Dan The Scout Names His World Cup Matchday 1 Worst 11 – Who’s in yours?

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·19 June 2026

Dan The Scout Names His World Cup Matchday 1 Worst 11 – Who’s in yours?

Having picked my Best XI from Matchday 1, it’s only fair that I do the opposite.

With every nation having now played once, here is my flop XI from the opening round of World Cup fixtures.

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Agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

GK – Jalal Hassan (Iraq / Al Zawraa)

Other keepers conceded more goals last week and made bigger errors.

Yet timing is everything in football, and top-level sport can be decided by the smallest of details.

For almost an entire half, Iraq were holding Norway and making them nervous.

Yet all the great work of the underdogs was undermined by a mistake from their goalkeeper.

The 35-year-old wasn’t given the best pass back, but with Haaland running towards you, you go towards the ball.

Instead, the goalkeeper stepped back to wait for the ball to arrive, by which point the Manchester City striker had caught up.

LB – Sherel Floranus (Curacao / PEC Zwolle)

It’s worth stressing that Curacao’s lack of a defensive approach was a tactical choice.

Clearly, Dick Advocaat made the decision for his squad to embrace being at the World Cup and not change their identity.

With the majority of his team educated in the Dutch system, that meant attacking Germany at every opportunity.

Both full-backs were caught too high up the pitch and isolated in one-v-one situations.

In the end, Kimmich stayed in midfield and simply waited to win back possession, targeting Floranus, who was left defending two against one.

CB – Gustavo Gomez (Paraguay / Palmeiras)

For a nation so proud of their defensive record in qualifying, the way they were overrun by the USA was uncharacteristic.

Balogun caused havoc by running into channels and dragging defenders out of position, creating space for midfield runners.

As captain, it was up to Gomez to find solutions, yet the 33-year-old kept getting isolated.

The Americans’ third goal summed up his evening. With his defensive partner left on the floor, the skipper backpedalled instead of taking on Balogun.

CB – Montassar Talbi (Tunisia / Lorient)

Couldn’t cope with the movement of Sweden’s attackers.

Gyokeres kept dragging him out wide, leaving space in the middle, while the 28-year-old was accused of backing off too much when being run at.

Tunisia’s lack of defensive organisation has been cited as one of the reasons why their manager was dismissed.

(Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)

RB – Yan Valery (Tunisia / Sheffield Wednesday)

One of the final decisions Sabri Lamouchi made as Tunisia manager was to substitute Valery, who showed visible frustration at being taken off.

The 27-year-old was repeatedly targeted down Sweden’s left-hand side and received little protection.

In his 72 minutes on the pitch, he recorded zero tackles and zero interceptions, which is incredible when you consider how often Isak ran at him.

CM – Yaya Sithole (South Africa / CD Tondela)

Gifted the hosts the opening goal of the World Cup by literally giving them possession of the ball.

It wouldn’t have happened in most previous versions of the tournament because there wasn’t such an obsession with playing out from the back and trying to beat the press.

Then, with Mexico through on goal, the 27-year-old chose to deny a goalscoring opportunity, deciding a red card was preferable to allowing the striker a shot.

CM – Casemiro (Brazil / Manchester United)

The 34-year-old was, in many ways, let down by those around him.

There was already doubt about whether he still had the legs to hold midfield on his own.

The idea was that Carlo Ancelotti would sacrifice an attacking option by bringing in Paqueta as an additional midfielder.

It didn’t work.

Morocco overpowered Brazil in the first half, forcing their manager to alter his system at half-time.

I would be surprised if the Italian picked that midfield trio again.

AM – Themba Zwane (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

Was brought on for his experience.

When he entered the pitch, he knew two things: his country were a goal down and a man down.

At 2-0 down, South Africa simply couldn’t afford VAR noticing him making contact off the ball with an opponent.

Was there enough contact for the player to go down?

No.

Yet why give the officials a decision to make?

At 36 years old, he should know better.

RAM – Arda Guler (Turkey / Real Madrid)

Despite having 28 shots and 63 per cent possession, not only could Turkey not break Australia down, they also failed to force the goalkeeper into any memorable saves.

The biggest culprit was Guler, whose eight attempts were the most of any player on Matchday 1.

There is massive pressure on the 21-year-old, and Sunday was one of those rare occasions where he simply ran out of ideas.

LAM – Gavi (Spain / Barcelona)

At the Euros, the pace of Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal gave Spain a valuable Plan B.

With both players being carefully managed back to full fitness, Gavi was asked to operate on the left.

In truth, you could include almost any member of Spain’s attack for their lack of imagination in the final third, with nobody brave enough to take responsibility.

The 21-year-old finished with zero shots, zero chances created and zero successful dribbles.

ST – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Al Nassr)

As many predicted, Roberto Martinez refused to take Ronaldo off even when it became clear things weren’t working.

At 41, the legend shouldn’t be blamed if he isn’t receiving service.

Yet some pundits have pointed to certain movements made by the striker and accused him of being more focused on scoring at a sixth World Cup than doing what is best for the team.

After everything he has achieved in the game, it would be sad if it ended like this.

Dan Smith

Do you agree with Dan’s Worst XI from Matchday 1? Which players disappointed you the most during the opening round of World Cup fixtures? Let us know your own flop team in the comments below. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ADMIN COMMENT

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