The favored teams do the expected this time around, as France defeats Senegal 3-1, Norway wins 4-1 against Iraq and Argentina wins 3-0 against Algeria.
France 3-1 Senegal
A brace from French star Kylian Mbappé helped secure the win as well as made history as he is now France’s all-time top goalscorer.
The first half ended scoreless and, in my opinion, was due to France not utilizing their players correctly. Mbappé, who started as a center striker, poses more of a threat on the wing as it gives him space to use his speed. Same goes for Ousmane Dembélé, who was played in a central midfield role and was mostly receiving the ball too far back.
Michael Olise, who although started in the right spot, also came too central and was playing almost a defensive midfield role which rarely gave him the opportunity to cut in from the right wing and use his favored left foot to curl shots in.
The moment the second half started and they switch the way players were being used, the field opened up, and they had more chances. It did not take long for them to start scoring after these adjustments.
Norway 4-1 Iraq
Erling Haaland would also make history for Norway today as his brace would make him Norway’s top scorer in a World Cup.
Iraq would put up a good fight in the first half, only trailing 2-1 at the half, however once Norway found their groove it was hard to keep up. To make things worse for the Iraqi side, they would finish the game with an own goal as the ball bumbled into the goal giving Norway their fourth of the afternoon.
Goal differential is proving to be important as Norway’s four goals puts them atop Group I with France in second, Senegal in third, and Iraq in fourth.
Argentina 3-0 Algeria
I have been told not to mention that referee lineup for this match was the exact same as the previous 2022 World Cup Final — something that is purely a coincidence, right? I am also not supposed to mention that in the 32nd minute, Lionel Messi uses an Algerian defender’s calf as a step stool in a foul that was both not called, but if a “mortal player” were to have done the same, would probably have been checked by VAR for a potential red card. Like I said, I am not supposed to mention this, so I will swiftly move on.
Messi’s hat trick and presence alone, in case it was not said enough in the 90 minutes, brought on several records. He is the first player to feature in six World Cups, he is now tied at 16 goals with German striker Miroslav Klose as having scored the most World Cup goals in history. He is also now the oldest player to score a hat trick in the World Cup at the age of 38. This was also his first ever hat trick in a World Cup.
Algeria played Argentina evenly for the first half, and it seemed as though they could come back as the half time score was only 1-0. In the second half, Algeria seemed to run out of energy and forgot to track Messi — the only player who the Argentine side was trying to set up.
With Austria and Jordan playing each other later tonight, the current standings for Group J are: Argentina in first, Austria in second, Jordan in third, and Algeria in fourth.
As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous recap of the “day of stalemates.”
Cover Photo: Flages of the eight teams. NOTE: Image generated using the prompt “generate an image of the flags of France and Senegal, Norway and Iraq, and Argentina and Algeria,” by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/).
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