Lionel Messi cemented his legacy as the greatest goalscorer in World Cup history, netting twice as Argentina secured a 2-0 victory over Austria at the AT&T Stadium.
After uncharacteristically missing an early penalty, the Argentine captain bounced back in the 30th minute, converting a Thiago Almada cutback with a brilliant first-time finish to break Miroslav Klose’s long-standing record.
Ralf Rangnick’s Austria fought hard but lacked clinical quality in the final third, allowing Messi to put the game to bed in stoppage time by tucking home his second of the night and his 18th career World Cup goal, officially booking Argentina’s place in the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, in Santa Clara, Algeria kept their tournament hopes alive with a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory over World Cup debutants Jordan in Group J.
Coming off a bruising 3-0 defeat to Argentina in their opening match, the North Africans showed immense resilience to bounce back, while a spirited Jordan side suffered a heartbreaking second consecutive loss.
Algeria’s crucial victory mathematically guarantees that Argentina will top Group J, leaving the remaining teams to battle it out for the final qualification spots.
Over in Philadelphia, Kylian Mbappé stole the headlines by scoring a brace in France’s comfortable 3-0 victory over Iraq, moving him into a tie for second place on the all-time World Cup scoring list.
The French talisman struck early in both halves to elevate his astonishing tally to 16 goals in just 16 World Cup appearances, leaving him just two shy of the newly established record held by Messi.
Ousmane Dembélé added a third goal to cap off a dominant performance for the two-time champions.
However, the clash in Philadelphia will also be remembered for entering the history books as the first match of this tournament to be severely disrupted by weather.
Intense lightning strikes in the area forced officials to delay the start of the second half by more than two hours, following earlier torrential rainfall that had already bottlenecked fan entry into the stadium.
Despite the unprecedented environmental disruptions, Les Bleus maintained their focus to see out the comprehensive win.
In New Jersey, Erling Haaland put on a masterclass, scoring twice to propel Norway into the round of 32 with a hard-fought victory over Senegal.
After full-back Marcus Pedersen opened the scoring following a defensive blunder by Kalidou Koulibaly, Haaland took absolute control in the second half, latching onto a Martin Ødegaard through-ball before later sealing his brace with a spectacular side-foot volley.
Despite a late, furious fightback from Senegal’s Ismaïla Sarr—who scored twice to set up a chaotic, grandstand finish—Haaland’s historic goalscoring streak held firm, making him Norway’s all-time top scorer in World Cup history after just two matches.
