3 takeaways from the latest week of Seattle's World Cup

With another round of group-stage results in the books, we're reaching the point of the 2026 men’s World Cup where early impressions are beginning to harden into legitimate conclusions.

With every team now at least two matches into the tournament and the final round of group-stage fixtures on the docket, here are three more takeaways on the biggest storylines gathering momentum as we churn towards the knockouts.

USMNT passes another test

A 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the group-stage opener was enough to generate plenty of excitement and intrigue around the US men's national team. The bigger question was whether Mauricio Pochettino's side could back it up in their next match against Australia.

With a sold-out crowd packing Seattle Stadium and the atmosphere around the city reaching another level for the USMNT's second group-stage match, the pressure only increased. They couldn't afford to go out there and deliver a flop performance.

Rather than shrink from the moment, though, you have to give the Yanks credit for going out there and delivering on the field. The 2-0 win over Australia secured first place in the group with a game to spare and ensured Wednesday's finale against Türkiye carries far less weight in the standings than it could have.

The Americans' response to the loss of Christian Pulisic for this match was also impressive. Rather than asking another player to replicate Pulisic's role, Pochettino showed some nice tactical acumen with his deployment of Folarin Balogun, giving the breakout striker the freedom to drift into wide areas and influence the game. The tweak paid off almost immediately, with Balogun's run and cross creating the opening own goal that set the tone for the match.

The vibes, surprisingly enough, could not be much better with this team after their banner day in Seattle. There's still business to take care of, but so far, every challenge placed in front of this group has been met.

To keep it rolling, it'll be interesting to see how much squad rotation Pochettino employs against Türkiye. The performance thus far has given him the luxury of resting players and getting guys minutes, but he'll have to be mindful of the risk of sapping some of these vibes and momentum if he deploys a second-choice lineup which results in a poor outcome. Let's see what the Argentine has up his sleeve next.

Favorites look like favorites

The first week of this tournament belonged to the underdogs. The second week is starting to belong to the superstars.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the World Cup is when the underdogs refuse to stick to the script. Cabo Verde famously earned a draw against Spain. Australia stunned Türkiye. Several more of the tournament's traditional powers looked more vulnerable than expected.

As the group stage has progressed, though, the tournament favorites are reminding us all why they entered with such lofty expectations.

Lionel Messi followed up his opening-match hat trick with another virtuoso performance against Austria, moving into sole possession of first place on the men's World Cup goal-scoring charts. Kylian Mbappé has been central to France's perfect start, while Erling Haaland delivered a statement performance in Norway's dramatic win over Senegal. Even Cristiano Ronaldo turned back the clock with a couple of goals in Portugal's much-needed 5-0 bounce-back rout of Uzbekistan.

It doesn't mean the Cinderella stories are finished, but it seems clear that the tournament's biggest stars are starting to seize the spotlight.

One last group-stage showcase

We all know that Seattle has been the best host city so far, but we'll get another unique opportunity to see that in action with the last couple of group-stage games set to be played at Seattle Stadium.

It starts with Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar on Wednesday, which I'm excited for as a conductor of the Bosnia bandwagon. But Friday's finale between Egypt and Iran has the potential to deliver yet another spectacle for the city.

When Egypt drew Belgium 1-1 in Seattle's first World Cup match, thousands of Egyptian supporters descended on Seattle Stadium, transforming the match into one of the tournament's most memorable atmospheres so far and making their presence felt long before and after kickoff.

They'll get one more chance to do it on Friday.

Egypt enters their Group G finale against Iran in strong position to advance after following up their draw with Belgium with a 3-1 victory over New Zealand. With advancement to the knockout rounds still on the line, the stakes should only add to what promises to be another electric atmosphere. If the scenes surrounding Egypt's opener were any indication, the city should be in for another memorable group-stage moment.

Then, we'll see what the knockout rounds have in store.

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