With his goals at this tournament, Mbappé became France's all-time top scorer with 58 international goals.

Then, Erling Haaland scored twice for Norway in a 4-1 win over Iraq. One of his goals came when an Iraqi defender made a weak pass back to the goalkeeper — and Haaland was there to score easily.

And then came Messi's hat trick (see Story 2). On one day, these three superstars combined for seven goals. It was a night the fans will remember for a long time.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo Has a Problem

While other stars were scoring, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo had a difficult start. On 18 June, Portugal played DR Congo. Ronaldo, who is 41 years old and playing in his sixth World Cup, did not score. Portugal could only draw 1-1.

DR Congo scored their goal in the 30th minute, equalising after Portugal's young midfielder João Neves had given them the lead. Portugal's fans were worried. A draw against a team many people expected them to beat easily was a big disappointment.

Ronaldo looks frustrated. On the same day that Messi was scoring a hat trick, Ronaldo had nothing. The comparison between the two great players continues at this World Cup.

Glossary

These words are from the article. Learn them before or after you read.

Word / Phrase	Definition
tournament	a competition with many teams or players; the best team wins
group stage	the first part of the World Cup, where teams play in small groups
hat trick	when one player scores three goals in the same match
record	the best result ever achieved; something no one has done before
debut	the first time someone plays in a competition or game
striker	a player whose main job is to score goals
captain	the leader of a team
all-time	the best or most ever in history
upset	a surprising result, when a weak team beats a strong team
host nation	the country that organizes and holds a competition
withdraw (withdrew)	to leave or stop taking part in something
absence	a time when someone or something is not there
qualification	the process of winning the right to take part in a competition
momentum	the feeling that things are going well and progress is continuing

Vocabulary Exercise

Choose the correct word from the box to complete each sentence. Each word is used once.

Word Box

1. Folarin Balogun is a __________________ . His job is to score goals.

2. Scotland's first World Cup __________________ in 28 years came against Haiti.

3. The United States, Canada, and Mexico are the __________________ for the 2026 World Cup.

4. Messi scored a __________________ — three goals in one game — against Algeria.

5. Scotland had been away from the World Cup for a long time. Their 28-year __________________ finally ended in 2026.

6. A result is called an __________________ when a weak team beats a much stronger team.

7. Messi now has 16 World Cup goals, which equals the all-time __________________ .

8. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a __________________ with 48 teams from around the world.

9. Lionel Messi is the __________________ of the Argentina national team.

10. Ghana's Thomas Partey __________________ from the World Cup squad because he could not enter Canada.

Answers Below

Answer Key

1. striker

2. debut

3. host nation

4. hat trick

5. absence

6. upset

7. record

8. tournament

9. captain

10. withdrew