Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Haaland star on thrilling World Cup day with history on the horizon

Round 2 for Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland and their sides as Matchday 12 takes centre stage at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Monday, June 22. All three protagonists had delivered stellar performances in their opening round to kick start their global showpiece in North America.

Mbappe kicked off with a brace against Senegal and moved to the top of the goal scorers list for his country in internationals and also in the World Cups. It was the second for the French skipper in the dying moments, taking him to 14 World Cup goals, one clear of Just Fontaine, and to 58 international goals, ahead of Olivier Giroud.

Then Haaland joined the party with a brace of his own. The Manchester City forward finally got his long-awaited World Cup bow when Norway qualified for the main draw of the tournament after 28 years. Haaland was naturally on the score sheet to open the scoring in the 29th minute before putting them back in front again in the 43rd minute as the Landslaget went on to win 4-1.

Then came Messi into his own as Argentina started their campaign against Algeria. The Argentine legend, who is about to turn 39, scored his first ever hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup match and became the oldest player to do so. His first of three was a pure stunner, thudding a left foot curling that Luca Zidane got fingers to but couldn't keep out the thunderous strike. Messi is on the brink of history with three goals.

Day 12 of the FIFA World Cup is poised to be the day when Messi and Mbappe can etch their names into the record books as the tournament’s top goal scorers. Messi is level with Miroslav Klose on 16 strikes, and not far behind is Mbappe with 14 goals, making him the joint third highest scorer.

Klose broke the record in the 2014 World Cup when he surpassed Ronaldo’s (Brazil) record of 15 goals, but the feat went unchallenged in the next three editions.

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 could book their knockout places in their second round game as all four are on three points after their tournament openers. Das Team and the Albiceleste are also looking to top Group J. If Argentina win and Jordan fail to beat Algeria, the side led by Messi will finish top of the table.

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 after their first points after losing their openers. Meanwhile France and Norway can also make it to the round of 32 if they win their respective games.