After Messi’s Record, Ronaldo Seeks First Goal

At 8 PM Latvian time in Houston, the Portuguese and Uzbek national teams will take the field. Portugal began their World Cup campaign with a surprising 1-1 draw against DR Congo, while Uzbekistan lost 1-3 to Colombia in their opener.

All eyes are again on Cristiano Ronaldo, who has not found the net in this tournament. His longtime rival Lionel Messi has already scored five goals, breaking the World Cup all-time scoring record. Ronaldo has only eight total World Cup goals in his career.

At 11 PM, England face Ghana. England started with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia, ending a streak of nine matches without a victory against top-15 FIFA-ranked teams. Ghana beat Panama 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal. England had injury concerns over Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Marcus Rashford, but all three trained on Monday. Ghana will welcome back Thomas Partey, who missed the first match due to a Canadian visa issue stemming from allegations of rape and sexual assault—he received a US visa.

At 2 AM in Toronto, Croatia take on Panama. Croatia lost to England, while Panama, despite dominating statistics (62% possession, 11-7 shots), fell to Ghana. At 5 AM, Colombia face DR Congo in the final match of the second group round; a win would secure Colombia’s place in the knockout stage.