Florian Wirtz: 8/10 (Germany 7-1 Curaçao)
Florian Wirtz was at the heart of Germany's 7-1 dismantling of Curaçao from the first whistle. The playmaker combined with Felix Nmecha for the opening goal inside six minutes with a slick one-two that set the tone for a dominant German performance in Houston.
He was a constant creative threat throughout, driving Germany's attacking play with the freedom and confidence that Liverpool fans saw only in glimpses last season.
There is an obvious caveat here, though: Curaçao are the smallest nation in the tournament and offered limited resistance once Germany found their rhythm. The Ivory Coast and Ecuador will provide tougher tests, and Die Mannschaft will need Wirtz’s creativity even more in those games.
Alexander Isak: 9/10 (Sweden 5-1 Tunisia)
If Liverpool fans needed a reminder of what Alexander Isak is capable of when fully fit and firing, his performance against Tunisia in the Estadio Monterrey provided it emphatically.
The Liverpool striker scored a brilliant solo goal and provided two assists as Sweden thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in one of the tournament’s most commanding group-stage performances so far.
His goal came after he received the ball near the halfway line, drove forward, and slotted coolly into the bottom corner. It was the kind of movement and finish that was frustratingly rare during a stop-start debut season at Anfield.
Isak put a difficult Liverpool season behind him with a display that will have supporters excited about what next season could hold under new head coach Andoni Iraola. On this evidence, the best of Isak is very much still to come.
Alexis Mac Allister: 8/10 (Argentina 3-0 Algeria)
Mac Allister arrived at his second World Cup as a reigning world champion, having played a pivotal role in Argentina's 2022 triumph in Qatar. The expectation on his shoulders this time is therefore different.
Composed in a deep-lying midfield role, Mac Allister controlled the tempo of a dominant Argentina display and completed 94% of his passes.
He also showed an eye for goal that has been lacking for Liverpool recently. His thunderbolt from distance was too hot to handle for the Algeria goalkeeper, who could only parry the shot into the path of Messi who duly obliged for his second goal.
It was exactly the kind of high-impact contribution that Liverpool fans saw too rarely in 2025/26.
The midfielder had a mixed season for Liverpool, as he was a consistent performer in the first half of the campaign but waned as the season wore on. But after starting this World Cup with a dominant win, Mac Allister and his countrymen will be full of confidence going into their next match against Austria.
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