Six matches. The final day of the group stage. And the biggest individual moment of the entire FIFA World Cup 2026™ so far. Lionel Messi came off the bench against Jordan, won a free-kick, and curled it into the corner to become the first player in football history to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches. That was the headline. But June 28 had plenty more to offer — a historic DR Congo comeback, a nine-change Argentine rotation that still produced a win, and a six-goal thriller in Kansas City that went down to the very last second.
Three draws and three decisive results. Every group featuring a June 28 match has now concluded. Sixteen groups, forty-eight teams, ninety-six matches. The group stage is over. The Round of 32 begins.
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Results at a Glance — June 28
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England 2–0 Panama — New York/New Jersey
Croatia 2–1 Ghana — Philadelphia
Colombia 0–0 Portugal — Miami
DR Congo 3–1 Uzbekistan — Atlanta
Argentina 3–1 Jordan — Dallas
Algeria 3–3 Austria — Kansas City
Story of the Day: Messi and the Record Books
Lionel Scaloni made nine changes and left his captain on the bench. Argentina were already through, and he was managing minutes. When Messi came on in the 60th minute alongside Mac Allister and Almada, the crowd at the Dallas Stadium reacted as if the match had only just started.
Twenty minutes later, Argentina won a free-kick 25 yards from the goal. Messi placed the ball, stepped back, and curled a low strike around the Jordanian wall and inside the far post. The net rippled. The record was confirmed: seven consecutive FIFA World Cup™ matches, seven goals. No player in the history of the game has ever done it. He now has six goals in this tournament alone. For the millions of fans watching on ZEE5 across India, it was the kind of moment that stops time — a reminder of why this tournament, above all others, produces stories that no script could have written.
Through to the Round of 32
Colombia advanced from Group K as winners with seven points — unbeaten across all three matches. Portugal qualifies as the runner-up. Their 0-0 draw was settled in stoppage time by a VAR call that disallowed a Davinson Sánchez header for the narrowest of offsides.
Argentina tops Group J. Austria follow as runners-up — Sasa Kalajdzic’s 96th-minute header, keeping them level against Algeria. England finish top of Group L and Croatia advance as runners-up, having beaten Ghana 2-1 with a Mođrić-assisted winner that set a World Cup record for the oldest player to register an assist.
DR Congo are through as one of the best third-placed teams after their stunning 3-1 comeback win over Uzbekistan — their first-ever FIFA World Cup™ knockout stage appearance. Algeria also advanced from third place. Ghana go through as the best third-placed team from Group L. Three African nations advancing on the same day is not a footnote. It is the story of a continent making its presence felt.
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Teams that Bow Out
Jordan leaves this tournament having scored in all three group-stage appearances — a detail that captures exactly what made them such an engaging side to watch. For a nation making its World Cup debut, that record is something to build on. They won nothing on the scoreboard. They gained everything in terms of experience. Uzbekistan, also on debut, exited having shown quality in flashes but without the consistency needed to progress.
Iran were eliminated on the previous day’s results. Uzbekistan and Panama join them, along with the other third-placed sides who did not accumulate enough points across the group stage.
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