It was the day the FIFA World Cup superstars came out to play — and score — but the biggest star of them all is Lionel Messi, and he reminded the world that he is still the GOAT with a stunning hat trick against Algeria.
Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland had arrived at the tournament earlier Tuesday, and they announced their presence with the sound of the ball crashing against the back of the net with two goals apiece for France and Norway, respectively, in their games against Senegal and Iraq.
For a moment, it seemed as though the game’s two hottest young players had hammered out a message that this was going to be their World Cup and that the old guard of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could have ringside seats to watch them dominate the race for the Golden Boot.
– As it happened: Messi scores sensational hat trick against Algeria
– Mbappé rewrites France, World Cup history books as Les Bleus beat Senegal
– Haaland shines on World Cup debut, and provides hope for Norway
But Messi, who will be 39 next week, had other ideas. Not only did he score this World Cup’s first hat trick, but he also zoomed up the all-time scoring charts to move level with former Germany striker Miroslav Klose as the leading World Cup scorer with 16 goals.
In the space of 80 minutes — Messi was substituted to a huge ovation with 10 minutes left to play in Kansas City — the Inter Miami CF star moved past Mbappé, Gerd Müller and Brazil’s Ronaldo to join Klose at the top of the pile.
It’s only a matter of time before Messi claims top spot for himself, but don’t rule out the prospect of Mbappé dislodging him from that position before this World Cup is done. Mbappé’s double in France’s 3-1 win against Senegal in East Rutherford, New Jersey, made him Les Bleus’ all-time leading goal scorer with 58 goals in 99 internationals, moving him clear of former Arsenal and Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud.
The Real Madrid star also climbed to third in the all-time World Cup scoring charts, pulling clear of Pelé (12 goals) and Messi (13) — for a few hours at least — with his 13th and 14th goals at soccer’s biggest tournament.
Haaland will be 26 next month so is just a year younger than Mbappé, but unlike France’s talisman, the Manchester City star has no World Cup backstory with Norway. His appearance against Iraq in Boston was his World Cup debut on Norway’s first game in the competition since 1998.
The only Haaland with a World Cup pedigree was his father, Alf-Inge, who played twice for Norway at USA 1994, so Erling arrived in the U.S. playing catch-up on both his dad and Mbappé, who is perhaps his biggest rival for the Golden Boot over the next month.
1:00
Leboeuf backs Mbappé to break Klose’s World Cup goal record
But while Mbappé’s double against Senegal was all silk and style — his opener was a one-touch finish from a sublime Michael Olise pass followed by a stunning strike from distance — Haaland’s goals were typical of his most bustling, predatory style.
His first was a sliding finish at the far post, less than 6 yards out, from David Møller Wolfe’s cross, before he doubled his account by chasing down a poor back pass and then forcing Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan into a rushed clearance that rebounded into the net off Haaland’s shin.
But they all count. Whether they are contenders for goal of the tournament or tap-ins, a goal is a goal, and Haaland has made a career out of just putting the ball in the net any way possible. He now has 57 goals in 51 international appearances.
Haaland should have scored a third and registered this World Cup’s first hat trick late in the second half, but rather than taking a quicker shot with his weaker right foot, the Man City striker worked it onto his left and gave keeper Hassan time to set himself for the save.
Mbappé scored twice from four shots on goal. Haaland’s strike rate was two goals from six shots, but if you had the chance of selecting either for your team, you wouldn’t shed a tear if you ended up with Haaland. Yet while Mbappé and Haaland are apex forwards at this World Cup — Harry Kane might yet have something to say about that on Wednesday — Messi is still the No. 1 attraction.
The Argentina captain has done it all and won it all, but he is still breaking records at this World Cup.
By starting against Algeria in Kansas City, he became the first player to appear in six World Cups — Cristiano Ronaldo will join him on that pedestal when Portugal play Congo DR in Houston on Wednesday — and he extended his record of most World Cup games played to 27.
But after seeing Mbappé and Haaland illuminate the World Cup earlier in the day with their goal-scoring performances, you could guarantee that Messi would be desperate to add his name to the scoresheet.
And guess what? Exactly 20 years to the day since scoring on his World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro at Germany 2006, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward scored again with a classic Messi strike to put the world champions 1-0 up in Arrowhead Stadium.
That goal meant he is now Argentina’s oldest and youngest goal scorer and allowed him to mark his 200th international appearance with his 118th goal.
But Messi didn’t stop there. If Mbappé and Haaland could score twice, so could he, and when goalkeeper Luca Zidane (son of France legend Zinedine Zidane) spilled Alexis Mac Allister’s 60th-minute shot, Messi was quickest to react to bury the rebound.
1:03
Moreno full of praise for Haaland after brace on World Cup debut
All of a sudden, Messi was in second place in the all-time World Cup rankings alongside Brazil’s Ronaldo on 15 goals.
But two wasn’t enough — there was more to come. If Messi wanted to put Mbappé and Haaland in their place, he had to claim a hat trick, and sure enough it came when he stroked a pinpoint left-foot shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards on 76 minutes.
Cristiano Ronaldo might have been watching, and he will know exactly how Mbappé and Haaland would be feeling. With only eight World Cup goals since his first tournament in 2006, becoming the leading World Cup scorer is one record he can forget about, so he will have to watch Messi claim the plaudits for his latest achievement.
Still, only Ronaldo, with 143 goals in 228 games, has scored more international goals than Messi, and the Al Nassr forward will be out to join Messi, Mbappé and Haaland on the scoring charts Wednesday.
The pressure is now on the former Real Madrid and Manchester United player to perform because the big stars have lived up to the hype.
But that is what Messi has always done. He is a phenomenon, and not even Ronaldo, Mbappé or Haaland can match his brilliance.
