France earn favourites tag and Cape Verde make history: World Cup Daily

Philippe Auclair· Panelist0:00

This is The Guardian.

Max Rushden· Host0:01

[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to The Guardian Football Weekly. Cape Verde reached the knockouts in their first-ever World Cup. Second in the group, glorious scenes at the end, Vozinia's mom dancing in the stands, another clean sheet. They almost won it at the end, but it didn't matter. They'll play Argentina now. Messi isn't getting any change out of Pico Lopez. Saudi Arabia needed to go for it, but they were absolute garbage. Spain topped the group, beating a disappointing Uruguay. The players told Bielsa they were gonna do it their way, and that way was about as effective as Bielsa's way. Poor Meslera spooning a soft Bayona strike, getting hooked, and that was that, before Canobbio Uruguayed it up right at the end. Three wins from three for France, the current favorites for the whole thing, the big Mbappe-Haaland showdown undermined slightly by Haaland being on the bench, along with Norway's entire first team. It kind of made sense but made for quite a tepid affair. Ousmane Dembele scored his way into the golden boot reckoning, while Jorgen Strand Larsen confirmed that he is very much the third-best big man in Norway. Still, there's lots of big men in Norway. Senegal are probably through after a 5-nil win over 10-man Iraq. A couple of great goals in this one. We'll look ahead to tomorrow. Release the hand break, Thomas. Reece James is out for England's game with Panama. There's an extreme listener tactic for avoiding vegetables, your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today, with me in LA, Barry Glendenning. Welcome.

Barry Glendenning· Panelist1:22

Hello, Max.

Max Rushden· Host1:23

Uh, from the Racing Post, Mark Langdon. Hello.

Mark Langdon· Panelist1:25

Hi, Max.

Max Rushden· Host1:25

And on the night shift, Philippe Auclair. Bonjour, ca va?

Philippe Auclair· Panelist1:28

Ca va, mon gars. Bonjour, bonsoir,