The seventh day of the 2026 World Cup delivered a mix of drama, dominance, and a whole lot of questions. Portugal and England both took the field for the first time, but only one of them looked ready to contend.
Portugal’s day started like a dream. Joao Neves, all of 21 years old, put a beautiful header past the DR Congo keeper inside six minutes. It felt like the floodgates were about to open. Cristiano Ronaldo was on the field. The group stage opponent was supposed to be overmatched. Instead, Portugal spent the next 84 minutes trying to figure out what went wrong.
DR Congo, playing in their first World Cup since 1974 when the nation was called Zaire, had other plans. Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa got on the end of a looping cross just before halftime, completely unmarked in the box, and planted a header into the net. It was the first World Cup goal in the country’s history. And it was enough to earn a point.
Portugal huffed and puffed after that. Ronaldo didn’t manage a single shot on target. Not one. He’s now gone 10 straight major tournament games without scoring for his country. That’s a real problem for Roberto Martinez, and the kind of stat that forces managers into uncomfortable conversations. The team looked flat. The subs didn’t change much. A draw against DR Congo is not the start Portugal needed in Group K.
England, on the other hand, showed up ready to play. Thomas Tuchel’s squad took on Croatia in Texas and won 4-2 in a game that actually felt fun to watch. That’s not something you can always say about England in big tournaments.
Harry Kane scored twice in the first half, pulling even with Gary Lineker’s all-time World Cup goal record for England. But Croatia kept fighting back. Martin Baturina and Peter Musa each scored to make it 2-2 at the break. England could have folded. They didn’t.
Jude Bellingham put England ahead just minutes after halftime with a quick, sharp finish. Then Marcus Rashford added a late fourth to put the game away. England attacked with real intent, which is a phrase that hasn’t always applied to the Three Lions. It was their toughest test in the group stage and they passed it.
Elsewhere, Panama played their best World Cup game ever and still lost. They matched Ghana step for step in Toronto and were minutes away from a well-earned point. But Ghana broke their hearts with a 95th-minute winner. Caleb Yirenkyi turned in a cross from Brandon Thomas-Asante on a rapid counterattack, and Panama had nothing left. It was brutal but Ghana needed that win badly.
Colombia took care of business against Uzbekistan in front of one of the best crowds of the tournament so far. Luis Diaz set up the opener for Daniel Munoz with a gorgeous chipped pass. Diaz then scored his own goal after a mistake from Uzbekistan’s keeper gift-wrapped their first ever World Cup goal. Jasminto Campaz came off the bench and headed in a third to seal it. Colombia is in great shape to advance.
Day seven really came down to two stories. England looks dangerous. Portugal looks confused. And at this stage of a World Cup, one of those is a lot harder to fix.
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