Messi, Mbappé and Haaland light up World Cup with seven goals

Three of football’s biggest names turned the same World Cup matchday into a race through history. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland combined for seven goals on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, as Argentina, France and Norway all won by multiple goals and the tournament’s hierarchy began to show its shape.

Messi delivered the most sweeping performance of the day in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria, scoring in the 17th, 60th and 76th minutes for his first World Cup hat trick. The treble lifted him to 16 career World Cup goals, tying Miroslav Klose for the men’s all-time record, and made him the first man to appear in six World Cups. It also pushed Messi to 24 World Cup goal contributions, moving him past Pelé’s 21.

Mbappé answered with two goals in France’s 3-1 victory over Senegal, a brace that carried him to 58 international goals for France and past Olivier Giroud as the national team’s all-time leading scorer. The two goals also took Mbappé to 14 World Cup goals, leaving him within striking distance of the top tier of the tournament’s scorers and reinforcing how quickly his record pace has become normal.

Haaland added a different kind of statement in Norway’s 4-1 win over Iraq. He scored twice on his World Cup debut, helping Norway return to the tournament in style and giving the day a generational spread: Messi extending a long career, Mbappé still in the heart of his prime and Haaland arriving for the first time with immediate force.

FIFA described the trio as beginning their tournaments “with a bang,” and the phrase fit the larger picture. This was not just a showcase for individual brilliance. It was a day when the World Cup’s biggest names shaped the bracket, the Golden Boot race and the record books at once, with Argentina, France and Norway all setting early tones in Kansas City, New Jersey and Boston. If the tournament is moving toward a handoff between eras, it is happening in full view, with Messi preserving his legend, Mbappé expanding his, and Haaland stepping into the frame on debut.