Day six proved to be a compelling day of drama at World Cup 2026 as high-profile stars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland all produced sensational performances across the board.
It’s now over to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane on the seventh day of the tournament, which takes place across Wednesday evening and Thursday morning for UK viewers.
Portugal and DR Congo get the action underway at 6pm tonight, before England take to the field for the first time this tournament against 2022 third-place finishers Croatia at 9pm.
Ghana and Panama go head-to-head at midnight, before debutants Uzbekistan face the returning Colombia at 3am in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Stats you might see on Day 7
Portugal vs DR Congo stats
- Portugal snapshot stat: Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to become the first player to ever score in six World Cups.
- DR Congo snapshot stat: 10 of their 12 matches in qualification/play-off matches went under 2.5 goals.
Portugal are still searching for their first ever World Cup trophy and haven’t made it past the quarter-finals since finishing fourth 20 years ago. Portugal won their qualifying group and have proved to be a tough team to beat, losing just two of their last 20 matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals in qualifying and heads into the tournament as the all-time international goalscorer with a staggering 143 goals on the board, eight of which have been scored at World Cups. Having scored in each of the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 editions, the Portuguese icon can now make more history by becoming the first ever player to score in six different World Cups.
DR Congo are making their first World Cup appearance in 52 years dating back to 1974 when they competed as Zaire. The African nation lost all three games on that occasion, failed to score a single goal, and conceded 14. The odds are stacked against them as they look to score their first ever World Cup goal and accumulate their first ever point or three.
England vs Croatia stats
- England snapshot stat: England are looking to win their 12th straight competitive match in a row, which would be a new national record.
- Croatia snapshot stat: Croatia are looking to extend their unbeaten record in the group stages to seven games.
England head into the World Cup on the back of a record-breaking 11 straight competitive wins, which includes a 100% winning record in qualifying (8/8), during which they didn’t concede a single goal.
The Three Lions have won their opening match in each of their last four major tournaments, including each of the 2022 and 2018 World Cups, while they beat Wednesday’s opponents Croatia 1-0 in their first game at Euro 2020.
Harry Kane has scored eight goals across two World Cups, including six en route to winning the Golden Boot in 2018. The Bayern Munich striker, who is in the top-10 international goalscorers of all time with 79, needs just one more Word Cup goal to draw level with the likes of Roberto Baggio (Italy) and Eusebio (Portugal) on nine goals at the tournament.
Croatia topped their qualification group with 22 points from a possible 24. The Checkered Ones’ World Cup record is pretty impressive, having finished runners-up and third twice in six appearances.
Under boss Zlatko Dalic, they have only lost two of their last 13 matches at the tournament and are enjoying a six game unbeaten record in the group stages, which consists of four wins and two draws.
Ghana vs Panama stats
- Ghana snapshot stat: Ghana are looking for only their second World Cup victory in their last 10 matches (in 90 minutes).
- Panama snapshot stat: Panama are bidding to avoid slipping to their fourth World Cup defeat in four matches, which would be the worst 100% losing streak behind El Salvador (six defeats from six).
Ghana are appearing in their fifth World Cup in the last six editions, missing only the 2018 tournament during that time. The West African outfit have failed to make it out of the group stages in their last two appearances and have won only won of their last 10 matches in normal time.
But, in Antoine Semenyo they have one of the form players from last season’s Premier League, with only Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago scoring more times than the winger (17).
Panama return to the World Cup eight years after their debut in 2018, when they lost all three matches, scored twice, and conceded 11. Lose again to Ghana and they will have the joint-second worst 100% active losing streak at the tournament behind El Salvador (six defeats from six).
Los Canaleros can draw confidence from going undefeated in qualifying (W7 D3) but have since had a rather mixed set of results in warm-up matches, winning two, drawing three, and losing two of their seven friendlies.
Uzbekistan vs Colombia stats
- Uzbekistan snapshot stat: Could become the first debutants to win their opening match in 24 years since Senegal beat France in 2002.
- Colombia snapshot stat: The Coffee Growers are looking to win their sixth group stage game in their last seven.
Uzbekistan are the fourth and final debutants at World Cup 2026 and will be gunning to make an immediate impression. The White Wolves secured their place in North America by finishing second behind Iran in qualifying – above both the UAE and Qatar – where they won six of their 10 matches and suffered just a single defeat.
Since qualification was secured, Uzbekistan have turned to Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro as managed. Results have been mixed under his watch, including defeats to Netherlands and Canada in their final warm-up matches.
Colombia return to the grand stage after missing out in 2022 but can look back on decent 2014 (quarter-finals) and 2018 (last-16) campaigns. During those two tournaments they won six of their nine matches, including five of six group-stage fixtures, topping their group on both occasions.
Only Argentina (31) scored more goals than Colombia (28) in qualifying, with only Lionel Messi (8) scoring more times than Luis Diaz (7).
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