Several of our Rouge et Bleu players proved decisive in the opening round of fixtures. Kang-In Lee was the first Parisian to make his mark, providing the assist for his team-mate Hwang In-Beom to score South Korea’s equaliser against the Czech Republic. Lee and his team went on to win 2–1, before facing Mexico in the early hours of Friday morning (3am) in their second match.
Three Parisian players found the back of the net in their first match, with two of them scoring in the same match. Bradley Barcola scored Les Bleus’ second goal against Senegal just moments after coming on as a substitute, before Mbaye netted his first World Cup goal, thereby becoming the youngest African goalscorer in World Cup history at just 18 years and 142 days. Les Bleus will face Iraq on Monday 22nd June at 11pm, whilst the Lions of Teranga will take on Norway on Tuesday 23rd June at 2am.
The third Parisian goalscorer was João Neves, who opened the scoring for Portugal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a header – his speciality. The Seleção ultimately had to settle for a draw with the Leopards in this opening match, before facing Uzbekistan on Tuesday 23rd June at 7pm. João Neves was named man of the match against the DRC, a match in which Vitinha broke two records: 128 passes attempted with 121 completed – two figures that are now unique in World Cup history.
Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos were at the centre of one of the most exciting fixtures of this opening matchday, with the two sides putting up a thrilling battle. Morocco and Brazil drew 1–1, as did Fabian Ruiz and La Roja, who were held to a goalless draw by a solid Cape Verde side (0–0). Willian Pacho, who put in a very solid performance against Côte d’Ivoire, was ultimately unable to prevent his side’s 1–0 defeat to the Elephants in La Tri’s opening match of the World Cup.
Next up, then, is a match between Brazil and Haiti (Saturday 20th June at 2.30am), Morocco versus Scotland (Saturday 20th June at midnight), Spain against Saudi Arabia on 21st June at 6pm, followed by Pacho and Ecuador taking on Curaçao on Sunday 21st June at 2am.