Rise of a Football God

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Nigerian fans brought the stadium down with noise.

Sam?

With a big smile on his face after getting his first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the very first game, Sam felt on top of the world as he charged towards the corner flag.

A few celebrations flashed through his mind, but for this iconic moment, for his very first FIFA World Cup goal, only one celebration dominated in his head.

He jumped, swirled in the air, flung his right arm, and then…

"SUIIIIII!"

The tens of thousands of Nigerian fans in the stadium responded with him, roaring the iconic suii celebration that belonged to the Portuguese legend, Cristiano Ronaldo. What a moment it was.

"WHAT A GOAL!!!" The commentators raved.

"What a team this Nigerian side is".

"I still can't believe that just last year, this was a national team that was struggling heavily under the previous coach".

"Eric Chelle entered this team as an interim coach previously, but since then, the interim coach has created miracle after miracle".

"Making Sam the face of his team, a lot of people frowned at it the first time".

"He suffered criticism but he faced it all with a brave face".

"Then, it did look like a nonsensical decision, making a mere 19-year old then the face and core of your team. But Sam was not just any 19 year old then, just as he is not just any 20 year old now, he is HIM!"

"What a player!"

"He can run! He can dribble! He can pass! He can score!"

"What can't he do?!"

"And with that it's a wrap!"

"There's no way back for Croatia!"

"3-1 to Nigeria!"

"Victor Osimhen may have scored 2 goals today but Sam's imprint is in every single goal. Add that to his sheer work rate this game and we have a clear favorite for the man of the match award!"

"What a player, Sam!"

"In history, Nigeria have never made it really deep in the FIFA World Cup".

"Nigeria's best performance in the FIFA World Cup history has been reaching the Round of 16, which they achieved in 1994, 1998, and 2014. They have qualified for only six World Cup tournaments out of 21".

"Even the last one in 2022, they failed to qualify".

"Just last year, it seemed like they would miss out on World Cup qualification again till Sam entered the stage".

"Can Sam do it?"

"Can he take his nation past the Round of 16 stage for the first time in their history?"

"History says no, but Sam says yes".

"All we can do is watch this player, watch his brilliance as he write his name and number in the biggest stage of football".

FWEEEE!

The referee's whistle sounded to continue the game but there was nothing much Croatia could do at this stage.

Nigeria simply toyed with them, passing round for fun and keeping possession.

Fulltime elapsed, then additional time.

Additional time elapsed, then…

FWEEE!

The final whistle blew.

The game came to an end.

Nigeria played and won their first game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and just like the commentators predicted, Sam won the man of the match award after a solid performance in attacking midfield.

…

That same day after Nigeria and Croatia clashed in their group stage encounter, 3 hours later, Canada and Saudi Arabia also came to loggerheads.

(GROUP E:)

(Canada vs Saudi Arabia )

(Venue: Estadio Guadalajara, Mexico)

(Date: June 14, 2026)

(Time: 20:00)

This time, it was the Estadio Guadalajara in Mexico.

The Canada vs Saudi Arabia encounter was another FIFA World Cup classic.

Both nations started with their best starting XI lineups.

Canada started in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Clair manning the posts for the Canadian national football team, while sitting in front of him was a defensive quadruple led by Alphonso Davies, then Cornelius, Bombito, and Johnston.

In midfield was the duo of Kone and Choiniere, while further ahead was Ahmed, Buchanan, and Jonathan David who came back a bit from his normal striker spot to play as the attacking midfielder for the team.

Ahead of them and leading the line as the striker was Oluwaseyi.

For Saudi Arabia, they started in a 5-4-1 formation.

Manning the posts for the Saudi Arabians was Alaqidi, while ahead of him in defense was the 5-man stalwart blockade of Boushal, Tambakti, Alawjami, Thakri, and Al Shanawi.

In midfield was a quadruple lineup of Al-Dawsari, the man who shot to fame against Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, then Al-Ghamdi, Aljuwayr, and Al-Buraikan.

Then, the sole man in attack, Al-Sahafi.

It was a tight game but one man stole the show, Jonathan David.

The game 3-2 in Saudi Arabia's favor.

It was a crazy game in the fact that all 5 goals came in the second half. The first half came to an end 0-0 as Saudi Arabia played a full-on defensive game, and somehow still maintaining their highline that stunned Argentina 4 years ago.

Oluwaseyi was caught 4 times offside in the first half alone.

But in the second half, everything changed.

In the first minute of the 2nd half, Jonathan David received the ball just outside the box and burst into the box, took his time, before unleashing a piledriver that rose, flying with speed before tearing its way into the top left corner.

It was an unstoppable shot.

That goal brought Canadian dominance to the game. Alphonso Davies exploded, turning the game on its head with his crazy runs and dribbles.

In the 66th minute, after a run all the way from the back, he threw in an accurate cross and again, Jonathan David did it, rising above everyone to plant a header into the net. The Saudi Arabian goalkeeper was rooted to one space.

At that point, the games seemed to have ended but in the 70s minutes, Saudi Arabia exploded.

In the 72nd minute, Al-Dawsari erupted, dribbling from the left and curling a ball in that was extremely similar to the one he scored against Argentina.

2-1.

6 minutes later, in the 78th minute of the game, Saudi Arabia equalized from a corner kick as Tambakti, their defender rose highest to plant the ball past the Canadian goalkeeper to score the 2nd Saudi Arabian goal.

The stadium went crazy, the commentators raving, and yet, 4 more minutes later, Jonathan David silenced it all.

He scored his 2nd header of the game. And once again, he scored it from an Alphonso Davies run and cross.

What a goal. What a game.

The game ended 3-2, and Jonathan David won the man of the match award having scored the first hattrick of the World Cup.