On the last day of Match Week 2 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we saw one more team qualify for the knockout stage and one more team eliminated. Here is how the last round of matches went.
Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan
Cristiano Ronaldo gets his goalscoring underway as Portugal clobber Uzbekistan.
After Messi, Mbappé and Haaland all had braces or better in their last match, Ronaldo decided to score a brace so as to not feel left out. His first goal made history as he is the only player ever to score in six separate World Cups. After his second goal, he is seen mouthing “I’m back” to the camera.
Ronaldo scored in the sixth and 39th minutes, separated by a powerful free kick goal from Nuno Mendes in the 17th. Uzbekistan would then unfortunately give up an own goal in the 60th minute, followed by Portugal’s last goal coming from Rafael Leão in the 87th minute.
This win, along with other match results, puts Portugal in second place in Group K. They are in good shape as they would have to lose substantially to Colombia and DR Congo would have to win by a substantial amount for Portugal to not qualify for the Round of 32.
England 0-0 Ghana
England’s draw gives Croatia a break in Group L. A win for England would have likely ensured a first-place finish for them.
England had multiple chances but Ghana’s defense was rock solid with most chances being handled without major threats.
Ghana also created several chances and at times controlled but they were unable to capitalize. Ghana will not be as frustrated with this result as it keeps them in second place. All they have to do now is avoid losing to Croatia in their final game, and they should make it out of the group in second.
Croatia 1-0 Panama
This was a do-or-die match as a loss for either team meant elimination. Sadly Panama saw the shorter end of the stick and will now be returning home.
This was a big match for Croatia — aside from it being Luka Modrić’s 200th cap — as they just came off of a 4-2 loss to England in their first match. This win, thanks to their 54th minute goal by Ante Budimir, takes them up to third place. A win against Ghana will mean they advance in the second-place slot in their group.
Although it was a 1-0 match, Croatia was in control for most of the match and you could see how much the result meant for their confidence. This boost comes just in time, as they head into their decisive match against Ghana. We will not know until later whether a third-place finish in this group is good enough for progression.
Colombia 1-0 DR Congo
Colombia snuck away with a 1-0 win over DR Congo to secure qualification.
Although they controlled possession throughout the match, DR Congo were able to create just as many chances and almost tied things up multiple times in the dying minutes of the match.
It took a couple of great saves from the Colombian goalkeeper as well as time-wasting tactics for Colombia to finish the game with a win.
Having now qualified, they will be going into their match against Portugal looking to finish the group with nine points and a perfect record in Group K.
With Match Week 2 officially over, we still have many teams still looking to qualify in first, second or third place. Seven teams have qualified so far, which means there are still 25 teams going into their final group matches looking to advance.
As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous recap of the day of braces.
Cover Photo: Final result of the Portugal vs. Uzbekistan match, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Futbolhijo)
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