FIFA World Cup 2026 Stats: Ronaldo's 0 In 10 And Record 41, Perisic Equals Messi, Bellingham Joins Pele And Owen. -

FIFA World Cup 2026 stats: Ronaldo’s 0 in 10 And Record 41, Perisic equals Messi, Bellingham joins Pele and Owen

Cristiano Ronaldo was the picture of disappointment after Portugal’s 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 17.

It was a mixed bag for the superstars on day 7 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Cristiano Ronaldo was left frustrated with a 1-1 draw for Portugal vs DR Congo while Harry Kane played a starring role in England’s impressive 4-2 win over Croatia.

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Antoine Semenyo and Ghana then followed this up with a late, late 1-0 victory over Panama as Caleb Yirenkyi scored a winner in the 95th minute to steal all three points at the death.

Colombia and Uzbekistan played out an end-to-end game, with the South Americans triumphing 3-1, but the contest was closer than the scoreline suggested.

ESPN’s By The Numbers brings you best stats from the World Cup action on June 17:

Portugal 1 – 1 Congo DR
0

Cristiano Ronaldo played out his 6th World Cup game with 0 shots on target. This was his 23rd career World Cup game, tied fourth most in competition history). It’s also the 2nd time he recorded 0 shots on target in a World Cup match in which he played 90 minutes.

Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive major tournament games without scoring for Portugal (FIFA World Cup and Euros). He’s taken 33 shots, with 11 going on target.

Yoane Wissa’s equaliser was Congo DR’s first World Cup goal; and it came in their 4th World Cup game. Also at 1: this was the first time Congo DR avoided defeat at a World Cup game.

Bruno Fernandes created 1 chance in Wednesday’s game. It was in the 92nd minute. Also 1: Bernardo Silva had more defensive interventions (1) than shots (0)

João Neves is the third youngest Portuguese scorer at the World Cup (21 years, 263 days), behind Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006 (21y-132d) and Gonçalo Ramos in 2022 (21 y-169d)

Portugal had 3 wins in the previous 9 FIFA World Cup games when tied at the half (2-4-3, W-D-L). In comparison, Portugal is unbeaten all-time when taking a lead at HT in a World Cup (11-3-0)

Portugal have now failed to win 4 of its last 5 World Cup openers (D 2010, L 2014, D 2018, W 2022, D 2026)

Cristiano Ronaldo is going through a 5-game scoring drought in World Cups since last scoring vs Ghana in 2022 Group stage; tied for his longest in the competition (2006-10)

Ronaldo has now joined Lionel Messi as the only men to play in 6 different World Cups.

The only other time Ronaldo had 16 first-half touches in a World Cup start was 2014, when Germany crushed Portugal 4-0.

Ronaldo finished with only 25 touches of the ball today, the second fewest of his career in a World Cup start. The only WC start he had fewer touches was the infamous “Battle of Nuremberg”, which Portugal won 1-0 vs Netherlands in the 2006 Rd of 16 and saw a record 4 red cards brandished.

41y 123d

RECORD ALERT: Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup game (41 years, 123 days).

75% and 7/8

Portugal’s possession against Congo DR (75%) is the highest by a team who had fewer shots than their opponent in a World Cup match (since 1966): Portugal had 7 shots, Congo DR had 8.

Interestingly, Portugal’s 75% possession was also the highest of any match so far this World Cup.

England 4 – 2 Croatia

This is England’s first World Cup win against a side ranked inside of FIFA’s top 15 in the rankings (Croatia 11th) since 2002 v Argentina (3rd), ending a nine-game winless run (D2 L7) and six-game losing run against such sides at the finals.

Croatia have snapped a 6-game unbeaten streak in FIFA World Cup Group Stage matches. This was their first such loss since 2014 vs Mexico (3-1)

Marcus Rashford is the first English player to score 2 World Cup goals as a substitute. In fact, this was his fourth substitute goal for England – only Jermain Defoe (7), Harry Kane (5) and Peter Crouch (5) have more

1/5

Jude Bellingham is one of five European players to have scored in each of the last three major tournaments (2022 World Cup, EURO 2024, 2026 World Cup), and youngest of the five to do so (22y 353d).

1:25

Jude Bellingham’s goal was 1 minute, 25 seconds after the start of the second half. That is England’s fastest goal from start of the 2nd half (47′) in their World Cup history

Harry Kane is just the second player to score for England at 3 different World Cups (2018, 2022, 2026), joining David Beckham (1998, 2002, 2006)

This is the 3rd World Cup match since 2018 in which England has scored at least 4 goals (Tied with France for most in that span).

England has now won 3 straight FIFA World Cup opening matches, the most in team history (previous English record was 2 straight wins in 1970 and 1982). NOTE: England did not qualify to 1974 and 1978 WCs

Jude Bellingham is only the 3rd man to score in 2 different World Cups before turning 23, joining Brazil’s Pelé (1958, 1962) and England’s Michael Owen (1998, 2002)

Jude Bellingham delivered right after the half-time whistle — his pose acknowledging his understanding of what he brings to England when its needed most.
4

Ivan Perisic has assisted a goal across four World Cup editions, with only Lionel Messi also providing an assist in as many World Cup tournaments on record (since 1966).

4-2

This was England’s first 4-2 win in a World Cup match since… the 1966 final against West Germany.

Harry Kane has now scored the most penalties (excl. shootouts) in FIFA World Cup history (5).

Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic finished with 7 saves. The only GK with more saves in a WC game vs England since 1966 are Faryd Mondragón (11 in 1998 Group Stage) and Hans Tilkowski (8 in 1966 Final).

Harry Kane has now scored 10 World Cup goals; tying Gary Lineker for most by an English player. He is now 6 behind top-scorers of all time, Lionel Messi and Miroslav Klose.

England had 11 shots on target tonight against Croatia, and that’s the most they’ve had in a World Cup match since 1998 against Colombia (13).

24y, 285d

Bukayo Saka is the fourth-youngest player to win 50 England caps (24 years, 285 days), after Wayne Rooney (23 years, 159 days), Michael Owen (23 years, 179 days) and Raheem Sterling (24 years, 180 days).

199

Albeit not influential today, Luka Modric made a mark in the record books. This was his199th career appearance for Croatia; with his next game he will join Cristiano Ronaldo (229), Bader Ahmed Al-Mutawa (202) and Lionel Messi (200) as the only players with 200+ international appearances (according to FIFA).

Ghana 1 – 0 Panama

Caleb Yirenkyi scored the latest regulation goal by Ghana in a FIFA World Cup history. (Asamoah Gyan scored in extra time (93′) vs the United States in 2010)

Ghana earned their sixth win in FIFA World Cups, tying Nigeria for most by an African team in tournament history

Carlos Queiroz took charge of a team in his fifth straight FIFA World Cup as a head coach, tying Bora Milutinovic for the longest run by a coach. Only Carlos Alberto Parreira (6) has more WC appearances as a manager

Panama have lost all 4 of their World Cup matches, tied for the second-most WC matches having lost all of them. Only El Salvador (6) have played more games without winning a single point.

This was Ghana’s first clean sheet at a World Cup since the 2010 Group Stage (1-0 win vs Serbia).

34y 280d

At 34 years and 280 days old, Jordan Ayew became the oldest player to feature for Ghana in FIFA World Cup history, surpassing Denis Odoi’s previous record against South Korea in 2022 (34 years and 185 days).

Uzbekistan 0 – 1 Colombia

1 and 1

Luis Díaz became the first Colombian with a goal and an assist in a FIFA World Cup match since James Rodríguez against Japan in 2014. Those are the only two Colombians to do so in the last 60 years.

30 and 53

Luis Díaz has 30 goals this season with club and country (26 for Bayern Munich and 4 for Colombia). This was also his 53rd goal contribution this season for club and country

3 and 9

James Rodríguez joined Carlos Valderrama and Freddy Rincón as the only Colombians to play in 3 FIFA World Cups. Rodríguez made his ninth World Cup appearance for Colombia, level with Juan Cuadrado and David Ospina as the joint third-most capped players for their nation in the tournament, trailing only Carlos Valderrama and Freddy Rincón (10).

Colombia became the fifth CONMEBOL team to have at least 10 wins in the history of the FIFA World Cup, after Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

Luis Díaz’s assist for Daniel Muñoz:traveled 26.5 meters / 30 yards, the longest Colombian assist in World Cup play since Juan Cuadrado’s vs England in 2018 (36 meters / 40 yards)

Daniel Muñoz (30 years, 22 days) became the fourth oldest Colombian to score in a FIFA World Cup. Of the four players 30 year or older to do so, three of them did it since 2018 (Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado).

Uzbekistan became the fourth team to score their first ever FIFA World Cup goal in this edition (also Congo DR, Jordan, Curaçao), the most teams to score their first goal in the competition since 2006 (7 teams: Ivory Coast, Czechia, Australia, Togo, Ghana, Ukraine, Angola)

Kane and Bellingham put on a show in England’s thrilling win over Croatia

DALLAS — England kicked off their Group L campaign with a dramatic 4-2 win over Croatia.

Harry Kane’s retaken 12th-minute penalty got Thomas Tuchel’s side off to a perfect start before Martin Baturina equalized on 36 minutes with a curling finish from outside the box.

Kane headed in Declan Rice’s corner to restore England’s lead, but Petar Musa finished a brilliant Croatia move to draw them level again in first-half stoppage time.

Jude Bellingham fired England ahead again just two minutes into the second half, collecting Elliot Anderson’s pass before firing low across Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and in off the far post.

England created a raft of chances thereafter with Likakovic making six saves in a stunning five-minute spell before Marcus Rashford came off the bench to make the points safe, curling in a fourth with five minutes remaining.

England next face Ghana in Boston on June 23, the same day Croatia play Panama in Toronto.

Kane follows other big stars with two goals
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Kane was asked Tuesday who he regards as the best strikers at this tournament. He picked out Mbappe and Haaland. As chance had it, around the same sort of time in Boston, Haaland was asked a similar question and named Mbappe and Kane.

Kane’s season has been remarkable for Bayern Munich, and he said before the match in Dallas that he was ready to carry that form into the World Cup. Though his first penalty was well-saved, he ditched the pause in the run-up on the retaken effort to calmly slot the ball home. His header — bizarrely unmarked — was also well-taken, ruthlessly planting the ball home in the 42nd minute.

But Kane is so much more than just a striker for England. He is integral in every facet of the match, even dropping deep at one point to aid with a kick-off routine. This is an aspect of his game he has developed further at Bayern Munich, and it allows him to make these late, lethal darts into the box. And there he was in injury time at the end, making a key block off Josko Gvardiol to maintain England’s two-goal lead. Once again Kane showed why he is indispensable and sits alongside the other greats in this tournament. — Tom Hamilton

Are England fans in for a wild ride at this World Cup?
If we’re honest, England aren’t usually this entertaining. There was something decidedly methodical about the end of the Gareth Southgate era, a caution informed by England’s historic vulnerabilities.

But this was chaotic at times, both negatively and positively so. The balance wasn’t right, as Tuchel’s assistant Anthony Barry admitted when interviewed at halftime: “A complicated and confusing first half from us. We played long when we should have played short, played short when should have played long. We were not playing through the gaps.”

That changed in the second period and suddenly England looked much more dynamic, less concerned about their defensive shakiness and more intent on causing Croatia problems. To some extent, you could take whatever you want from this: England were awkward at the back — Marc Guéhi surely has a strong case to start against Ghana after being left out here — but very good in spells going forward.

Wherever that combination leads them, it doesn’t look like being dull. — James Olley

Bellingham’s magic justifies selection as No. 10
The debate had raged for months: Who would be England’s No. 10? Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rogers?

Tuchel opted for Bellingham’s star power in Dallas, perhaps influenced by a strong showing in England’s final warmup game against Costa Rice a week earlier. There is an acknowledgment that while Rogers offers more discipline out of possession, Bellingham possesses more match-winning ability (notwithstanding how prolific Rogers has been for Aston Villa).

And for a while it looked a questionable call. Bellingham had one or two threatening moments but he was wasteful in possession in the opening 45 minutes. And then, suddenly, he came alive in the way only the top players can.

Collecting Elliot Anderson’s clever 47th-minute pass, Bellingham drove forward, holding off Mario Pasalic before finishing low into the net. It proved the decisive moment and when Bellingham conjures up actions like this, all is forgiven. The debate is over for the time being. — Olley

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Modric has slow start to World Cup
Croatia great Luka Modric made a slice of World Cup history on Wednesday. After Cristiano Ronaldo, he became the third outfield player over the age of 40 to play in a World Cup. He came into this World Cup low on minutes, having suffered a broken cheekbone towards the end of the season for AC Milan, and then playing 28 minutes in their last match before heading off on Croatia duty.

The old master didn’t look at his best against England. He was hauled off after 57 minutes after a quiet performance. While his fellow veteran Ivan Perisic was causing England all sorts of trouble, it was Martin Baturina who was Croatia’s main threat in the middle off the pitch. England gave Modric some rough justice, hounding him to prevent him from turning out of defence to unleash Croatia’s attack and generally making his life a misery. — Hamilton

Tuchel’s finest result to date proves management skills
The ultimate test for Tuchel will come in the knockout rounds, but part of the reason England fans grew tired of Southgate — despite his remarkable record — was a concern that his in-game management was not at the elite level required to turn tight games in their favor.

Tuchel’s pedigree at club level was significant step up in this regard, and the changes England made at half-time proved telling. The England players moved higher up the pitch as a unit and shorted the spaces between each other, facilitating the combination play that overwhelmed Croatia at times in the second half.

England have still not beaten a top 10 nation under Tuchel — Croatia are ranked 11th — but this was arguably his finest result to date, aided further by substitutions which kept England’s attack fresh, most obviously when Rashford scored England’s fourth goal just 13 minutes after coming on with the assist provided by another sub, Bukayo Saka.

A win in the opening match — something England have now managed at five consecutive tournaments — should give Tuchel more freedom to rotate and keep the team fresh as the tournament progresses. — Olley

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Livakovic could be Croatia’s savior again

Livakovic ended up conceding four, but Croatia could have been far deeper in the mire had it not been for his reflexes and shot-stopping ability. There’s very little he could’ve done for any of England’s four goals — only the Bellingham one was one he’d lament not getting closer to. But in the second half there was a two-minute spell where he made five saves.

Off another dangerous Rice set piece, O’Reilly planted a header toward goal, only for Livakovic to palm it back into danger. He then saved the two follow-up efforts — first from Gordon and then Konsa. A minute later — he sprang into action again, making a decent save off a Kane effort, and then flinging himself at the followed-up effort.

Livakovic was one of Croatia’s heroes in the 2022 World Cup after he saved three penalties in their round of 16 penalty shootout win against Japan and then saved another penalty against Brazil to ease them into the semifinals. He did save another penalty in Arlington, only for the referee to deem him to have encroached off his line. Livakovic will be central to how Croatia fair here in 2026. — Hamilton