The genius of Lionel Messi
In the 96 year history of the World Cup a total of 56 hat tricks have been scored, but until last night, none of them had come from Argentina’s inspirational captain Lionel Messi.
But in scoring the 118th, 119th, and 120th international goals of his career against Algeria, on the occasion of his 200th cap for his country, Messi created yet more World Cup history.
Just being named in the starting line up meant he became the first player to appear in six different finals, thereby extending his record number of appearances to 27 in the process. Having then bagged the matchball with two long range strikes and a tap in, Messi drew level with Miroslav Klose as the competition’s all-time top goal scorer with 16 goals.
Argentina’s title defence couldn’t have got off to a better start.
Mbappé sets one record, joins Messi in chasing down another
Kylian Mbappé came into the World Cup needing two goals to beat Olivier Giroud’s all-time scoring record for France. For 45 minutes of their opening game against Senegal, there didn’t look to be much chance of that record falling but Les Bleus turned it on after half-time, and we saw four excellent goals scored - three for Didier Deschamps’ side, plus a beauty from Senegal’s young PSG winger Ibrahim Mbaye.
Mbappé, who was picking up his 98th cap for his country, eventually got his brace, surpassing Giroud’s record of 57 in 137 appearances. He got the opener, following a sublime pass from the in-form Michael Olise, before smashing home goal number 58 in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Now, the French captain will set his sights on Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi’s joint record 16 goals scored at World Cup finals. He needs just two more to match them, and on this evidence, the next few weeks could become something of an arms race as some of the world’s most prolific forwards battle it out to set a new standard in the history books.
Norway make winning return to the world stage
Not to be outdone, Erling Haaland also scored twice as Norway overwhelmed Iraq in the game that marked both nations’ long awaited return to the World Cup.
Haaland was a man possessed in the first half, marking his tournament debut with two goals in the first 43 minutes, to ensure that he has now scored in each of his last 11 competitive games for his country.
His 9.17 FotMob match rating was the highest we’ve awarded at this World Cup until Lionel Messi set foot on the field a few hours later, and any nerves we had about our home nation’s opening game evaporated as the sound of the ‘Viking Row’ echoed around the Boston Stadium.
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Today, the final two groups get underway with games across all three World Cup host nations.
England take on familiar foes Croatia in Dallas while group rivals Ghana and Panama meet in Toronto.
And in Group K, Cristiano Ronaldo leads Portugal against the DR Congo in Houston before we head back to the Azteca in Mexico City for Uzbekistan’s World Cup debut versus Colombia.
Time for the off-field distractions to stop
As one of the World Cup big guns, England haven’t had it particularly easy since arriving in America. Thomas Tuchel has had to contend with vastly differing weather conditions that delayed their final warm-up game, the theft of the team’s boots and vital training equipment, and the last minute loss of squad player Tino Livramento to injury.
But now, it’s down to business as the Three Lions meet Croatia, a nation they played at both the 2018 World Cup and the COVID-hit 2020 Euros (plus the Nations League in between!).
Luka Modrić was Croatia’s captain at both those tournaments and the veteran remains vital to his nations’ hopes here.
📲 Build your own England starting XI with the FotMob lineup builder - available in app, or via this link
Ronaldo set to match Messi in age old battle
Just hours after Lionel Messi became the first player to take the field in a sixth World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo should follow suit as he leads out Portugal for the first game of their group stage campaign against DR Congo.
Ronaldo might have just eight goals across 22 appearances in the finals but he was the first player in history to score in five different World Cups (Messi just became the second). And Bruno Fernandes backed his captain to extend that extraordinary feat: “He has that winning mentality; he is never satisfied with what he's achieved, and he always strives for more.”
Carlos Queiroz looking to bring stability to the Black Stars
Appointed just 72 days before the start of the World Cup and given two warm-up games to get his tactics across, veteran coach Carlos Queiroz is the man charged with leading Ghana in North America. This will be his fifth consecutive World Cup, after taking the helm in 2010 with his native Portugal and the next three with Iran.
And while Queiroz is an experienced head, even he may struggle to build a cohesive unit from a squad he has had so little time to work with. And a lot of the heavy lifting will have to be done by star names such as Antoine Semenyo.
Ghana were strong in qualifying but also failed to reach the last AFCON and have scored just three times in their last seven.
