The extended 48-team World Cup began with fireworks from all 12 groups, indicating that the weaker teams had come to do business.
While Cape Verde achieved their biggest shock after drawing a goalless tie with the highly fancied Spain side, the other shock came from Morocco, who held the five-time world champions Brazil to a 1-1 draw. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal also suffered a huge blow when they only managed a 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
However, on the contrary, the good teams made things difficult for the bad teams. The national team of Argentina was successful in defeating Algeria 3-0, owing to the World Cup hat-trick done by Lionel Messi.
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The German national team did not face any difficulty in winning the match against the new team of this World Cup, Curacao, 7-1. The team of France also won their game easily with a score of 3-0 against Senegal, and two goals were scored by Kylian Mbappe.
Group standings of the team after their first round
Round one of the expanded 48-team World Cup has proven to be a success. Teams such as Germany, Argentina, England, France, Sweden, and Norway started out as expected, topping their groups respectively, while Mexico and the USA made good co-hosts for their group matches. On the other hand, a series of draws has made several groups wide open.
The pressure is on since there are more things to lose due to the new tournament format, where the top two teams from each group, plus the top eight third-placed teams, advance to the round of 32.
The groups A, B, C and D are topped by Mexico, Switzerland, Scotland and the USA, respectively. Whereas Germany, Sweden, New Zealand and Uruguay lead the Group E, F, G and H with due respect. Lastly, the Group I, J, K and L are led by Norway, Argentina, Colombia and England.
Messi enthrones Golden Boot spot
But even now, with the World Cup barely begun, there is already talk of an intense contest for the Golden Boot award. The race is led by Messi, who put three in the back of the net in his team's first match, but he isn't going to have things all his own way, because a number of formidable challengers lie just behind him in the standings.
Other young star players are below the top third of the list, with a score of single and double goals from each of them. Victor Gyokeres and Marcus Rashford are also named in the list, with a goal for each.
FAQs:
Which player currently leads the Golden Boot race after scoring a hat-trick in Round 1?
Lionel Messi leads the race after scoring three goals in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Algeria.
How many teams will advance from the group stage to the knockout rounds under the new format?
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups, plus the eight best third-placed teams, advance to the Round of 32.
