Every team have now played twice at the 2026 World Cup and as a result we’ve picked out our Team of the Round for Matchday Two.
We’ve limited our team to one player per team, but with a handful of smaller teams shining against the bigger boys while a few of the biggest names in the tournament were able to get off to a strong start, here’s our pick of the bunch from the second game of the tournament.
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GK: Eloy Room (Curacao)
While Vozinha was the underdog goalkeeper to grab the headlines on Matchday One, it was Eloy Room’s turn this time. The 37 year old, who plays for Miami FC in the second-tier of the US system, made a record-breaking 15 saves in his side’s hard-fought goalless draw with Ecuador. That was the most saves in a single game in World Cup history and he managed to repel La Tri despite them racking up an xG of 2.27 in the game. That point keeps his side in the tournament for now.
RB: Juan Jose Caceres (Paraguay)
A goal to the good and down to ten men by half-time, Paraguay had a big defensive job on their hands against Turkey. Step forward Juan Jose Caceres, who won an incredible nine tackles in his side’s narrow victory, winning five aerial duels and completing seven clearances as well. The 26 year old Argentinian-born defender took more touches than any player on his team and although his in-possession work was far from perfect, this was a defensive masterclass.
CB: Shojae Khalilzadeh (Iran)
Iran turned in a strong defensive performance to earn a point against Belgium in their second match and the key man at the heart of their defence was Shojae Khalilzadeh. The 37 year old made an incredible 14 clearances as Team Melli repelled the Red Devils time and again and he also won five aerial duels, mwon one interceptions and won three tackles. The Al-Ahli man was also decent in possession, completing a team-high 33 passes from 34 attempts.
CB: Diney Borges (Cape Verde)
Not to be outdone by his centre-back partner Pico Lopes, who made this team in the first round of games, Diney Borges turned in a terrific performance to help his team earn a draw against Uruguay. The 31 year old took a team-high 63 touches and attempted a team-high 39 passes, but it was defensively where he made the difference. The Al Bataeh defender won two tackles and three aerial duels. Most impressively of all, he made a hugely important 15 clearances as the Blue Sharks secured another hard-earned and famous point.
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LB: Antonee Robinson (USA)
Antonee Robinson epitomised the high-tempo approach favoured by USA boss Mauricio Pochettino in his side’s victory over Australia. Defensively, the Fulham man won three tackles, two interceptions and completed three clearances but he was also a threat going forward, completing three take-ons and linking up well with Malik Tillman on Folarin Balogun. Expect him to continue in this rich vein of form as the USMNT look to press on.
DM: Rodri (Spain)
After a below-par performance against Cape Verde, Rodri returned to his metronomic best in Spain’s confident win over Saudi Arabia. The Manchester City man attempted an eye-watering 119 passes in the game, completing 113 – of which 33 were in the final third. He also won possession in the middle third on five occasions in an incredible all-round performance. This is the kind of Rodri that Spain need if they’re to live up to pre-tournament expectations.
CM: Lucas Paqueta (Brazil)
Although you wouldn’t say Brazil were back to their absolute best against Haiti, they did turn in a strong performance to win 3-0 and Lucas Paqueta was one of the main inspirations behind that performance and result for the Selecao. The former West Ham United midfielder provided one excellent assist for Vinicius Junior but also took 59 touches and completed a team-high ten passes in the final third while also earning an impressive nine ball recoveries for his team.
CM: Kaishu Sano (Japan)
It was a real team effort for Japan in their 4-0 demolition of Tunisia and although Ayase Ueda rightly claimed the headlines with two goals and an assist, the midfield pairing of Kaishu Sano and Ao Tanaka were just as vital to this win for the Samurai Blue. Sano got an assist himself but also won two interceptions and one tackle, completed 71 of 75 attempted passes and helped provide a pivotal defensive screen as Japan controlled the match from start to finish.
FWD: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
How do you keep writing about Lionel Messi? While several star men go among the goals in this round of games, Messi’s brace against Austria was the difference between the two teams, just a matter of days before his 39th birthday. Despite missing a penalty, Messi took his two goals brilliantly to remain top of the goalscoring charts. Not only that, he racked up a total of seven shots, created two big chances and completed three take-ons in another match-winning performance.
FWD: Jonathan David (Canada)
It was going to take some doing to beat the likes of Brian Brobbey, Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo to the striker spot in this team, but it’s hard to look past Jonathan David’s hat-trick in Canada’s first ever World Cup win. In a 6-0 mauling of Qatar, David was the key component. He showed a real striker’s instinct with all three goals and racked up a total of eight shots, five of which were on target. That confidence-boosting performance could help carry the Canucks into the latter stages of the tournament.
FWD: Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey combined to put the Netherlands 1-0 up within six minutes against Sweden and the game continued on that trajectory for the full 90 minutes. Gakpo’s early assist was backed up with two well-taken goals in the second-half in what turned out to be a dominant win for the Dutch. Having completed only 15 passes and taken 49 touches, the Liverpool man wasn’t as involved as Frenkie de Jong or Ryan Gravenberch but he was devastating when he was involved here.
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