10 Talking Points From The First Round Of World Cup 2018 Group Games
6. Upsets Aplenty
On paper, it's easy to predict the outcomes of most matches, but in reality, things don't always turn out the way we were expecting, and this World Cup has already proven to be an unpredictable one, with some of the tournament favourites struggling in their opening games and a few low-ranked sides proving they're no pushovers.
Arguably the first big surprise was the Spain vs Portugal match. Recent clashes between the two nations had been relatively dull affairs, with just one goal usually separating the sides, but this one was a real goalfest, with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo providing a stunning hat-trick to counter Spain's Diego Costa's double and Nacho's wonder goal.
From there, the surprises just kept coming. France, widely tipped to go far in the tournament, really struggled against a dogged Aussie side and were pretty lucky to escape with a 2-1 win, while Messi and co couldn't do enough to beat underdogs Iceland.
But the two biggest shocks came on 17 June as the two tournament favourites, Germany and Brazil, entered the competition. A fearless Mexican side ran rings around the World Champions for a stunning 1-0 win, while Switzerland showed resilience to claim a 1-1 draw with Brazil. Let's hope for more exciting upsets in the days to come!