Ken EarlyBest Match: Argentina v Egypt was incredible, but England v Argentina had an extra level of loathing and tension that elevated the whole game.Best Goal – Lionel Messi (Argentina v Egypt): To strike the ball that calmly and cleanly as he’s being charged down by opponents, at a moment when Argentina absolutely needed that ball to go in. He knew himself how big it was. He’s scored 924 goals for club and country and his celebration for this one was as crazy as I’ve ever seen from him.🇦🇷 2-2 🇪🇬The reining champions won't go down that easy. In a matter of minutes, they get a second goal to equalise, and from who else but Lionel Messi. Watch all 104 games from the #FIFAWorldCup on RTÉ pic.twitter.com/GMQOOZL3GU— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 7, 2026
Best Player: Lionel Messi. World Cup highlight: The happiest I felt at any game during this tournament was under the big sky at the beautiful Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City as Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria. World Cup lowlight: Fifa’s contempt for the sport of which it is supposed to be the guardian. The quarterly ad breaks, the Balogun affair – a governing body that respected football could not have done these things. If I could change one thing: For the Republic of Ireland to have qualified. We lost to the Czech Republic, who were one of the worst teams of the 48. With no evidence, I believe we would have done better than them. Team of the Tournament: Vozinha; Rice, Lopes, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Enzo Fernandez; Olise; Messi, Haaland, Mbappé.Not a great tournament for right-backs, so let’s throw England’s temporary one Declan Rice a bone since we are preferring Michael Olise to Jude Bellingham at number 10. Bellingham scored more goals, but Olise “has more football in him”, as Graeme Souness would say. Cucurella’s an easy choice at left-back. Rodri was the outstanding central midfielder, Enzo has come through at big moments for Argentina, so we’ll have him over Fabian Ruiz. Pico Lopes partners Aymeric Laporte for getting a clean sheet against Spain, Vozinha for his saves and charisma. The front three picks itself.Malachy Clerkin Best Match: Argentina’s 3-2 win over Egypt had everything. Egypt were fantastic, comfortably walking themselves into a 2-0 lead. Their disallowed breakaway goal was one of the talking points of the whole tournament. And then Lionel Messi just took over for the last 20 minutes to will Argentina through. One of the greatest ever World Cup games.Best Goal – Kerim Alajbegovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina v Qatar): An absolute stunner from the 18-year-old Bosnian winger to open the scoring against Qatar. Cutting in from the left, he picked up the ball around 35 yards out, weaved his way around two leggy tackles before lashing a right-foot shot just inside the post. Pick it out.Best Player: Not the most original pick, granted, but it’s very hard to deny Messi since he has done more to haul Argentina through the tournament than was even the case four years ago. Set the tone with a hat-trick in the opening game, scored that beauty against Cape Verde, saved them against Egypt and England. All at the age of 39. Astonishing, really.World Cup highlight: Just being reminded, once again, that there’s nothing on the planet like a World Cup. If the aliens come and they’re wondering whether to let us survive as a species or blow us to oblivion, show them the World Cup. For one month every four years, it’s everything that’s good (and bad) about sport, about nations and cultures, about shared humanity. What do we do now?World Cup lowlight: The flipside, of course, is that never has the power of the World Cup been more attractive to the grasping yahoos who run it. They haven’t got to breaking point with it yet – 48 teams may well become 64, we probably haven’t seen the end of the hydration breaks, and the rule of law has been undermined by the Balogun shambles. If I could change one thing: Obviously, it’s Gianni Infantino. He spent years cosying up to Donald Trump and got nothing in return, except to be shown up on the world stage when the Yanks didn’t like a refereeing decision. He insisted he had to be shown on TV in every game, like some god of the sport, as opposed to some no-mark Swiss lawyer. His ridiculousness will surely catch up with him eventually. Team of the Tournament: Simon; Porro, Saliba, Martinez, Cucarella; Rodri, Enzo Fernandez; Mbappé, Messi, Bellingham; Haaland.Mary HanniganSidny Lopes Cabral celebrates scoring for Cape Verde against Argentina. Photograph: Leonardo Fernandez/FIFA via Getty Images Best Match: Argentina and Belgium’s comebacks against Egypt and Senegal, respectively, were up there, the drama of Mexico v England not too shabby either, but nothing could beat the pure unadulterated – and jaw-dropping – magic of World Cup debutants Cape Verde putting it up to reigning champions Argentina in the Round of 32. Twice they trailed, twice they drew level, and if it wasn’t for Emiliano Martinez, they might even have taken it to penalties. An extra-time own goal did for them in the end, but they went down with a glorious, fearless fight. Best Goal – Sidny Lopes Cabral (Cape Verde v Argentina): It was a mere three years ago that Cabral was playing in Germany’s fifth division, and here he was on the world stage scoring a worldy of a curler into the top-right corner to equalise against, of all people, Argentina. And no one looked more stunned than himself as he went, Wimbledon-style, in search of his girlfriend in the stands to celebrate. Maybe there were better goals, in a technical sense, but surely none as joyous?🇦🇷 2-2 🇨🇻Have you ever seen the likes, Lopes Cabral has pulled Cape Verde level again with an absolute worldie as the Blue Sharks continue to shock the world. Watch all 104 games from the #FIFAWorldCup on RTÉ pic.twitter.com/0MwmpSXymX— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 4, 2026
