In the first match of the day, Qatar and Switzerland met at the San Franscisco Bay Area Stadium. Qatar started poorly and Switzerland took advantage, taking the lead in the 17th minute through Breel Embolo’s penalty. 

Deep into stoppage time, however, Qatar captain Boualem Khoukhi went up for a header, which deflected off Miro Muheim and into the net to level the score.

In New York, it was a 1-1 draw between heavyweights Brazil and Morocco as well. The Group C meeting between the five-time winners and the Qatar 2022 semi-finalists, who became the first African nation to reach the last four, ended all square in front of a packed stadium.

Brazil defence

Morocco scored first after Brahim Diaz split the Brazil defence with Ismail Saibari running onto the ball and finding the net in the 21st minute.  But Vinicus Jr equalised shortly after with a blistering right-foot effort. 

This is the first match in which Vinicius Jr has scored for Brazil, which has not ended in victory for the Seleção. The previous eight occasions all helped secure a win.

It was then over to Boston for the match between Haiti and Scotland. A spirited first half from Haiti was not enough to keep the Scots out.  Aston Villa’s John McGinn scored just before the half-hour mark to give Scotland a win in their first World Cup since 1998.

And in what punters describe as the match of the day, Australia triumphed by 2-0 over Türkiye in Vancouver. 

Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored memorable goals for Australia, but the match also belonged to Patrick Beach, the young goalkeeper who pulled off no fewer than eight saves.

After the match, Player of the Match Australian winger Nestory Irankunda said the hard work is not done yet.

“We’ve got the win now, we worked extra hard, we fought till the end, and it’s just an exciting moment. It feels amazing. You’ve got to thank the staff, you’ve got to thank the nation. They all have the belief in me to do so well, and I felt like today getting that goal, it was amazing. 

Germany 

Timmy Cahill’s my biggest inspiration when it comes to football, him and Lionel Messi. Tim Cahill, Australia’s greatest in my opinion, and I just thought if I scored I’d do the same (celebration) as him, and I got to do it,” he said.

On Sunday (14/6), Germany will take on Curaçao in Houston, while the Netherlands will face Japan in Dallas.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg