Lionel Messi further cemented his legendary status, while Kylian Mbappe rewrote France’s history books and Erling Haaland had a World Cup debut to remember in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
It was a day when some of the biggest stars on the planet made their 2026 World Cup bows, and did not disappoint.
Mbappe got the ball rolling with a brilliant double against Senegal to become France’s all-time leading scorer with 58. Haaland also found the net twice as Norway celebrated their long-awaited return to the global stage.
It was Messi, though, who shone brightest of them all as he inspired defending champions Argentina to a comprehensive victory against Algeria with his maiden World Cup hat-trick. In a record sixth World Cup finals appearance, the maestro joined Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time scoring list with 16.
In the final match of the day, Austria celebrated their return to the World Cup for the first time since France 1998 with a dogged victory over debutants Jordan, who netted their maiden tournament goal.
Group I France 3-1 Senegal
Mbappe pretended to play the flute then hit the highest of notes. In scoring two terrific strikes against Senegal, the frontman became France’s all-time leading scorer with 58 goals and the joint-fourth all-time leading World Cup marksman with 14.
After a goalless opening half, the game sprang into life in the second stanza as Mbappe and Bradley Barcola got France’s campaign up and running. Senegal pulled a goal back deep into injury time to make it 2-1 but Mbappe had the final word.
Group I Iraq 1- 4 Norway
Haaland immediately followed in Mbappe’s footsteps with a dynamic double of his own. After a lengthy wait to play on football’s biggest stage, the striker wasted no time in making his mark as he hit a fantastic first and a fortuitous second to put Norway on the way to victory.
The Lions of Mesopotamia showed plenty of promise but failed to roar as they spurned a number of chances to make it 2-2. They were punished for their profligacy when Norway substitute defender Leo Ostigard and then an Aymen Hussein own goal, deep into injury time, sealed the rout.
Group J: Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Argentina began their Qatar 2022 campaign with a surprise defeat to Saudi Arabia. There would be no such repeat in Kansas City as Messi burnished his reputation as one of the game’s greatest-ever players with a performance for the ages.
Messi was already making history by taking the field against Algeria as he made a record sixth finals appearance. He further added to his legacy by scoring an exquisite treble to level Klose’s historic scoring mark. The 38-year-old kicked things off with a long-range strike, which was followed up with an opportunistic second. An exquisite late strike provided the perfect denouement.
- Kylian Mbappe became France's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals, scoring twice against Senegal in a 3-1 win.
- Erling Haaland scored twice in Norway’s 4-1 victory over Iraq, marking a memorable World Cup debut.
- Lionel Messi scored his first World Cup hat-trick against Algeria, tying Miroslav Klose’s record with 16 World Cup goals in his sixth tournament.
- Argentina secured a comprehensive 3-0 win over Algeria, rebounding from their previous World Cup upset.
- Austria returned to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, defeating Jordan who scored their maiden tournament goal.
