Rise of a Football God

In the 74th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo scored.

Just a minute later, in the 75th minute, Roberto Martinez made the gutsy decision of taking him out and introducing Diogo Jota.

Did the decision pay off?

Yes.

It didn't just pay off, it paid off with interest.

2-4.

That was the final scoreline of the game at the end.

Portugal exploded as soon as Diogo Jota came on, the striker eager to prove himself to the coach, showing exactly what he was capable of.

Mere minutes after coming on, Diogo Jota almost caused a penalty due to his tight-space dribbling. He was tripped in the box. Portugal fans raised a storm, but the referee judged that the touch was too weak.

But then, a few more minutes later, in the 83rd minute, Diogo Jota finally did it, receiving the ball from Bruno Fernandes, dribbling into the box, about to shoot and just as multiple defenders moved to block, he flicked the ball back towards the spot where Bruno Fernandes arrived.

The Manchester United skipper's leg swung on instinct, striking the ball with immense power, sending it on a crazy velocity journey.

It rose high, towards the top left corner this time, leaving the goalkeeper no chance to react.

2-3 to Portugal!

Portugal fans celebrated exuberantly, Bruno Fernandes running to the corner flag before celebrating with Cristiano Ronaldo's suiii celebration.

And yet, Portugal was not done. Not yet.

In the 89th minute, Jota said. 'Fine, I'll do it myself'.

Trigger-happy, he received the ball just outside the 18-yard box, flicked to his left leg before unleashing another piledriver from inside the box.

The goalkeeper got a hand to it, but once again, it squirmed past his grasp.

The goalkeeper cursed, punching the pitch in frustration.

But the deed was already done.

2-4 to Portugal.

And with that, Portugal's points in the group stage rose to 6 points.

…

(GROUP K:)

(DR Congo vs Switzerland)

(Venue: Estadio Guadalajara, Mexico)

(Date: June 30th, 2026)

(Time: 14:00)

The next day, DR Congo, another African country took on Switzerland.

Both nations entered the game with their best starting XI, and they played their hearts out on the pitch.

DR Congo was the more physical side, but what Switzerland lacked in physicality, they more than made up for it with their superior technical skills.

The full game took place in the first half, a thrilling 2-2 draw as DR Congo drew first blood in the 24th minute only to double the scoreline in the 28th minute, making it 2-0.

All DR Congo had to win was defend their lead, but they failed at it.

Switzerland struck back as the momentum of the game swung, switching hands. The first Switzerland goal came in the 41st minute, making it 2-1, and the second came in the 45th plus 2 minute, making it 2-2.

The second half was intense, but no goal.

The game came to an end 2-2.

…

(GROUP K:)

(Costa Rica vs Uruguay)

(Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, USA)

(Date: June 30th, 2026)

(Time: 20:00)

Costa Rica vs Uruguay was pretty one-sided.

The only well-known star in the Costa Rican side was Keylor Navas, their goalkeeper, but the man was old and long past his prime already.

This Uruguayan side though; led by Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, with the likes of Ronald Araujo, and Darwin Nunez all in the side, they were a force to be reckoned with in the international stage.

Costa Rica lost 0-3 convincingly to Uruguay.

Darwin Nunez scored a brace, once again solidifying the argument that he was an entirely different player when playing for his country than his club.

Despite not getting a goal in the game, due to his all-round performance in the middle of the park, Federico Valverde won the man of the match award.

…

And then…

(GROUP L:)

(Sweden vs Belgium)

(Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, USA)

(Date: July 1st, 2026)

(Time: 15:00)

Another FIFA World Cup fixture that promised a classic.

On paper and historically, Belgium was the stronger national side but Sweden were not to be messed with either.

Besides, Sweden of today had two of the best strikers in the world plying their trade for them, both already in their prime in Victor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.

It was a clash of European heavyweights.

Sweden started in their regular 3-4-1-2 formation, with Johansson starting in between the posts, and the 3-man defense comprising Starfelt, Gudmundsson, and Sema. The midfield quadruple comprised Ayari, Karlstrom, Saletros, and Nanasi.

Kulusevski played the no. 10 role, or the attacking midfield role, while ahead of him were the 2-man double threat, Victor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.

It was a lineup that would strike fear into most nations in the World Cup.

Belgium though, their squad was equally stacked.

Starting in their regular 4-2-3-1 formation, Sels started in between the posts, with a quadruple defense of Meunier, Debast, Faes, and De Cuyper sitting ahead of him. The midfield duo was Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans.

As for the offense which had always been the strongest point of each Belgian squad of the past decade?

It comprised Jeremy Doku in right wing, Kevin De Bruyne through the middle as the attacking midfielder, and Leandro Trossard through the left as the left winger, while Romelu Lukaku led the line as the striker.

It was a lineup that met Sweden's lineup aura for aura, maybe even bested it.

But at this stage of the FIFA World Cup, writings on paper didn't really mean much anymore, what mattered was which country's players arrived in the right state of mind and played their best football.

In a few dozen minutes, football fans around the world would know exactly which of the 2 country's players showed up for this FIFA World Cup group game.

The 2 captains met the referee where they did the coin toss, deciding which team was to kickoff first.

Sweden was to start kickoff.

After that, the captains separated, going back to their respective positions in the pitch.

And then…

FWEEEE!

The game started.