2026 FIFA World Cup Day 7 recap: Ronaldo drops stinker after Messi’s hat-trick as England, Ghana send out warning

The 2026 FIFA World Cup continued with four games on day 7, including matches featuring Portugal and England. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal kicked off the day’s action with a game against DR Congo before England took on Croatia in Dallas. 

Following England’s game, Ghana faced Panama in Toronto before Colombia and Uzbekistan wrapped up the day’s action in Mexico City. 

Here’s a recap of how all the games went down. 

Portugal opened their campaign against DR Congo with all eyes on their talisman, Ronaldo, who was playing in his sixth World Cup. 

After watching Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi deliver a superstar performance, the pressure was on Ronaldo to follow suit. 

However, the Al-Nassr forward could not match his fellow superstars’ performance as he dropped one of the biggest stinkers of all time, showing he might be done at the top level. 

Despite playing the whole game, Ronaldo managed just 25 touches, the lowest from any player who also played the 90 minutes. 

He also had just three shots, which were all off target, cutting a frustrated figure throughout the match, as Portugal drew with the Leopards. 

The former Real Madrid star has now gone 10 matches in major tournaments without scoring a goal for the Selecao, despite firing 33 shots in these games. 

As for the game itself, Roberto Martinez’s men did start well, as Joao Neves’ header in the sixth minute put them ahead. Neves’ header was supposed to set the tone for Portugal, but they never looked convincing after. 

As a result, DR Congo took advantage of Portugal’s lethargic performance, as they restored parity in the added minute of the first half, courtesy of Yoane Wissa’s superb header. 

Wissa’s header was the Leopards’ first World Cup goal, having failed to score in their previous appearance in 1974. The Newcastle man’s header was also enough to earn his side a precious point, as Portugal could not find the winner in the second half. 

Having watched their rivals give mixed performances in their opening games, England had the chance to send out a warning with a strong performance in their first game against Croatia, and they did just that. 

It was not smooth sailing, though, as they were pegged back twice in the first half before gaining control in the second half. 

The Three Lions’ talisman, Harry Kane, was at the forefront of everything England did, as he scored two of their four goals. 

Kane put England ahead in the 12th minute from the spot after Luka Modric was adjudged to have fouled Noni Madueke in the box. 

However, Martin Baturina levelled the score for Croatia with a stunning strike in the 36th minute of the game. The Vatreni were only levelled for a few minutes, though, as Kane scored his second with a header from a Declan Rice corner kick in the 42nd minute. 

It looked like England would go into the break following Kane’s header, but Peter Musa’s close-range strike with the last kick of the match ensured that both sides went into the break with the score tied. 

However, following the restart, Thomas Tuchel’s men upped their performance, and they got rewarded for it, as goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford secured a 4-2 win for them. 

Ghana opened their World Cup campaign against Panama, knowing it would be their easiest game in the group. 

With games against England and Croatia coming up next, this was a must-win game for Carlos Queiroz’s men, and they managed to do just that. 

It was not convincing, though, as Panama were the better team for most of what was an uninteresting game.

However, the Black Stars secured a smash-and-grab win, courtesy of Caleb Yirenkyi’s strike in the sixth minute of added time. 

Colombia and Uzbekistan round up the first round of group games, with La Tricolor beating the debutants. 

Daniel Munoz put Colombia ahead, but Abbosbek Fayzullaev restored parity for the debutants, managed by Fabio Cannavaro. 

However, Colombia’s superiority eventually showed, as goals from Luis Diaz and Jaminton Campaz secured a 3-1 win.