Messi, Mbappé, and Haaland Set World Cup Records in Historic Performances

The 2026 FIFA World Cup witnessed extraordinary individual achievements as three of football's elite players delivered record-breaking performances on the same day. Lionel Messi scored his first-ever World Cup hat trick as Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in their title defence opener, bringing his World Cup goal tally to 16. Kylian Mbappé starred for France in their 3-1 revenge victory over Senegal, scoring a brace that extended his remarkable tournament record. His 14th World Cup goal broke France's all-time national record previously held by Just Fontaine with 13 goals, while his 58th international goal surpassed Olivier Giroud's France national team record of 57. Globally, Mbappé now ties with Gerd Müller for the second-most World Cup goals all-time, behind only Messi and Miroslav Klose who share 16 each.

Erling Haaland made an immediate impact in Norway's return to the World Cup after 28 years, scoring a brace in their dominant 4-1 victory over Iraq. The two goals marked Norway's first multi-goal performance by a single player at the World Cup and extended Haaland's competitive scoring streak for Norway to 11 games dating back to November 2024, during which he has netted 21 goals. Norway's four-goal performance represented the first time the nation has scored four goals in a major tournament match and equalled their largest World Cup margin of victory.

The tournament also saw other notable milestones. Iraq suffered their first World Cup defeat, though Aymen Hussein became only the second goal scorer in Iraqi World Cup history. Austria continued their strong start with a 3-1 win over Jordan. France's victory provided redemption for their shock 1-0 loss to Senegal in the 2002 World Cup, while Mbappé became the third French player to score in three different World Cup editions, joining Michel Platini and Dominique Rocheteau. Bradley Barcola became France's youngest World Cup debutant scorer since Thierry Henry in 1998.

These performances underscore the dominance of elite players at football's premier tournament and set the tone for what promises to be a competitive 2026 World Cup.