Day 6 at the World Cup delivered star power in every direction: Kylian Mbappé overcame a shaky first half to score twice against Senegal, Erling Haaland grabbed a debut brace as Norway returned to the tournament, and Lionel Messi marked his 200th Argentina app
The World Cup waited for the stars to arrive, and on Tuesday they did—at full volume.
Kylian Mbappé’s second-half surge lifted France past Senegal. Erling Haaland underlined Norway’s return with a debut brace. and Lionel Messi turned his 200th appearance for Argentina into something closer to a coronation than a milestone. On a day when the tournament can flatten reputations, these three refused to budge.
France laboured before Mbappé turned the lights on
France’s night against Senegal started like a warning. In a very plodding first half, both the team and Mbappé looked far from the favourites’ script. Mbappé—often the man who makes momentum feel inevitable—was involved far less than France needed. and his 14 touches summed up how little control he had over the tempo.
Senegal, dubbed the Lions of Teranga, fought through the opening 45 minutes with ferocity, outfighting the French and making possession look like a burden.
Then Didier Deschamps shifted the plan. Michael Olise moved from the flanks into the middle of the pitch, and the effect was immediate. Olise connected with Mbappé, and the French striker looked far more engaged while in possession.
Mbappé scored his first goal after the tactical adjustment. and Bradley Barcola added a second as France moved into the ascendancy. Mbappé didn’t stop there, adding another deep into injury time to close it out. Senegal did briefly find a lifeline—scoring in the fifth minute of injury time—but Mbappé snuffed out any comeback with a 30-yard strike that sailed past Édouard Mendy and into the top right corner.
For Mbappé, the numbers kept stacking. After his brace versus Senegal. he reached 14 career World Cup goals. moving him past Pelé and into a tie for third place with Gerd Müller in the men’s tournament history. He now trails only Ronaldo’s 15, while Messi and Germany’s Miroslav Klose sit one more behind. It also made Mbappé 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’s 13.
Erling Haaland brings Norway’s World Cup return to life
Norway’s presence at this World Cup is a long time coming. The country had competed in only three World Cups from 1938 to 1998. and for years there were doubts about whether Erling Haaland—the prolific striker with 229 goals in 386 games. including 162 goals for Manchester City—would ever get his World Cup moment.
That wait ended on Tuesday, and Norway didn’t waste it.
Haaland, 25, delivered in his debut with a first-half brace in Norway’s third win in its tournament history. His goals carried the fingerprints of the striker’s instincts: the first came from a sliding tap-in after he worked his way into a dangerous position. while the second arrived after he pressured Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan into making a mistake and forced the ball into the back of the net.
Two very different strikes, same outcome—Norway moving forward and Haaland taking the spotlight.
Messi turns milestone night into a World Cup statement
While Mbappé and Haaland carried the day with goals, Lionel Messi made his own history look effortless.
Messi marked his 200th appearance for Argentina by scoring in his fifth World Cup. He registered his first career World Cup hat trick, and he became the first man to appear in six different World Cups. He turns 39 next week, yet none of it looked like a player slowing down.
With Algeria in front of him, Messi made a 3-0 win feel inevitable. Argentina’s defence of its World Cup crown began with a 17th-minute breakthrough. Rodrigo De Paul played Messi into space with a line-breaking pass. and Messi ran at Algeria’s defenders before lashing a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that stung Luca Zidane’s fingertips and found the top corner.
Zidane then gifted the second goal at the hour mark, fumbling a shot from distance and allowing Messi an easy side-footed rebound into the back of the net. Sixteen minutes later, Messi added the third—curling a shot past a diving Zidane.
The game was beyond repair after that. Lionel Scaloni subbed Messi out in the 80th minute, but not before the fans inside Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium rose to applaud him off the pitch.
France led 2-0 when Senegal scored late, and Argentina already had the damage done when Algeria’s comeback chances disappeared. In both matches, once the main men found rhythm, the rest of the world had to chase them.
Day 6’s three stars
Lionel Messi was the obvious choice. He wrecked Algeria on a night when Argentina opened its defence of its World Cup crown in emphatic fashion.
Kylian Mbappé followed, overcoming a sloppy opening 45 minutes with a spectacular second-half showing against Senegal. He opened the scoring with a cool finish to make it 1-0 after being denied a penalty, then capped the win with his second goal.
Erling Haaland completed the trio. He marked Norway’s return to the World Cup following a 28-year absence with a brilliant first-half brace, and finished with a game-high five shots.
World Cup Messi Mbappé Haaland France vs Senegal Norway vs Iraq Argentina vs Algeria Day 6