Lionel Messi enters record books with hat-trick for Argentina
Kylian Mbappe hits historic double as France defeat Senegal
Erling Haaland enjoys dynamic debut as Norway down Iraq
It was a day when some of the biggest stars on the planet made their bows and they did not disappoint as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all began their tournaments with a bang.
Mbappe got the ball rolling with a brilliant double against Senegal to . Haaland also found the net twice as Norway celebrated their long-awaited return to the global stage.
It was Messi, though, who shined brightest of them all as he inspired defending champions Argentina to a comprehensive victory against Algeria with his maiden World Cup hat-trick. In a record sixth World Cup finals appearance, the maestro joined Miroslav Klose .
Kylian Mbappe pretended to play the flute then hit the highest of notes. In scoring two terrific strikes against Senegal, the frontman became France's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals and the joint-fourth all-time leading World Cup marksman with 14.
After a goalless opening half, the game sprang into life in the second stanza as Mbappe and Bradley Barcola got France's campaign up and running. Senegal pulled a goal back deep into injury time to make it 2-1 but Mbappe had the final word.
Erling Haaland immediately followed in Mbappe's footsteps with a dynamic double of his own. After a lengthy wait to play on football's biggest stage, the striker wasted no time in making his mark as he hit a fantastic first and a fortuitous second to put Norway on the way to victory.
The Lions of Mesopotamia showed plenty of promise but failed to roar as they spurned a number of chances to make it 2-2. They were punished for their profligacy when Norway substitute defender Leo Ostigard and then an Aymen Hussein own goal, deep into injury time, sealed the rout.
Argentina began their Qatar 2022 campaign with a surprise defeat to Saudi Arabia. There would be no such repeat in Kansas City as Lionel Messi burnished his reputation as one of the game's greatest-ever players with a performance for the ages.
Messi was already making history by taking the field against Algeria as he made a record sixth finals appearance. He further added to his legacy by scoring an exquisite treble to level Klose's historic scoring mark. The 38-year-old kicked things off with a long-range strike, which was followed up with an opportunistic second. An exquisite late strike provided the perfect denouement.
At 18 years 143 days, Senegal's Ibrahim Mbaye became the youngest African goalscorer at the World Cup to date.
Erling Haaland has scored in his last 11 competitive appearances for Norway dating back to November 2024.
At the age of 38 years and 357 days, Lionel Messi has become the oldest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history. The previous oldest was Cristiano Ronaldo who was 33 years and 130 days when he scored a treble against Spain in 2018.
Wednesday 17 June (all times local) 12:00: (Group K) 16:00: (Group L) 19:00: (Group L) 20:00: (Group K)
Sources: FIFA Official
