The first round of games at the 2026 World Cup is now complete and we have been treated to some incredible action so far.In 24 games, we have seen some masterclass performances – all hail Lionel Messi – major shocks, VAR drama and much more.Messi’s hat-trick in Argentina’s opening game is one of the standout moments so farGetty75 goals were scored in total throughout the opening set of fixtures at the tournament across the USA, Canada and Mexico. Three red cards have been handed out, with all of them coming in the first match, while there have also been three own-goals. It’s been a thrilling week of action and one that could tell us a lot about how the World Cup is going to pan out.And talkSPORT’s Darren Bent has picked out a few nations and players that have stood out so far this tournament…Seventh heavenFirst up, Bent was tasked with picking the nation that had impressed him the most at the World Cup after GW1.“There are so many different reasons, but looking at the results, you score seven against anyone…” he explained.“So, Germany. That result against Curacao, I get it, they’re the smallest nation at the World Cup. “I think the hydration break changed things as Curacao scored the goal and then after the break, things changed. “But if you score seven, they deserve a mention…it was Curacao, but we saw Spain against Cape Verde, who couldn’t do that. “And with Jamal Musiala playing, Kai Havertz playing, Florian Wirtz looks incredible.”Germany scored seven past Curacao and Bent was impressed with their starsGettySurprise standoutWhen it comes to players, there have been many standouts, including Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. But Bent has picked out two names that not many would have thought pre-tournament would be leading stars – one of which is already understood to be attracting interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.“Ayyoub Bouaddi is the obvious one at Morocco,” he said when asked to name his standout player from GW1. “I think he’s incredible.“But you know someone who has really impressed me is Yasin Ayari, who plays for Sweden and Brighton.“In that first game, which they won 5-1, I thought he was brilliant…everything he did was positive and he scored a couple of great goals as well. “There have been a couple of other great performances, Vozinha, the Cape Verde goalkeeper, but I think Ayari for me.”Morocco’s Bouaddi is attracting interest from giants after his superb first gameShutterstock EditorialBut Bent picked Brighton midfielder Ayari as his standout of GW1GettyA few dark horses Meanwhile, after naming Germany as his most impressive nation so far, Bent then picked out some others who could go far.“I think Sweden are one [of the dark horses],” Bent revealed. “You can’t rule Norway out of that conversation either, as they’ve got Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard. “Japan played some good football. They’re underdogs.“Even Mexico. If England have to play them in Mexico…“That first game of the tournament, the atmosphere, it’s going to be a difficult place to go.”Having Haaland up front is sure to make Norway a potential threat to go farGetty‘Lacklustre’ giantsAnd those dark horses may end up having a chance to lift the Jules Rimet trophy next month, as some major teams looked poor.“It’s only one game and I don’t like to get carried away, but I think Brazil [have been disappointing],” Bent said. “I wasn’t impressed with them at all. I thought they looked a bit lacklustre, one-dimensional.“I don’t know if Vinicius Junior‘s at it. I know Raphinha‘s a top player, but they didn’t impress me.“They just don’t look like Brazil. They might get better, they’re going to have to, as if they have any aspirations of winning the World Cup, they have to get better.”Bent then added: “I’d equally say Spain. They had over 700 passes and 51 touches in the box…no goals, how is that even possible?”Brazil were poor in their draw with Morocco, while Spain couldn’t beat Cape VerdeGettyLa Roja drew 0-0 with Cape Verde in a major shock result in their openerGettyTeam of GW1Bouaddi, Ayari and Vozinha have all been named by Bent as some standouts and they make talkSPORT.com’s best GW1 XI too.Cape Verde keeper Vozinha has gone viral after making seven saves in a man-of-the-match performance against Spain, rising up to an incredible 13 million followers on Instagram since that match.His teammate Pico, who also starred in the historic 0-0 draw, makes the team, along with Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Germany’s Nathaniel Brown, who scored and assisted from left-back.Australia’s Harry Souttar also makes it, as the 6ft 6in defender led his nation to a shock 2-0 win over Turkey, making 13 clearances. In midfield, Bouaddi and Ayari are joined by German Felix Nmecha after he scored in his nation’s 7-1 win – he makes the team in a close call with New Zealand’s Elijah Just, who scored two against Iran.Then, up front, Messi makes it after his history-making hat-trick, as does Harry Kane for his two goals, seven shots and two key passes for England in their 4-2 win over Croatia.These 11 players put in some impressive performances during GW1 at the World CupFolarin Balogun takes the final spot after his two goals and strong showing for the USA in their impressive 4-1 win over Paraguay.Mbappe starred for France in the second half of their victory against Senegal, but his poor first-half showing cost him, while Haaland faced minnows Iraq and was handed his second goal on a plate.Best XI of World Cup GW1: Vozinha, Hakimi, Pico, Souttar, Brown, Bouaddi, Ayari, Nmecha, Messi, Kane, Balogun.World Cup WhatsAppDon't miss an update from talkSPORT in our dedicated World Cup WhatsApp channel.Search for ‘talkSPORT World Cup’ in your ‘Updates’ tab on WhatsApp and we’ll drop the proper, unfiltered football chat straight to your lock screen—no fluff, just pure talkSPORT energy.It’s where you’ll find out all the new rules to watch out for, England and Scotland reaction and big match player ratings. Plus there will be loads of debates on the biggest talking points as Haaland, Mbappe, Kane and the biggest names in football descend on America, Canada and Mexico.