{"id":913684,"date":"2026-06-18T13:13:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/messi-outshines-haaland-mbappe-on-historic-world-cup-matchday-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T13:13:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:13:29","slug":"messi-outshines-haaland-mbappe-on-historic-world-cup-matchday-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/messi-outshines-haaland-mbappe-on-historic-world-cup-matchday-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi outshines Haaland, Mbapp\u00e9 on historic World Cup matchday | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div role=\"main\" id=\"main-content\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-label=\"Page main content\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n<div data-bucket-name=\"main-content-before-middle-adv\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/lionel-messi\/\">Lionel Messi<\/a> rewrote the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\">FIFA World Cup<\/a> history books on Tuesday evening, eclipsing two-goal performances from Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 (France) and Erling Haaland (Norway) earlier in the matchday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/inter-miami-cf\/\">Inter Miami CF<\/a> superstar scored a hat trick in Argentina&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\/matches\/argvsalg-06-16-2026\/\">3-0 win<\/a> over Algeria, tying German legend Miroslav Klose&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/news\/lionel-messi-ties-world-cup-goals-record-with-argentina-hat-trick\">World Cup goals record<\/a> (16) and joining Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) as the only players to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/news\/lionel-messi-joins-cristiano-ronaldo-prestigious-world-cup-list\">score at five World Cups<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The 2022 World Cup champion is competing at his joint-record sixth tournament, and scored his three goals 20 years after opening his World Cup account at Germany 2006 \u2013 then as a rising talent with FC Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He reminded us why he is who he is, and Argentina also reminded us that they are the (title) holders,&#8221; said FOX analyst and former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/red-bull-new-york\/\">Red Bull New York<\/a> forward Thierry Henry.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s not forget about them. But Leo is just different.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lOEy382GeVU?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Lionel Messi Scores First Career HAT TRICK in FIFA World Cup\u2122 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf7 Ties Most Goals at Men's World Cup\u2122\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Mbappe&#8217;s brace<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Mbapp\u00e9 got the matchday started by scoring twice in France&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\/matches\/fravssen-06-16-2026\">3-1 win<\/a> over Senegal at New York\/New Jersey Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>The Real Madrid forward now has 58 goals for France, moving him clear of former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/los-angeles-football-club\/\">LAFC<\/a> forward Olivier Giroud (57) as his country&#8217;s all-time leading scorer.<\/p>\n<p>As a teenager, Mbapp\u00e9 memorably helped France win the 2018 World Cup over Croatia. Les Bleus also reached the 2022 World Cup final as runners-up to Messi-led Argentina.<\/p>\n<p>Mbapp\u00e9 now leads a front line that also includes Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Olise and Paris Saint-Germain forwards Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 and D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_zAWxVQz8ag?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 Becomes France's All-Time Leading Goalscorer in World Cup\u2122 With Brace vs Senegal \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Haaland&#8217;s brace<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Following Mbapp\u00e9&#8217;s star performance, Manchester City striker Haaland made his World Cup debut in style with a brace in Norway&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\/matches\/irqvsnor-06-16-2026\">4-1 win<\/a> over Iraq at Boston Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner netted twice in the first half, giving him a remarkable 57 goals in 51 international appearances.<\/p>\n<p>Norway are competing at their first World Cup since 1998 and, aside from Haaland, feature Arsenal captain Martin \u00d8degaard and Atl\u00e9tico Madrid forward Alexander S\u00f8rloth.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pk_d-aFnZ0c?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"Norway's Erling Haaland Bags Two Goals in First Half of His FIFA World Cup\u2122 Debut\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>Messi&#8217;s hat trick<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Messi one-upped Haaland and Mbapp\u00e9 on Tuesday evening, pacing Argentina&#8217;s 3-0 victory over Algeria at Kansas City Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>The eight-time Ballon d&#8217;Or winner started his first career World Cup hat trick with a long-range finish in the 17th minute, latching onto a through ball from Inter Miami teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/rodrigo-de-paul\/\">Rodrigo De Paul<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Then, he added tallies in the 60th and 76th minutes before being subbed out with La Albiceleste holding a comfortable lead against their African foe.<\/p>\n<p>Messi, who now has 16g\/8a in 27 World Cup appearances, could help Argentina become the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Italy (1934, &#8217;38) and Brazil (1958, &#8217;62).<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;ll close out Group J play with two games in Dallas, first against Austria on June 22 and then against Jordan on June 27. Messi needs just one goal to surpass Klose&#8217;s World Cup goals record (tied on 16).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7M3IPdkAfM4?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"EVERY ANGLE of Lionel Messi's First Career FIFA World Cup\u2122 Hat Trick \ud83d\udd25\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-toggle data-layout-name=\"grid_4-4-4\" data-bucket-name=\"main-content-after-middle-adv\">\n<div>\n<p>Get the latest from MLS: league news, must-see matches, kit drops, premium offers for the World\u2019s biggest event, and more!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/news\/messi-outshines-haaland-mbappe-on-historic-world-cup-matchday-argentina-norway-france\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Elroy Stoval<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Lionel Messi rewrote the FIFA World Cup history books on Tuesday evening, eclipsing two-goal performances from Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 (France) and Erling Haaland (Norway) earlier in the matchday. The Inter Miami CF superstar scored a hat trick in Argentina&#8217;s 3-0 win over Algeria, tying German legend Miroslav Klose&#8217;s World Cup goals record (16) and joining [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":913685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22673,67752,2005],"tags":[42860,21045],"class_list":["post-913684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-messi","category-outshines","category-soccer","tag-messi","tag-outshines"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=913684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/913685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=913684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=913684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=913684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}