All 32 nations have now played at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
While most of the so-called favourites have failed to impress collectively, the first match-day was, if nothing else, eventful in terms of individual performances. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Spain in Group B, for example, while Denis Cheryshev, Diego Costa, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane all found the net twice for their respective teams.
Not everyone has made headlines for the right reasons, though. Although many of the big stars delivered in their opening games, there were several others who put in the kind of head-scratching performers that left fans wondering whether they were really watching the same players who regularly do the business in Europe’s top domestic leagues.
Here are three who will be hoping for a similar turnaround in fortune.
Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling enjoyed a stellar season last year for Manchester City. In addition to winning his first ever Premier League title, he hit an incredible 23 goals in all competitions, which is remarkable for a striker, let alone a wide player.
For England, however, the 23-year-old’s record in the penalty box is far more patchy. He’s only found the net twice in 39 games, and this trend continued in the Three Lions’ opening group match with Tunisia on Monday when he let several big chances go begging.
The encouraging thing for Gareth Southgate, however, is that Sterling is at least consistently getting into promising positions inside the opposing team’s third. It’s just that nerves are getting the better of him when it really matters. Perhaps against Panama later on this week, without the pressure of the first match-day, we’ll see a more confident player take to the field.
Antoine Griezmann
France’s Antoine Griezmann scored only a single goal in the first game, finding the net from the penalty spot as his side laboured to a somewhat disappointing 2-1 win over Australia.
His overall performance, however, left a lot to be desired. Paired upfront with young players Mbappe and Dembele, the Atletico Madrid man was tasked wih taking responsibility for unlocking the opposing defence, and yet he produced surprisingly little in possession.
In his defence, Didier Deschamps’ current system isn’t currently set up to bring the most out of a player of his profile. Most observers agree that Griezmann produces his best work for the national side when playing alongside a target man like Olivier Giroud, who can draw defenders away from him and, in turn, free up space to run into.
Lionel Messi
To be fair to Messi, he wasn’t totally useless in Argentina’s first game against Iceland. Rather, most of the criticism he has faced since has stemmed from the fact that his career rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hattrick 24 hours earlier.
Even so, it wasn’t a vintage performance from the Barcelona number 10. As well as missing a penalty, he was generally unable to wriggle free from his Icelandic markers, constantly getting crowded off the ball as he attempted to play the decisive ball in the final third.
We should, however, see some significant improvement in his second and third matches in the competition. Having lost their first game to Croatia, Nigeria may need to attack Argentina when they meet on June 26, and this will leave space at the other end for Messi to exploit.