Trio through as Messi makes history and Mbappe, Haaland respond
Lionel Messi becomes the record FIFA World Cup goalscorer and Kylian Mbappe moves joint-second with two of his own as Argentina, France and Norway advance.
It was a banner-day for a pair of FIFA World Cup™ greats. Mercurial Argentina forward Lionel Messi became the tournament’s all-time top-scorer as he grabbed both goals in a 2-0 win over Austria, while Kylian Mbappe moved joint-second with two of his own.
Having started the day level with Miroslav Klose, La Pulga now stands alone with 18 goals but Mbappe showed that this heavyweight goal battle could go the full eight rounds until a potential New York New Jersey showdown on 19 July.
Prolific Norway marksman Erling Haaland showed that he, too, will be a prominent voice in the adidas Golden Boot conversation, scoring a second consecutive brace as Norway joined Argentina and France in qualifying for the Round of 32 as they edged Senegal by the odd goal in five.
Argentina 2-0 Austria
There is Messi and there is no other. Last week the iconic Argentine went past Just Fontaine, Gerd Muller and Ronaldo. Today the 16-goal World Cup mark he shared with Miroslav Klose also fell.
Messi’s brace came after he had missed an early penalty, meaning that he has now scored all five of Argentina’s goals, at a tournament where they are also yet to concede. The defending champions strolled into the Round of 32 with a match to spare, ahead of a final group outing against Jordan on Saturday.
France 3-0 Iraq
After Messi had laid down the gauntlet earlier in the day, Kylian Mbappe showed that he is more than capable of matching the magical Argentinian. Making his 100th international appearance, the explosive captain scored either side of an extended half-time break to pilot France into the Round of 32.
Michel Olise also starred, with a pair of assists, and Ousmane Dembele scored the third for a Les Bleus side that now face a section-settling showdown with Norway on Friday.
Norway 3-2 Senegal
On a remarkable day of goalscoring, Erling Haaland and Ismaila Sarr made it four braces across the four matches, as Norway pipped Senegal in New York New Jersey. Having lost Julian Ryerson to an early injury, it was his replacement Marcus Pederson who struck to send Norway to the break with a narrow lead.
Haaland doubled the advantage with his first three minutes after the restart before Sarr responded shortly after. Just shy of the hour the Manchester City striker restored the two goal buffer, with Sarr reducing it in additional time in a ding-dong clash. Norway are also through to the knockouts but sit second behind France on goal difference.
Jordan 1-2 Algeria
Having impressed in their maiden World Cup match last week, Jordan started brightly against Algeria in San Francisco. That positivity was rewarded as a mis-hit shot from Mousa Al Tamari feel kindly to midfielder Nizar Al Rashdan who swept home to send the West Asian nation to the break with a slender lead.
That was as good as it got though as two Algerian set-pieces, the first a header from a corner via substitute Nadhir Benbouali, the second a bundled close-range Amine Gouiri effort after another corner, saw them claim a 2-1 win. That keeps Algeria’s hopes alive, while Jordan are now eliminated.
