Portugal's team at yet another World Cup arrived as one of the favorites. In the group stage of the qualifying round, the 'European Brazilians' openly goofed around in the company of Hungary, Ireland and Armenia. Only when a distant risk of finishing not in first place appeared did the Portuguese play to full strength and in the final round they crushed the Armenian squad 9-1. It seems that Roberto Martínez's pupils were goofing around even in the first match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. After scoring a fairly quick goal against the DR Congo, for some unimaginable reason the Portuguese began to play not cautiously, but completely cowardly. Having one of the strongest creative lines in the world, Portugal was extremely careful with ball possession, which ceased creating chances and conceded to the Africans a 'goal in the dressing room'. When the attack wasn't clicking in the second half either, Martínez kept Cristiano Ronaldo on the field until the final whistle, having blocked a couple of decent moments to score. At the same time, with the score 1-1, João Félix and Trincão remained on the substitutes' bench until the final whistle. It is possible that the aura of idol worship will lead the Portuguese to another early exit in the World Cup knockout stage. Bookmakers pegged the nominal hosts as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.20 on their victory. Uzbekistan for the first time in history qualified for the World Cup, having passed Asian qualification. From the outset it was clear that Fabio Cannavaro was bringing to North America not tourists, but a team capable of spoiling the mood of any opponent. This is exactly what Uzbek players could achieve in the opening match of the World Cup. Colombia was regarded as the outright favorite to face the Asian side, and near the end of the first half managed to go ahead. The critical moment for the team came in the middle of the second half, when the Uzbeks equalized, but quickly conceded a second time from Luis Díaz. A 1-3 defeat underscores the balance of power between Uzbekistan and Colombia. If the criticized Martínez tunes the Portuguese players to bold attacking football, expect their victory by two goals or more.