Lionel Messi sets World Cup goalscoring record with 18, Mbappé follows close behind with 16 — thanks to his two braces so far — and Haaland continues his tournament debut with another brace, taking him to four goals.
Argentina 2-0 Austria
Messi had, in my opinion, four real goal-scoring opportunities: the first being his missed penalty, the next being a tap-in which he hit into a defender, the third was a classic setup for him at the top of the box where he placed it in the bottom left corner for his first goal, and lastly a tap-in off his own missed shot for his second of the afternoon.
Aside from those chances, Austria played the Argentines evenly, but had no luck finding a goal. They will need to wait for their last game, where they will likely need a draw or better to ensure their qualification.
With this win, Argentina have qualified for the Round of 32 and are likely to top the group as their last match is against Jordan, which is considered the weakest of the four in Group J.
France 3-0 Iraq
Mbappé’s brace helps the French win this game and ensure qualification for the Round of 32.
The best of his two goals was his first. A great shot from outside the box that went across goal and into the far left side netting. Michael Olise had the assist, but what made the goal so nice was that it was by surprise. The play looked to be working its way around the box. But once Mbappé saw space, he quickly shot, giving the defenders only seconds to react.
This win ensures France qualifies for the knockouts, but they will have to wait until their matchup with Norway to see who finishes in the top spot.
Norway 3-2 Senegal
Haaland continues his impressive World Cup debut by scoring another two goals to help Norway qualify alongside their French competitors.
In Haaland’s post-match interview, he was asked about Norway’s upcoming matchup against France, as that match will decide who makes it out of the group in first place. His response, which might not have been the best, was, “We managed to get through, which is incredible, so I couldn’t care too much about that game now. They’re probably going to win against us. They’re probably going to win the whole tournament.”
Although I don’t think he said this with malintent, it is certainly not the best message to convey to your team who will be looking to do their best at trying to finish first in the group.
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 Germany’s advancement to the knockout stage and Japan’s historic game.
Cover Photo: Germany qualifies for the knockouts. NOTE: Image generated using the prompt “generate me an image to match the following 2026 World Cup title: “Argentina, France and Norway advance to the Round of 32″” by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/).
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