World Cup as it happened: Star in foul-mouthed stoush as Ghana taunt ‘lucky’ England

That’s a wrap for our day 13 coverage as we head for a well-earned hydration break.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s bounceback at age 41 and England’s struggles were the big stories of the day.

We will do it all again tomorrow from 5am AEST with in-form co-hosts Canada in action against Switzerland in one of six games.

Scotland vs Brazil from 8am will also be a lot of fun. Over and out!

England were the only favourites to struggle today as Portugal, Croatia and Colombia all took care of business with day 13 wins.

England were held to a scoreless draw with Ghana and their hard-marking press pack let them have it.

“That was dismal from England,” wrote James Pearce of The Athletic.

“They must have known Ghana would park the bus - but they looked completely unprepared to combat it. Far too slow and predictable with their build up.

“Should have hooked off (Anthony) Gordon and (Noni) Madueke at half-time.”

We all expected a Colombia victory today and one of the World Cup dark horses have held on for a 1-0 win over DR Congo in Zapopan.

But it was harder work than expected as Congo - who drew 1-1 with Portugal - again proved a very tricky opponent.

Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi kept his side in it with some terrific saves and they could have snatched another draw had counterpart Camilo Vargas not come to the rescue with a fine late stop of his own.

Colombia are through to the round-of-32 with a group game to spare thanks to the heroics of ‘defender’ Daniel Munoz.

Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t lack for confidence.

And so Portugal’s 41-year-old captain wasn’t fazed by criticism after his wayward performance in the opening game against DR Congo.

Ronaldo got back on target with two of his team’s five goals against Uzbekistan this morning.

“They said I should retire… but I am here. The noise from outside is always like this, but we can’t control it. We keep going and we are united,” Ronaldo said.

“God helps those who work hard. I knew my teammates would help out too.

“It was a difficult week, a dark week. It felt like I’d retired from soccer. But I hung in there, as I always do, because I believe in hard work more than anything else.

“It was tough, I have to admit, but we’re back.”

Colombia right back Daniel Munoz is making a name for himself at the World Cup.

He scored the opening goal in a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan and now he has found the vital breakthrough against DR Congo.

Munoz - who plays his club football for Crystal Palace - has been everywhere in Zapopan and earlier had a goal disallowed for offside.

Colombia lead 1-0 after 80 minutes and they almost had a second.

Luis Diaz found the back of the net with a delightful finish, but it was wiped away for a foul in the buildup.

And incredibly Diaz has put the ball in the net again but this time it is scrubbed out for offside!

Even a loss to Paraguay on Friday (AEST) should see the Socceroos go through to the round-of-32 at the World Cup.

Stats provider Opta gives the Socceroos a more than 90 per cent shot at progression with only 16 teams eliminated after the group stages.

Of course, Australia would love to win the game and take the guesswork out of it.

“We hope, we expect to go through as the second-placed team in the group,” assistant coach Paul Okon said.

“But obviously the most important thing is, our goal is, to get to that knockout stage. So I’m sure everyone’s aware of all those percentages and the scenarios, and possibly who we could come up against, and where we would play, and what the turnaround would be.

“But right now I think that that’s the last thing on our minds. The focus is this game against Paraguay, which will be a really important game in our history.”

The TAB reckons a draw is the most likely outcome, paying $2.25.

Paraguay are the favourites at $2.80 with the Socceroos paying $4.

Socceroos assistant coach Paul Okon has said sorry for his emotional celebration after Connor Metcalfe’s goal against Türkiye in Australia’s World Cup opener.

Okon joked that his boss, Tony Popovic, was trying to remain calm as he went in for a teary-eyed hug.

“I apologise,” he said.

Okon’s son, Paul Okon-Engstler, has started both of Australia’s games so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to become the only player to score in six World Cups as Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 in Houston this morning.

He was the latest legendary player to etch his name in the record books at the tournament, after Lionel Messi surpassed Miroslav Klose for most goals at the World Cup 24 hours earlier.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE...

Read more

Ronaldo’s icy response to Messi question after silencing critics

Socceroos great Mark Bosnich has paid tribute to the great Lionel Messi on the latest edition of Stan Sport’s World Cup Daily.

Socceroos fans pleading for a sexy new attacking quartet are likely to be disappointed on Friday (AEST).

A draw or win against Paraguay in San Francisco will guarantee progression to the World Cup round-of-32 and even a loss could see Australia sneak through as a third-placed team thanks to their three banked points against Türkiye.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE...

Read more

Why Socceroos coach is unlikely to pick the team you want