All 48 teams in the World Cup have played once: It...
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- Lionel Messi scored a hat trick for Argentina against Algeria, tying Miroslav Klose atop the all-time men's World Cup goals leaderboard and passing Pelé for most goal contributions (24) in tournament history.
- Germany routed Curaçao 7-1 in their opener, with manager Julian Nagelsmann changing outfits at halftime and citing the heat — his side's dominant shot map dwarfed every other team on matchday one.
- Michael Olise moved from the wing to a central attacking midfield role at halftime of France's 3-1 win over Senegal, generating 0.93 expected assists in the second half and completing 26 of 27 passes while displacing reigning Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembélé.
- Spain drew 0-0 with Cape Verde despite dominating possession; Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams combined for only about 20 minutes off the bench, and DTAI projections give Spain just a 68% chance of finishing first in their group.
- The USMNT impressed in possession against Paraguay but generated only 0.06 expected goals from set pieces — and the one goal they conceded also came from a set piece.
- Yan Diomande, a 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger, generated 1.2 expected assists and beat seven defenders off the dribble in Ivory Coast's opener against Ecuador, leading the tournament in both categories with a pre-tournament market value already at €90 million.
- Tunisia fired their coach mid-tournament and replaced him with Hervé Renard, the two-time Women's World Cup-winning 'World Cup specialist' who hadn't met any of the players as of last week.
Why it matters: After just one match, the tournament's bracket math is already shifting: Spain faces only a 68% chance of finishing first in their group per DTAI projections, which could put them on a round-of-32 collision course with Argentina. With 90 minutes of data per team, breakout performances from Olise and Diomande (€90M pre-tournament value) are likely to reshape the transfer market even on dangerously thin samples.
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