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The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been nothing short of miraculous so far, especially when you look at what the tournament’s superstars have been doing on the pitch.
Monday’s line-up, which featured three of the game’s leading scorers, was perhaps the highlight of the tournament so far.
The story of the day had to be Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who set the all-time World Cup scoring record, overtaking Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the lead as his illustrious career honors continue.
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Argentina’s Lionel Messi reacts after scoring his third goal during the World Cup Group J match against Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., on June 16, 2026. (Ed Zurga/AP Photo)
Not only did Messi score his 17th World Cup goal in the first half of Argentina’s win over Austria, but he added an 18th goal late in the second half to put a cherry on top of another wonderful performance.
Through just two games at the World Cup, Messi already has five goals to his name and scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s first tournament win against Algeria. And he’s doing this at 38, showing the same ability he had in his prime for country and club as he furthers his case as the greatest footballer to ever wear a pair of boots.
But Messi wasn’t the only superstar to show up on Monday. In fact, he wasn’t even the only one to score two goals in a win.
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France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland, two of the game’s best strikers, capitalized on their matches against Iraq and Senegal respectively.
Early in the first half in Philadelphia, Mbappe found the ball just outside Iraq’s 18-yard box when he drilled a left-footed strike towards goal, and it was too much juice for the goalkeeper as it found the back of the net. As expected, France were all over Iraq and they made sure to press with their 27-year-old superstar leading the charge.
After a lengthy weather delay, play finally resumed on the pitch, with Iraq making a costly error on a goal kick that the keeper was ill-prepared to handle and Ousmane Dembele serving an easy pass to Mbappe to set up his second goal of the night.
Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring France’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I match against Iraq at Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 22, 2026. (Shaun Botterill/FIFA)
While Messi broke the record for all-time World Cup goals, Mbappe is not too far behind as it was his 15th and 16th of his career. Mbappe is just 27 but is playing in his third World Cup for a France side looking for revenge after falling to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final.
Finally, not too far from Philadelphia, Haaland and Norway played in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in a crucial Group I match against Senegal. France are also in Group I and had the lead with two wins to start their tournament.
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Thus, Haaland would be counted on for his goalscoring methods, and he did not disappoint. Haaland scored in the 48th and 58th minutes of the match en route to a 3-2 win over Senegal to tie France at the top of Group I heading into a crucial final group stage match later in the week.
Haaland may even have had three goals if not for a missed opportunity when Senegal’s goalkeeper fumbled the ball and a wide open net was in front of him at the end of the first half. But Haaland put it in from the right post, leaving the 6-foot-5 Norwegian in disbelief.
However, Haaland quickly made up for it in the second half and the crowd in New Jersey went ballistic for the Manchester City product.
Erling Haaland of Norway celebrates with teammates after scoring the third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I match against Senegal at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on June 22, 2026. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
With players like Spain’s Lamine Yamal making history with his first ever World Cup goal on Sunday and Team USA making statement wins in their first two games in Group D, this tournament has had it all from top to bottom.
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The best part is that this is just the group stages. The knockout rounds come next week, where players like Messi, Mbappe and Haaland will have more at stake.
But there’s no doubt that this tournament has been great to watch for all fans around the globe, and Monday’s “Big Three” made it even more special.
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