Thanksgiving and football always go hand-in-hand in the United States, but the World Cup will provide a little different take on Thursday.

World Cup fans will be thankful to finally see Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar take the pitch on the final day of opening matches.

Ronaldo can change the focus back to playing on the field for Portugal after news emerged this week he has parted ways with Manchester United. Neymar, meanwhile, leads the oddsmakers' favorite, Brazil, in Group G.

Here are the matches Thursday:

Alphonso Davies stood at the penalty spot with a chance to give Canada its first goal in World Cup history and a lead against favored Belgium in the 10th minute. But a diving save from Thibaut Courtois cut both dreams short.

Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi would sink a goal in the 44th minute and the No. 2 ranked team in the world held on for a 1-0 win in their opening match.

Canada played well in its first appearance in the World Cup since 1986, however, and lost out on a second penalty kick on a controversial no-call in the first half.

Spain, one of the oddsmakers' favorites to hoist the World Cup trophy next month, did nothing to dissuade those picking the 2010 champs to win another title.

Spain defeated Costa Rica 7-0 in the most lopsided game of the tournament so far. Costa Rica had zero shots on goal in the match.

Ferran Torres had two goals, while Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata each had one.

It was the most goals scored by Spain in a World Cup game, topping the six they scored against Bulgaria in 1998. Spain next plays Germany on Sunday, with the German side facing elimination with a loss.

Germany controlled possession throughout the first half and appeared ready to cruise to a opening game victory. Then Japan turned it on in a shocking final 15 minutes to steal the win.

German Ilkay Gundogan scored on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, and thought they had added a second late in the first half before a review took it off the board.

In the second, Ritsu Doan tied the game at 1-1 in the 75th minute after coming on the pitch just four minutes earlier. Eight minutes later, Takuma Asano gave Japan the 2-1 lead and held on for the win.

U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter tried to keep the focus on Tuesday's game at a press conference as he faced questions about why the U.S. team's Twitter account removed the Islamic emblem from Iran's flag in a post Sunday. He also insisted his team had no knowledge of the post.

The U.S. soccer federation said it removed the logo to show support for those protesting in the country against authoritarian rule and its treatment of women.

Berhalter tried to keep the focus on the uniting power of sports and the World Cup, even as Iran called for the U.S. to be kicked out of the World Cup for altering its flag.

"Sport is something that should bring people together, bring countries together," Berhalter said. "When you look at the Olympics, to see all those countries competing at the same time, is a wonderful event. The World Cup is very similar, where people come from all around the world. Fans come from all around the world, and you get to compete on the field, as brothers, so sport does have the ability to do that."

U.S. captain Tyler Adams was criticized by an Iranian reporter for mispronouncing "Iran," which he apologized for, and he was questioned about discrimination in the U.S., saying it is everywhere but there has been progress. But he also deflected attention back to the game.

"Listen, we support Iran's people and Iran's team. But that being said, you know, we're laser focused on this match as they are as well," Adams, 23, told reporters. "We know how important this is for our progress of our team and what we want to do to prove to our country, you know, how hard we've been working. And we know they want to do exactly the same."

The U.S. must defeat Iran Tuesday to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

-ABC News' Karyn Rhodus