It’s time for round 2 of the show from Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland as their teams take centre stage on Matchday 12 at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Monday, June 22. All three protagonists had shown stellar performances in their opening round to kick start their global showpiece in North America.ย
Mbappe started it when he came up with a brace against Senegal that moved him to the top of the goal scorers’ list for his country in internationals and also in the World Cups. The French skipper’s late second strike took him to 14 World Cup goals, one clear of Just Fontaine and to 58 international goals, past Olivier Giroud.ย
Then Haaland came to the party with a brace of his own. The Manchester City striker made his much-awaited debut at the World Cup stage when Norway made it to the main draw of the tournament after 28 years. It wad fitting that Haaland opened the scoring sheets in the 29th minute before handing them the lead again in the 43rd minute as the Landslaget won by 4-1 in the end.
Then Messi came into his own when Argentina opened their campaign against Algeria. The soon-to-be 39-year-old Argentine legend scored his first-ever hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup match, making him the oldest player to achieve the feat. The first of his three goals was an absolute stunner when he thudded a left foot curling that Luca Zidane got fingers to, but couldn’t stop the thunderous strike. The three goals have put Messi on the verge of history.
History beckons on Day 12
The FIFA World Cup Day 12 promises to be a day where Messi and Mbappe can go on to create history by becoming the top goal-scorers in the history of the competition. Messi is tied with Miroslav Klose with 16 strikes and Mbappe isn’t much behind with 14 goals, making him the joint third-highest scorer.ย
Klose had owned the record in the 2014 World Cup when he went past Ronaldo’s (Brazil) record of 15 goals, but the feat remained untouched in the next three editions.
FIFA World Cup Day 12 matches
Argentina vs Austria: 10:30 PM IST (Dallas)
France vs Iraq: 2:30 AM IST (Philadelphia)
Norway vs Senegal: 5:30 AM IST (New Jersey)
Jordan vs Algeria: 8:30 AM IST (San Francisco Bay Area)
Argentina, France, Austria and Norway look for knockouts berth
The quartet of Argentina, France, Austria and Norway could achieve their knockout berth in their second round game as all four sit on three points after their tournament openers. The Albiceleste and the Das Team also eye the top spot in Group J. If Argentina win and Jordan do not beat Algeria, the Messi-starrer team will finish at table toppers.
Austria will also ensure a top spot if they beat the Lionel Scaloni side and Algeria do not beat Jordan. Meanwhile, Algeria and Jordan are looking for their first points after losing their openers. Meanwhile, France and Norway can also book their place in the round of 32 if they win their respective games.
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