The World Cup often brings out the very best in soccer’s biggest stars.
But at the same time, the tournament can be cruel. Not everybody makes the most of the opportunity, as some of the all-time legends have fallen flat at the World Cup.
France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland don’t fall into that category. Mbappé and Haaland displayed why they rank among the greatest of the current era on Tuesday at the World Cup, both bagging braces in guiding their teams to impressive wins.
Not to be outdone, Lionel Messi marked his 200th appearance for Argentina by scoring in his fifth World Cup and registering his first career World Cup hat trick. Messi also became the first man to appear in six different World Cups.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Day 6.
THE RESULTS
Group I: France 3, Senegal 1 | Match report | Match stats
Group I: Norway 4, Iraq 1 | Match report | Match stats
Group J: Argentina 3, Algeria 0 | Match report | Match stats
Group J: Austria 3, Jordan 1 | Match report | Match stats
THE BIG TAKEAWAYS
As Mbappé goes, so goes France
If France is going to win its third World Cup – and first since 2018 – it will likely be on the shoulders of Kylian Mbappé. And all early indications are that they can more than handle the load, as the Real Madrid super star bagged a fantastic brace in Les Bleus’ win over Senegal. Mbappé was the Golden Boot winner four years ago in Qatar, and his quest to earn a second consecutive trophy as the tournament’s top scorer is off to an excellent start. But it took some doing.
Both France and Mbappé laboured their way through a very plodding first half against Senegal, far from living up to their pre-World Cup billing as the favourites to win it all. Mbappé, in particular, looked lackadaisical and wasn’t involved as much as France needed him to be, as evidenced by his paltry 14 touches on the ball. By contrast, Senegal, dubbed the Lions of Teranga, lived up to its moniker with a ferocious showing through the opening 45 minutes, outfighting the French, who were careless in possession.
The second half was an entirely different matter, though. A tactical shift by manager Didier Deschamps saw Michael Olise move from the flanks into the middle of the pitch. Olise instantly connected with Mbappé, setting him up for his first goal as the French striker looked far more engaged and more secure while in possession. France was in the ascendancy and a second goal came from Bradley Barcola before Mbappé added another goal deep into injury time to seal the win for the French.
Erling Haaland finally gets his World Cup moment
Some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport never had the chance to play at the World Cup. Among the more notable ones: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Argentina and Spain). George Weah (Liberia). Éric Cantona (France). Valentino Mazzola (Italy). George Best (Northern Ireland). Ryan Giggs (Wales). Ladislao Kubala (Hungary). Bernd Schuster (Germany).
For the longest time, it looked like Erling Haaland would be added to that list. Haaland has plundered goals with alarming regularity at club level — 229 in 386 games, including 162 goals for Manchester City. But Norway isn’t what you would call a traditional power, having competed in only three World Cups from 1938 to 1998, and doubts lingered as to whether Haaland would ever get his opportunity.
Thankfully, the Norwegians punched their ticket for this summer’s competition, giving Haaland, one of the most prolific strikers of his generation, a chance to showcase his skills on the game’s biggest stage — and us the pleasure of watching him. Haaland, 25, isn’t one to shy away from the spotlight and he didn’t disappoint in his World Cup debut, registering a first-half brace in Norway’s third win in its tourney history.
Both goals highlighted his legendary predatory instincts — the first one coming off a sliding tap-in after he worked his way into a dangerous position; the second after he pressured Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan into making a mistake and forced the ball into the back of the net. Two very different goals, but both of them quintessentially Haaland-esque.
Magical Messi
Lionel Messi turns 39 next week but age is not slowing down the Argentine ace in the slightest. Perhaps spurned on by the displays of Mbappé and Haaland earlier in the day, Messi went one better by scoring a magical hat trick in a rampaging 3-0 victory over Algeria.
There was a wonderful symmetry to Messi’s performance, coming 20 years to the day that he made his World Cup debut when he scored in a 6-0 destruction of Serbia and Montenegro. Two decades later, he is still going strong, as the Algerians discovered to their great peril.
Algeria had no answer for the reigning World Cup champions, ripped to shreds by another masterclass performance by the greatest player ever to lace up a pair of cleats. He opened his account on the day in the 17th minute when he was played into space via a line-breaking pass from Rodrigo De Paul. Messi took it from there, charging forward as Algeria’s defenders backed off before lashing a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that stung the finger tips of goalkeeper Luca Zidane and found its way into the top corner of the net.
Zidane gifted Messi his second goal, fumbling a shot from distance that allowed the dimmutnive star to side-foot an easy rebound attempt in the back of the net at the hour mark. A third goal followed 16 minutes later during the second phase of an Argentine attack that ended with Messi curling a shot past a diving Zidane.
The damage had been done and there was nothing more for Messi to do, so manager Lionel Scaloni subbed Messi out in the 80th minute, but not before the fans inside Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium rose to their feet to applaud him off the pitch.
GOAL OF THE DAY
France was comfortably leading 2-0 when Senegal gave itself a lifeline with a goal in the fifth minute of injury time. Was a comeback on the cards for the African nation? Hardly. Mbappé snuffed out any chance of that when he picked up the ball, took a quick touch as he spun around and unleashed a powerful shot from 30 yards out that sailed past goalkeeper Édouard Mendy and nestled into the top right corner. Pure golazo material.
MOMENT OF THE DAY
What were you doing when you were 18 years old? Probably not scoring at the World Cup like Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbaye:
STAT OF THE DAY
With his brace versus Senegal in New York, Mbappé now has 14 career World Cup goals, moving him past Brazilian icon Pelé and into a tie for third place (with German legend Gerd Müller) in the history of the men’s tournament. Mbappé only trails Brazil’s Ronaldo (15), and Lionel Messi and Germany's Miroslav Klose (both 16). Mbappé is also now France's all-time scorer with 58 goals, one more than Olivier Giroud, and France’s all-time scorer at the World Cup, moving past Just Fontaine (13).
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina): Really, who else could it be? He was a one-man wrecking crew against Algeria as Argetina opened its defence of its World Cup crown in emphatic fashion.
2. Kylian Mbappé (France): Overcame a very sloppy opening 45 minutes with a spectacular showing in the second half against Senegal. The Real Madrid star opened the scoring via a cool finish to make it 1-0 after being denied a penalty and then capped the scoring to seal the win.
3. Erling Haaland (Norway): Helped mark his country’s return to the World Cup following a 28-year absence with a brilliant first-half brace. The Manchester City star finished with a game-high five shots.
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