Messi's World Cup Brilliance and Ronaldo's Return

Lionel Messi took the World Cup by the scruff of the neck last night. A hat-trick, records equaled, a stadium in North America left purring. Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each added two goals of their own, but this was Messi’s stage, Messi’s soundtrack, Messi’s reminder that even in a tournament dripping with hype, the game still belongs to genius.

Today, the spotlight swings to another of the era’s giants.

Cristiano Ronaldo, still raging against the limits of time, is set for his first appearance of the summer as Portugal opens its campaign against DR Congo in Houston. The game will be about points, yes. But for Portugal, it will be about something far heavier.

Playing for Jota

The death of Diogo Jota, in a car crash that also claimed the life of his brother André Silva last year, ripped a hole through both Liverpool and Portugal. It was brutal, sudden, and unsparing. Jota had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, less than two weeks earlier. Three children left behind. A dressing room left stunned.

Liverpool players have admitted they struggled to lock in on football this season, trying to grieve and perform at the same time. Portugal’s squad carries the same burden into this World Cup: the weight of expectation, and the weight of a teammate’s unfinished dream.

Jota has been named an honorary member of Roberto Martínez’s squad. Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, recently presented each player with a bracelet bearing their name alongside Jota’s. Those bands will be on wrists when they walk out at NRG Stadium.

“They made sure that it was a wristband that we could wear on the pitch,” midfielder Vitinha told reporters. “He let us choose if we wanted to use it or not, during the day or during the match. We received it with a lot of affection and we chose to use it.”

The symbolism is clear. The pain, sharper still.

“We feel this and we want to win it, not just because it’s a World Cup and it’s everybody’s dream, but for him as well,” Vitinha told CNN Sports earlier this year.

Houston will host more than a football match. It will host a tribute.

Portugal vs. DR Congo – Ronaldo and the balance of power

Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: Houston Stadium (NRG Stadium), Houston, Texas, USA

Once the whistle blows, emotion must give way to execution. Portugal has the talent to go deep into this tournament. The question is whether the team’s most famous name amplifies that quality or complicates it.

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, arrives in the twilight of his career. He struggled in Qatar 2022, eventually losing his starting place. Yet dropping him again for a World Cup opener would be a decision loaded with risk and noise. And as Messi reminded everyone last night, true class rarely evaporates. It lingers, waiting for one more chance in front of goal.

Portugal’s midfield might be the strongest in the competition. Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva and João Neves bring invention, control and bite. They can dominate games on their own terms. The dilemma is whether Ronaldo’s presence sharpens that cutting edge or blunts the fluidity that makes this side so dangerous.

On the other side, DR Congo will not arrive to make up the numbers. Yoane Wissa leads the line as the primary threat, a striker capable of punishing any lapse. Around him, structure and discipline will be the order of the day, a compact unit trying to frustrate, absorb, and then break.

Portugal will look to turn grief into drive. DR Congo will try to turn underdog status into opportunity.

England vs. Croatia – old scars, new voices

Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium), Arlington, Texas, USA

Some fixtures come loaded with history before a ball is kicked. England vs. Croatia is one of them.

The two nations meet again in what ranks as one of the standout group-stage clashes. England arrives as it so often does: heavy with hope, heavier still with history. Sixty years have passed since the country’s only World Cup triumph. Every generation since has worn that drought like a second kit.

Thomas Tuchel has taken a firm line with his squad. He has chosen chemistry over celebrity, leaving out big names such as Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. It is a bold call in a country that treats selection debates as a national pastime. The spine remains formidable: Declan Rice’s authority, Jude Bellingham’s all-court brilliance, Harry Kane’s ruthless finishing. That trio alone can tilt a tournament.

Croatia, though, has been England’s recurring tormentor. The 2018 World Cup semifinal defeat still stings. So do the memories of Luka Modrić dictating the tempo, coolly dismantling English momentum. Remarkably, at 40, Modrić is still there, still pulling strings, still the heartbeat of the Vatreni.

England chases catharsis. Croatia chases repetition.

Messi’s modesty, records tumbling

While Ronaldo prepares and England braces, Messi keeps rewriting the record book almost by accident.

His hat-trick against Algeria pulled him level with Miroslav Klose for the most goals in World Cup history. The reaction? A typically humble reflection, stripped of fanfare. At this point, Messi could be forgiven for losing track of the milestones. They arrive almost every time he laces up.

One detail stands out: he has now scored five World Cup goals from outside the box, matching the mark set by Brazilian great Rivellino. It is a statistic that underlines not just volume, but variety.

The bar keeps moving. Messi keeps clearing it.

Iran’s visa saga eases

Away from the marquee names, Iran has endured perhaps the most complicated logistical path into this World Cup.

With political tensions simmering, the team has had to base itself in Mexico and fly into the United States for matches. The plan frayed when winger Mehdi Torabi discovered his visa had expired after the first game.

That crisis has now been resolved. Torabi has been granted a new multi-entry visa, clearing him to play in as many matches as Iran can reach this summer.

“This issue has been resolved,” a State Department official told CNN’s Jennifer Hansler on Tuesday. “As soon as we became aware of the issue, we worked to ensure that the player can participate in every game.”

For Iran, at least one headache has eased.

Ghana vs. Panama – a window for history

Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Toronto Stadium (BMO Field), Toronto, Canada

Panama returns to the men’s World Cup for only the second time, still chasing a first-ever point. The last outing, in 2018, ended with three defeats from three, including a chastening 6-1 loss to England.

This opener against Ghana may be their best shot at changing that story.

Ghana once looked like Africa’s most likely World Cup trailblazer. The controversial 2010 quarterfinal exit still burns, a moment that seemed to herald a new era. It never quite arrived. Since then, the Black Stars have failed to escape the group stage.

This version of Ghana lacks some of the star power of past sides, but it does have Antoine Semenyo. The Manchester City forward is in form and gives the team a genuine cutting edge in attack. If he catches fire, three points are there for the taking.

Ghana will be without Thomas Partey for the opener. The 33-year-old midfielder had his visa application rejected, a decision upheld by a Canadian federal judge earlier this week, according to the Associated Press. Partey is awaiting trial on rape charges in the United Kingdom but will be available for Ghana’s remaining two group games in the US.

Opportunity, for both nations, is clear. The question is who seizes it first.

Uzbekistan vs. Colombia – debutants meet old hands

Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Mexico City Stadium (Estadio Azteca), Mexico City, Mexico

Uzbekistan steps into the World Cup for the first time, the last of this year’s debutants to enter the stage. The White Wolves are coached by Fabio Cannavaro, a man who knows exactly what it takes to lift this trophy after captaining Italy to glory in 2006.

This team may surprise more than a few observers. Abdukodir Khusanov, the 22-year-old defender now a regular starter for Manchester City, anchors the back line. His form in both the Premier League and Champions League has marked him out as a rising star.

Across from them stands a far more seasoned World Cup outfit. Colombia arrives with a core of players who have already lit up this tournament in past editions. James Rodríguez, whose 2014 World Cup remains one of the great individual campaigns of the modern era, is still the creative hub. Out wide, Luis Díaz brings the kind of form that can turn a game in a heartbeat.

Newcomers chasing a statement. Veterans chasing another deep run. The Azteca has seen this kind of collision before.

Ebola shadows DR Congo’s moment

As DR Congo prepares to face Portugal, a darker reality looms back home.

Health officials are warning that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could become the “worst ever” in the area if it is not contained. More than 800 cases have been confirmed as of Monday. The affected region is remote, densely populated, and already grappling with insecurity and humanitarian crises.

This outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are no specific treatments or vaccines. That makes containment even more complex.

US authorities have responded with entry restrictions and screening for passengers arriving from the DRC, Uganda and nearby South Sudan. No Ebola cases have been identified in the United States, and the World Health Organization currently rates the global risk as low, even as it warns that the risk within the DRC is very high.

During the World Cup, US health officials are monitoring a range of viral threats. Ebola, in many ways, is not the most immediate concern. Early in infection, it does not spread easily. Once a patient becomes severely ill and highly infectious, they are typically far too unwell to travel or attend a match.

So DR Congo’s players carry two realities into their World Cup bow: the chance to shock a heavyweight on the pitch, and the knowledge that their country is fighting a very different battle away from it.