Cabo Verde & DR Congo captivate, England electrifies, and favorites frustrate | World Cup Group Stage, Round 1

We're back to talk the first round of games in the World Cup group stage!

We start by discussing the quality and depth throughout the tournament, from South Korea to Jordan to New Zealand and Iran. Has there ever been so much quality at a World Cup?

Then we give our flowers to Cabo Verde and DR Congo, who picked up historic results against Spain and Portugal, respectively. We examine how they achieved these most epic of points and enjoy Verdean keeper Vozinha's rise to global fame.

We also check in on the tournament favorites, who enjoyed a mixed opening round. England were brilliant in a high-octane win over Croatia and France demonstrated the immense power of their attacking talent in a brilliant second half steamrolling of Senegal. But elsewhere, Brazil struggled to cope in the midfield against Morocco, and Spain and Portugal encountered low-blocks they couldn't solve. We delve in Portugal's issues against Congo, from Ronaldo to the sameness of many of their creative midfielders.

Finally, we move onto our superlatives, decreeing the first group stage round's best and worst games, players, moments, and much more.

Cheers to Bubista and Sébastien Desabre!

Chapters:

0:00 – the start

3:18 – top stories (Cabo Verde, DR Congo, + parity)

16:20 – England

20:39 – France

23:50 – Brazil & Germany

27:27 – Spain & Portugal

35:50 – CONCACAF check-in

41:32 – Superlatives

58:17 – James Rodriguez Award check-in